Efficient pumping of inertial fusion energy lasers

C. Wessling; O. Rübenach; S. Hambücker; V. Sinhoff; S. Banerjeea; K. Ertel; P. Mason

doi:10.1117/12.2003654

18 February 2013 Efficient pumping of inertial fusion energy lasers

C. Wessling, O. Rübenach, S. Hambücker, V. Sinhoff, S. Banerjeea, K. Ertel, P. Mason

Proceedings Volume 8602, High Power Lasers for Fusion Research II; 86020I (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2003654
Event: SPIE LASE, 2013, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Solid-state lasers have been demonstrated as attractive drivers for laser-plasma interaction and have presently been developed for various applications like inertial confinement fusion (ICF) [1], particle acceleration and intense X-ray generation [3]. Viable real world applications like power production at industrial scale will require high laser system efficiency, repetition rate and lifetime which are only possible with semiconductor diode pumping. The paper describes the work conducted with two 20 kW diode laser sources pumping an ytterbium:YAG laser amplifier. The set-up acts as a small scale prototype for the DiPOLE project [2]. This project aims to develop scalable gas cooled cryogenic multi-slab diode pumped solid state lasers capable of producing KJ pulse energy. A scale-down prototype is currently under development at the Central Laser Facility (CLF) designed to generate 10 J at 10 Hz. To secure an efficient pumping process the sources have to fulfill aside power requirement in the spectral and time domain, the claim for high homogenization and low divergence of the spatial and angular beam distribution as well as a minimization of losses within the optical path. The existing diode laser sources designed and built by INGENERIC deliver 20 kW pulsed power, concentrated on a plateau of FWHM dimension of 20 x 20 mm² with a homogeneity of more than 90 %. The center wavelength of 939.5 nm is controlled in a range of ± 0.1 nm. The time and area integrated spectrum of at least 76 % of the total energy is contained within a 6 nm wide wavelength band around the center wavelength. Repetition rates can be adjusted between 0.1 Hz up to 10 Hz with rise and fall times less than 50 μs and pulse durations from 0.2 ms to 1.2 ms. The paper describes the impact of different designs on the performance of pump sources and puts special emphasis on the influence of the optical components on efficiency and performance. In addition the influence of the measuring principle is discussed.

Citation Download Citation

C. Wessling, O. Rübenach, S. Hambücker, V. Sinhoff, S. Banerjeea, K. Ertel, and P. Mason "Efficient pumping of inertial fusion energy lasers", Proc. SPIE 8602, High Power Lasers for Fusion Research II, 86020I (18 February 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2003654

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