Wavefront shaping optics for laser-generated plasma heating

The use of pupil plane phase masks provides a useful and efficient method of manipulating focal region light distributions. Such masks have found application in the telecommunication sector, including the use of Fourier plane replicating holograms for weighted beamlet array generation for the addressing of optoelectronic devices. Rather than modifying the focal pattern at the focal plane, the through focus intensity distribution may also be controlled with an appropriately designed phase mask. In a high numerical aperture optical system, as is used for laser generated plasma X-ray sources, such phase mask can extend the depth of focus of the irradiating laser beam, to achieve more uniform plasma heating and consequently, a better shot-to-shot repeatability from the X-ray source.