1980

OMEGA 24-Beam Laser System Complete
In January 1980, the construction of the 24-beam OMEGA uniform-irradiation facility was completed and a series of 24-beam performance tests were conducted and validated by a Department of Energy review. The system demonstrated a short-pulse power of 12.2 TW at a pulse width of 53 ps (minimum specified 7.5 TW) and a long-pulse energy of 1.76 kJ at a pulse width of 273 ps (minimum specified was 1.2 kJ).

Patent For Frequency-Tripling Technique
On May 1, 1980, a patent application was filed for a frequency-tripling technique invented by LLE scientist R. S. Craxton (US Patent 4,346,314, issued August 24, 1982). The technique was first demonstrated experimentally on the Glass Development Laser (GDL) system at LLE; two papers on the subject were published in Optics Communications in September 1980. This frequency-tripling technique rapidly became a means of choice to significantly enhance the effectiveness of existing and soon-to-be-built high-power Nd:glass laser systems including OMEGA, Nova, OMEGA Upgrade, GEKKO of Japan, Ligne d’Integration Laser (LIL), Laser Mégajoule (LMJ) of France, and the National Ignition Facility (NIF).

R. S. Craxton, “High Power Efficient Frequency Conversion of Coherent Radiation with Nonlinear Optical Elements,” U. S. Patent No. 4,346,314 (1 May 1980).

R. S. Craxton, “Theory of High Efficiency Third Harmonic Generation of High Power Nd-Glass Laser Radiation,” Opt. Commun. 34 (3), 474–478 (1980).

W. Seka, S. D. Jacobs, J. E. Rizzo, R. Boni, and R. S. Craxton, “Demonstration of High Efficiency Third Harmonic Conversion of High Power Nd:Glass Laser Radiation,” Opt. Commun. 34, 3469–473 (1980).

Third-Harmonic Generation
Efficient third-harmonic generationwas demonstrated at LLE on the Glass Development Laser.