Laser beam wavefront correction for ultra high intensities with the 200 TW laser system at the Advanced Laser Light Source

We successfully implemented laser beam wavefront correction on the 200 TW laser system at the Advanced Laser Light Source. Ultra high intensities in excess of 10(20) W/cm(2) have been demonstrated. This system is, to our knowledge, the first 100 TW class laser to combine simultaneously ultra high intensity, 10(9) laser pulse contrast ratio and 10 Hz high repetition rate. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.