Research and development in the optics of solid-state lasers with high peak radiation power at the S. I. Vavilov State Optical Institute

Abstract

The goal of this article is to consider the main optical problems of creating lasers with supershort pulse widths and high peak radiation power and to give a review of research on this specialization at the State Optical Institute. Fundamental effects that limit the peak power are of the greatest interest, and methods of suppressing them are considered. One such method is to convert to a laser architecture with pulse compression, which makes it possible to sharply improve the characteristics of the radiation by comparison with lasers that use direct amplification of short pulses. This is achieved by suppressing nonlinear effects while amplifying longer laser pulses. The main nonlinear effects that limit the radiation brightness in solid-state lasers and pulse-compression methods for creating a new class of lasers are considered. The role of S. I. Vavilov State Optical Institute in research and development in powerful laser systems is considered in detail.

© 2009 Optical Society of America