Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC

Bedros Afeyan

John Edward Heebner

The present invention extends the resolution capability for shaping optical pulses on laser systems from the current state of the art resolution of &#x2dc;250 ps to &#x2dc;1 ps by utilizing a hybrid of EOM and spectral shaping technologies. In one embodiment, a short pulse derived from a mode-locked laser oscillator is dispersed using a dispersive stretcher to about 250 ps, providing a linear mapping of spectrum to time. A typical spectral shaper is used to directly write the desired temporal pattern in the spectral domain to produce a crudely patterned waveform that may also suffer from chirp. The chirp is removed by a process known as difference frequency generation by mixing it with a pulse derived from an equally chirped frequency-doubled pump in an optical parametric amplifier. The pattern is then focused in time, which is accomplished in one embodiment by propagating the pattern through a dispersive element.

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Pleasanton, CA, United States of America

Bedros Afeyan