Abstract

We have developed and demonstrated a 0.5-Hz repetition-rate, 1-μm, 1-ps terawatt chirped-pulse-amplification (CPA) laser system using a flashlamp-pumped Nd:glass zigzag slab amplifier. The laser produces energies greater than 2 J with an average power in excess of 1 W and 1.4-times-diffraction-limited focusing. Frequency doubling of these pulses is accomplished with 55% efficiency. This system has been installed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)as part of the E-144 experiment to study nonlinear QED.¹ The laser has been used for collisions with 50-GeV electrons. The laser system and the optical transport lines are described.

© 1995 Optical Society of America