Intracavity adaptive correction of a 10-kW solid state heat-capacity laser

Kai N. LaFortune; Randall L. Hurd; Erik M. Johansson; Clifford Brent Dane; Scott N. Fochs; James M. Brase

doi:10.1117/12.531034

1 June 2004 Intracavity adaptive correction of a 10-kW solid state heat-capacity laser

Kai N. LaFortune, Randall L. Hurd, Erik M. Johansson, Clifford Brent Dane, Scott N. Fochs, James M. Brase

Proceedings Volume 5333, Laser Resonators and Beam Control VII; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.531034
Event: Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering, 2004, San Jose, Ca, United States

Abstract

The Solid-State, Heat-Capacity Laser (SSHCL), under development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a large aperture (100 cm²), confocal, unstable resonator requiring near-diffraction-limited beam quality. There are two primary sources of the aberrations in the system: residual, static aberrations from the fabrication of the optical components and predictable, time-dependent, thermally-induced index gradients within the gain medium. A deformable mirror placed within the cavity is used to correct the aberrations that are sensed with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. Although it is more challenging than external correction, intracavity correction enables control of the mode growth within the resonator, resulting in the ability to correct a more aberrated system longer. The overall system design, measurement techniques and correction algorithms are discussed. Experimental results from initial correction of the static aberrations and dynamic correction of the time-dependent aberrations are presented.

Citation Download Citation

Kai N. LaFortune, Randall L. Hurd, Erik M. Johansson, Clifford Brent Dane, Scott N. Fochs, and James M. Brase "Intracavity adaptive correction of a 10-kW solid state heat-capacity laser", Proc. SPIE 5333, Laser Resonators and Beam Control VII, (1 June 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.531034

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