TEMPORAL CONTRAST IN TI-SAPPHIRE LASERS - CHARACTERIZATION AND CONTROL

As ultrafast lasers achieve ever higher focused intensities on target, the problem of ensuring a clean laser-solid interaction becomes more pressing. In this paper, we give concrete examples of the deleterious effects of low-contrast interactions, and address the problem of subpi cosecond laser intensity contrast ratio on both characterization and c ontrol fronts, We present the new technique of high-dynamic-range plas ma-shuttered streak camera contrast measurement, as well as two effici ent and relatively inexpensive ways of improving the contrast of short pulse lasers without sacrificing on the output energy: a double-pass Pockels cell (PC), and clean high-energy-pulse seeding of the regenera tive amplifier.