Spatio-temporal focal spot characterization and modeling of the NIF ARC kilojoule picosecond laser.

The advanced radiographic capability (ARC) laser system, part of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is a short-pulse laser capability integrated into the NIF. The ARC is designed to provide adjustable pulse lengths of ∼1-38 in four independent beamlets, each with energies up to 1 kJ (depending on pulse duration). A detailed model of the ARC lasers has been developed that predicts the time- and space-resolved focal spots on target for each shot.

Sluggish light for radio-frequency true-time-delay applications with a large time-bandwidth product.

A new radio-frequency (RF) photonic technique for achieving large RF time delays has been experimentally demonstrated using femtosecond pulses modulated by an acousto-optic tunable filter in a frequency-mapped and Doppler-shifted modulation scheme. A short optical delay line with length of 240 mum produces nearly 3 micros RF time delay after optical heterodyne detection, resulting in an effective slow-light velocity of 86 m/s. A delay-to-pulse-width ratio of 20 based on this technique has been observed, with a larger fractional delay foreseeable.