Optimization of the dynamic wavefront control of a pulsed kilojoule/nanosecond-petawatt laser facility.

The wavefront aberrations in a large-scale, flash-lamp-pumped, high-energy, high-power glass laser system can degrade considerably the quality of the final focal spot, and limit severely the repetition rate. The various aberrations induced on the Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses (LULI), laser facility (LULI2000) throughout the amplification are identified and analyzed in detail. Based on these analyses, an optimized procedure for dynamic wavefront control is then designed and implemented.