Laser non-uniformity smoothing using gas jets

An experimental investigation about laser beam homogenization using gas jets is presented in this paper. The results, obtained at PALS iodine laser facility using the 3 omega wavelength and irradiances of about 10(15) W/cm(2), showed that the use of high pressure gas jets (up to 10 bar of Argon) can be effective in reducing strong laser beam non-uniformities artificially introduced by inserting a wedge arrangement on half of the beam.