ON A PULSE COMPRESSOR WITH GRATINGS HAVING ARBITRARY ORIENTATION

An exact calculation of residual angular dispersion due to a grating p air pulse compressor has been carried out for the most general case wh ich includes any position of the grating planes with respect to each o ther as well as any rotation of the grating rules. This investigation also estimates the effects of compressor misalignment on the focusabil ity and temporal compressibility of the pulse. A method is also propos ed for the precise alignment of a grating compressor. The results have been applied to the design of a chirped pulse amplification scheme on a large KrF laser.