Plasma Electrode Pockels Cells for the Beamlet and NIF Lasers
Fusion Science and Technology / Volume 26 / Number 3P2 / November 1994 / Pages 791-798
National Ignition Facility / Proceedings of the Eleventh Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy New Orleans, Louisiana June 19-23, 1994 / dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST94-A40251
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We describe Plasma Electrode Pockels Cells (PEPC) for the Beamlet laser and the proposed National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser. These PEPCs, together with passive polarizers, function as large aperture (>35 × 35 cm2) optical switches enabling the design of high-energy (>5 kJ), multipass laser amplifiers. In a PEPC, plasma discharges form on both sides of a thin (1 cm) electro-optic crystal (KDP). These plasma discharges produce highly conductive and transparent electrodes that facilitate rapid (<100 ns) and uniform charging of the KDP up to the half-wave voltage (17 kV) and back to zero volts. We discuss the operating principles, design, and optical performance of the Beamlet PEPC and briefly discuss our plans to extend PEPC technology for the NIF.
