Quick Shot
The Midscale Plasma-Electrode Pockels Cell Project
February 28, 2022
The midscale PEPC with the project’s team: Sam Agnello, Wade Bittle, Noah Carrier, Kyle Gibney, Jeff Hettrick, Brian Kruschwitz,
Gary Mitchell, Mark Romanofsky, David Nelson, John Sczepanski, Gary Wagner, and Troy Walker
A midscale plasma-electrode Pockels cell (PEPC) has been developed for the fourth-generation laser for ultra-broadband experiments (FLUX). The PEPC switches the polarization of a laser pulse to trap it for a controllable number of round trips in the active multipass imaging cavity amplifier (AMICA) and ultimately release it in conjunction with a polarizing beam splitter. The midscale PEPC builds on LLE’s experience developing the high-contrast PEPC in the OMEGA EP Laser System and is based on a technology invented at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The width of the KDP switch crystal being reduced from 410 mm to 270 mm allows for reduced capacitance and, consequently, faster switching to enable its use in more-compact laser systems.