Dr. James J. McLoughlin Profile

Dr. James J. McLoughlin

Applied Scientist at AWE plc

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Proceedings Article | 4 March 2019 Presentation + Paper

Recent development of the Orion Laser Facility and future perspectives

N. Hopps, D. Egan, S. Elsmere, M. Girling, E. Harvey, D. Hillier, D. Hussey, J. McLoughlin, S. J. Parker, R. Penman, P. Treadwell, D. Winter

Proceedings Volume 10898, 1089803 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2506877

KEYWORDS: Wavefronts, Optical amplifiers, Crystals, Diffraction gratings, Wavefront sensors, Pulsed laser operation, Mirrors, Adaptive optics, Polarization, Laser damage threshold

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AWE’s Orion Laser Facility comprises ten 500J nanosecond (“long pulse”) beam lines (3ω) and two petawatt (“short pulse”) beam lines, each delivering 500J, 500fs pulses at 1054nm. One short pulse beam can operate at 2ω (at reduced aperture), producing ultrahigh contrast pulses. This paper reports on recent developments and planned future work. Static wavefront correctors have been implemented to mitigate prompt aberrations in the long pulse beams, which alter the onshot wavefront characteristics compared to the CW alignment beams. This mitigates aberration accumulation through the day, increasing the maximum number of shots in one shift. A TIM-mounted wavefront sensor/focal imager has been developed, which is better able to characterise the post-compression system aberrations, resulting in higher focal intensity. A diode-pumped, multi-joule rod amplifier has been prototyped. This is planned to replace the ageing, flashlamp-based ns-OPCPA pump laser, which constitutes a single point failure mode for our short pulse capability. Preliminary design work has commenced for a facility life-extension project, planned for ~2023. The infrared performance will be enhanced to ~1kJ per beam in 300fs, the additional bandwidth being supported by greater use of silicate glass. The two-grating, single-pass compressor systems will be replaced by four-grating compressors, retaining the extant vacuum vessels. The frequency doubling option will be retained. Since the greater near-field intensity inevitably over-drives the doublers, compressor detuning is necessary. We assess a novel, small compressor at the second harmonic. Simulations suggest that up to 500J in 150fs is possible in this configuration.

Proceedings Article | 4 March 2019 Presentation + Paper

Implementation of static wavefront correctors in Orion's long pulse beamlines

J. McLoughlin, P. Treadwell, D. Egan, N. Hopps

Proceedings Volume 10898, 1089808 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2511846

KEYWORDS: Wavefronts, Monochromatic aberrations, Optical amplifiers

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AWE’s Orion Laser facility contains ten nanosecond beamlines, each employing a series of flash-lamp pumped disk amplifiers capable of generating up to 750 J in 1 ns at 1053 nm. Discharge through the flash-lamps, however, causes unwanted disk heating which induces wavefront aberrations. This immediate effect, referred to as ‘prompt aberration’, alters the onshot wavefront compared to the wavefront of the alignment beams. In addition, a thermal load remains on the disks between shots, causing an evolution of both the alignment and on-shot aberrations over a typical day. The combination of the prompt aberrations and wavefront evolution has limited performance. After approximately six shots the alignment aberrations became so severe that further alignment was impossible. Operations would then cease to allow the disks to cool and the wavefronts to return to normal for the start of the following day. This paper reports on the development and implementation of static wavefront correctors. By mitigating the effect of the prompt aberrations, the alignment beam wavefront better matches the on-shot aberrations, and no longer limits operations, allowing more shots to be fired in a day. The wavefront analysis is discussed and shows the prompt aberration to comprise mainly of ~1 μm of defocus and astigmatism, averaged across many shots and all beamlines. Compensating static correctors are shown to reduce the effect of the prompt aberration to ~0.2 μm. The outcome indicates the possibility of firing more shots in a single day’s operation.

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