Arbitrary Control and Characterization of Laser Waveforms and Interactions at Picosecond Resolution over Long Record Lengths

Ryan Muir | 18-ERD-029

Project Overview

The need for enhanced control and characterization capabilities for high-energy-density (HED) and inertial confinement fusion lasers is growing in terms of user-defined optical arbitrary waveforms and measurement of rapid experimental optical signatures. However, no demonstrated options exist for the generation of long-duration optical waveforms or measurement of long-duration experimental optical signatures with picosecond (ps) features. We demonstrated a novel extension of optical arbitrary waveform generation to meet this need. Our completely linear method, called Space-Time Induced Linearly Encoded Transcription for Temporal Optimization (STILETTO), is based on direct space-to-time mapping. A programmable spatial light modulator (SLM) was used to directly scribe the temporal profile, and the SLM was iteratively updated to converge to a user-defined temporal record after several automated iterations. The final arbitrary waveform has a resolution of 1 ps and a record length of greater than 600 ps. Record lengths exceeding 1 nanosecond are expected with further refinement of the STILETTO system.

Mission Impact

Our research aligns with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's stockpile stewardship mission and the Laboratory's core competency in HED science, including its research regarding inertial confinement fusion and techniques for mitigating plasma interaction. In addition, the work supports Livermore's core competency in lasers and optical science and technology.

Publications, Presentations, and Patents

Heebner, J. and B. Aleyan. "Arbitrary pulse shaping with picosecond resolution over multiple-nanosecond records." U.S. Patent Application No. 16/084,160.

Mittelberger, D., et. al. 2019a. "Frequency-to-time optical arbitrary waveform generator." Opt. Lett. 2863-2866. doi:10.1364/OL.44.002863. LLNL-JRNL-771042.

——— 2019b. "Arbitrary Optical Waveform Generation by Nonlinear Frequency-to-Time Conversion." OSA Technical Digest. Optical Society of America. SM4O.3. doi:10.1364/CLEO_SI.2019.SM4O.3. LLNL-PRES-773252

——— 2020. "Space-Time Induced Linearly Encoded Transcription for Temporal Optimization (STILETTO)." U.S. Patent Application No. US16/796,564.