Precision short-pulse damage test station utilizing optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification

The next generation of high-energy petawatt (HEPW)-class lasers will utilize multilayer dielectric diffraction gratings for pulse compression, due to their high efficiency and high damage threshold for picosecond pulses. The peak power of HEPW lasers will be determined by the aperture and damage threshold of the final dielectric grating in the pulse compressor and final focusing optics. We have developed a short-pulse damage test station for accurate determination of the damage threshold of the optics used on future HEPW lasers. Our damage test station is based on a highly stable, high-beam-quality optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier (OPCPA) operating at 1053 nm at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. We present the design of our OPCPA system pumped by a commercial Q-switched pump laser and the results of the full system characterization. Initial short-pulse damage experiments in the far field using our system have been performed. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.