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The question of whether an electron radiating its energy away during the interaction with a laser can reach the region of highest intensity with energy high enough to make a number of different phenomena observable is one of the most studied and most important in strong field quantum electrodynamics. Here a simple analytical estimate for an average electron energy evolution is proposed and benchmarked against particle-in-cell simulations. Furthermore, these results are used to estimate the electron and laser pulse properties required to make vacuum Cherenkov emission observable.

We introduce the Czech national R&D project HiLASE which focuses on strategic development of advanced high-repetition rate, diode pumped solid state laser (DPSSL) systems that may find use in research, high-tech industry and in the future European large-scale facilities such as HiPER and ELI. Within HiLASE we explore two major concepts: thin-disk and cryogenically cooled multislab amplifiers capable of delivering average output powers above 1 kW level in picosecond-to-nanosecond pulsed regime. In particular, we have started a programme of technology development to demonstrate the scalability of multislab concept up to the kJ level at repetition rate of 1–10 Hz.

We present a comparison of two alternative laser layouts for HiLASE and ELI Beamlines projects. The cryogenically cooled laser is 100 J class with 2 ns pulse length and operates at 10 Hz repetition rate. The laser beam is intended for industrial applications in HiLASE, for OPCPA pumping in ELI Beamlines and can serve as a test bed for large scale high repetition rate fusion lasers. First layout utilizes classical scheme with preamplifier and main amplifier, while the second layout utilizes single amplifier scheme with two amplifier heads. The comparison is based on the results obtained from homemade MATLAB code for evaluation of amplified spontaneous emission and stored energy and on a beam propagation simulated in MIRÓ code.

Using DPSSL (Diode Pumped Solid State Lasers) as pumping technology, PW-class lasers with enhanced repetition rates are developed. Each of the Yb YAG amplifiers will be diode-pumped at a wavelength of 940 nm. This is a prerequisite for achieving high repetition rates (light amplification duration 1 millisecond and repetition rate 10 Hz). The efficiency of DPSSL is inversely proportional to the temperature, for this reason the slab amplifier have to be cooled at a temperature in the range of 100 K–170 K with a heat flux of 1 MW*m−2. This paper describes the thermo-mechanical analysis for the design of the amplification laser head, presents a preliminary proposal for the required cryogenic cooling system and finally outlines the gain of cryogenic operation for the efficiency of high pulsed laser.

Investigation of hollow-duct structure for high-power laser-diode-array radiation delivery into the end-pumped large-aperture gain media is reported. A ray tracing method has been used to evaluate the performance of the structure designed for maximum transmission efficiency and output beam profile homogeneity. Variable hollow-duct lengths as well as emanating angles of laser-diode-array have been taken into account.

The ELI beamlines facility will house a 10PW laser with ultrashort pulse duration. The laser damage threshold of the coatings limits the minimum size of the last compression grating. Due to production restrictions, the last grating has to be tiled. This design was produced in order to minimize the total number of gratings in the compressor together with the spatial requirements.

Multi-MeV beams of light ions have been produced using the 300 picosecond, kJ-class iodine laser, operating at the Prague Asterix Laser System facility in Prague. Real-time ion diagnostics have been performed by the use of various time-of-flight (TOF) detectors: ion collectors (ICs) with and without absorber thin films, new prototypes of single-crystal diamond and silicon carbide detectors, and an electrostatic ion mass spectrometer (IEA). In order to suppress the long photopeak induced by soft X-rays and to avoid the overlap with the signal from ultrafast particles, the ICs have been shielded with Al foil filters. The application of large-bandgap semiconductor detectors (>3 eV) ensured cutting of the plasma-emitted visible and soft-UV radiation and enhancing the sensitivity to the very fast proton/ion beams. Employing the IEA spectrometer, various ion species and charge states in the expanding laser-plasma have been determined. Processing of the experimental data based on the TOF technique, including estimation of the plasma fast proton maximum and peak energy, ion beam currents and total charge, total number of fast protons, as well as deconvolution processes, ion stopping power, and ion/photon transmission calculations for the different metallic filters used, are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel x-ray laser (XRL) application, aimed at understanding the microscopic effects involved in formation of laser-induced damage in optical materials exposed to high-power sub-ns laser pulses, is presented. Standard fused silica substrates with permanent damage threshold below 20 J/cm2, when irradiated by 438 nm laser pulses, were probed in situ by a neonlike zinc XRL at 21.2 nm. The probing beamline employed a double Lloyd’s mirror x-ray interferometer, used in conjunction with an imaging mirror to achieve magnification of ∼8. In conjunction with an array of in situ optical diagnostics, the main question addressed is whether the damage on the rear surface of the beamsplitter is transient or permanent. The second issue, examined by both the x-ray interferometric microscopy and the optical diagnostics, is whether a local rear-surface modification is associated with nonlinear effects such as self-focusing or filamentation of the damaging laser beam in the bulk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]