The US Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has installed and commissioned an array of laser diodes with a peak power of 3.2MW. The diode arrays are a key component of the High-Repetition-Rate Advanced Petawatt Laser System (HAPLS). When completed, HAPLS will be installed in the European Union's Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) Beamlines facility in the Czech Republic.
HAPLS is designed to generate peak powers of more than 1PW (1015W) at a repetition rate of 10Hz and with each pulse lasting 30fs.To develop these diode arrays, LLNL partnered with Lasertel, a developer of high-powered semiconductor laser pump modules, which combined advanced semiconductor laser technology with novel micro optics.
"We are thrilled to be working with LLNL, which continues to push the boundaries for high-energy laser systems," said Lasertel president Mark McElhinney. "Our collaboration has enabled several new benchmarks for laser performance to be set in a remarkably short period of time.
Previously, high energy, scientific laser systems used so called flashlamp technology, in which intense flashes of white light 'pump' laser active atoms to higher energy states.
"Flashlamp technology for lasers has been around for more than 50 years, and we've pretty much pushed the limits of that technology," said Andy Bayramian, HAPLS systems architect. "We've closed the books on flashlamps and started a new one with these laser diode arrays, enabling a far more advanced class of high energy laser systems."
In addition, LLNL needed to develop a completely new type of pulsed-power system in order to drive the diode arrays. The system draws energy from the grid and converts it to extremely high current, precisely shaped electrical pulses. Each power supply is capable of driving 40kA.
Author
Graham Pitcher
Source: www.newelectronics.co.uk