Wavefront Correction on a New Generation Multichannel High-Power Laser Facility

Abstract

We report an investigation of an adaptive system designed to correct the wavefront of laser beams up to 400 × 400 mm in size using a new generation multichannel laser facility. An algorithm is developed for the operation of the adaptive system to determine and correct wavefront aberrations of the laser beam in the amplification path without and with pumping slabs based on neodymium phosphate glass. Characteristic thermal aberrations of the amplification path that occur under slabs pumping are presented. A possibility of compensating for thermal aberrations in the amplifier path and the formation of a laser beam with an energy of up to 25 kJ and wavefront parameters of PV ≈ 1.4 μm and RMS ≈ 0.2 μm are experimentally demonstrated.