Demonstration of laser pulse amplication by stimulated Brillouin scattering

E Guillaume, K Humphrey, H. Nakamura, R M G M Trines, R. Heathcote, M. Galimberti, Y. Amano, D. Doria, G. Hicks, E. Higson, S. Kar, G. Sarri, M. Skramic, J. Swain, K. Tang, J. Weston, P. Zak, E. P. Alves, R. A. Fonseca, F. FiuzaH. Habara, K. A. Tanaka, R. Bingham, M. Borghesi, Z. Najmudin, L. O. Silva, P. A. Norreys

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Abstract

The energy transfer by stimulated Brillouin backscatter from a long pump pulse (15 ps) to a short seed pulse (1 ps)has been investigated in a proof-of-principle demonstration experiment. The two pulses were both amplified in differentbeamlines of a Nd:glass laser system, had a central wavelength of 1054 nm and a spectral bandwidth of 2 nm, and crossedeach other in an underdense plasma in a counter-propagating geometry, off-set by 10◦. It is shown that the energy transferand the wavelength of the generated Brillouin peak depend on the plasma density, the intensity of the laser pulses, and thecompetition between two-plasmon decay and stimulated Raman scatter instabilities. The highest obtained energy transferfrom pump to probe pulse is 2.5%, at a plasma density of 0.17ncr, and this energy transfer increases significantly withplasma density. Therefore, our results suggest that much higher efficiencies can be obtained when higher densities (above0.25ncr) are used.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33
Number of pages6
JournalHigh Power Laser Science and Engineering
Volume2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Sept 2014

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