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We report on the status of the re-commissioning of a high energy OPCPA laser system with programmable spectrum that serves as a frontend for a 10 PW laser at ELI-Beamlines. The OPCPA chain was developed by a consortium of National Energetics and Ekspla along with scientists of ELI-Beamlines.1 The laser system, consisting of three picosecond OPCPA stages, pulse cleaner, Offner stretcher, and 5 nanosecond OPCPA stages pumped by Nd:YAG lasers with programmable pulse shape (NL944, Ekspla), allows for precise spectral shaping while achieving high nonlinear conversion efficiency. Employing a subsequent Nd:glass power amplifiers (PA), the system was demonstrated to yield>1 kJ of energy, while maintaining broad spectrum of > 13 nm (FWHM). After recommissioning the OPCPA frontend in Dolni Břežany, an output energy of 4.3 J, flat beam-profile and good far-field quality has been demonstrated. The spectral shape has been optimized to support > 15 nm bandwidth and >1.5 kJ, consistent with 10 PW operation of the fully integrated laser system after compression.

State-of-the-art physics experiments are pushing the development of lasers with ultra-high peak power pulses. 4 PW pulses have been produced with TiSa [1] and 10 PW with the same gain medium is scheduled at LULI (Apollon) and at ELI-NP. The other approach is to use Nd-doped glass as gain medium, whose interest is in its capability of delivering higher energy at the expense of a longer pulse duration. Based on this gain material combined with an OPCPA based front-end, a kJ-10 PW class laser has been designed and built. The front-end, consisting of picosecond OPCPA, temporal pulse cleaning and nanosecond OPCPA, delivers pulses with excess of 4 Joules at 5 Hz with a shaped spectrum to pre-compensate for gain distortions in Nd:glass power amplifiers. Two liquid-cooled, mixed glass power amplifiers, namely PA1 and PA2, are used for further amplification. Up to now, they have been activated demonstrating 70 J at 1 shot a minute after PA1 and 1 kJ at 1 shot every 7 minutes for PA2. The Fourier limit of the spectrum is 150 fs meaning 6 PW capability after compression. This energy level has been obtained with only 3 Joules seed energy, from the OPCPA and partial activation of PA2. Scaling of this result suggests that more than 1.7 kJ should be obtained leading to 10 PW after compression while the output spectrum will remain compatible with 150 Fs thanks to the OPCPA spectral tailoring capability.

The 10PW OPCPA/glass laser under construction for ELI-Beamlines will exhibit output pulses delivered every minute with an energy of 1.5kJ within 150fs duration. We will show results of the sub-sections as well as output performances.

Overview of progress in construction and testing of the laser systems of ELI-Beamlines, accomplished since 2015, is presented. Good progress has been achieved in construction of all four lasers based largely on the technology of diode-pumped solid state lasers (DPSSL). The first part of the L1 laser, designed to provide 200 mJ

A new Vertical Shock Tube (VST) has been designed to study shock-induced mixing due to the Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability (RMI) developing on a 3-D multi-mode interface between two gases. These studies characterize how interface contours, gas density difference, and Mach No. affect the ensuing mixing by using simultaneous measurements of velocity/density fields. The VST allows for the formation of a single stably-stratified interface, removing complexities of the dual interface used in prior RMI work. The VST also features a new diaphragmless driver, making feasible larger ensembles of data by reducing intra-shot time, and a larger viewing window allowing new observations of late-time mixing. The initial condition (IC) is formed by a co-flow system, chosen to minimize diffusion at the gas interface. To ensure statistically stationary ICs, a contoured nozzle has been manufactured to form repeatable co-flowing jets that are manipulated by a flapping splitter plate to generate perturbations that span the VST. This talk focuses on the design of the IC flow system and shows initial results characterizing the interface.

There is an observed effect of an explosive's constituent grain size and density on its performance. At the mesoscale, it is the outward burning of hot spots that controls observed performance. While statistical hot spot models can integrate the mesoscale behaviour to macroscale simulations, it is unknown what the density of created hot spots is as a function of grain size and porosity. Simulating mesoscale hot spot distributions and varying hot spot density, we discuss the resultant performance as influenced by inter-pore distance and pore distribution.