Wave front correction and focusing optimization of partially thermalized Nd:glass high power CPA laser

Summary form only given. Because of spatial phase aberrations, ultra-intense laser systems with peak power in the 10 TW-1 PW range are difficult to focus close to the diffraction limit. Reaching this goal is an important task when trying to get the highest possible intensities (typically>10/sup 21/ W/cm/sup 2/). We previously demonstrated that the use of an adaptive optics (AO) technique has significantly improved the wave front quality of the LULI 100 TW chirped pulse amplification (CPA) Nd:glass laser. This AO system relies on a feedback loop coupling an achromatic three-wave lateral shearing interferometer (ATWLSI) as a wave front sensor, and an optically addressed light valve (OALV)-developed by Thomson CSF-as a wave front corrector.