Efficient mid-IR to THz pulse generation using a TW-class Cr-ZnS-ZnSe laser

Abstract

We propose the development and subsequent application of a novel greater than 100 GW, 2.4 microm, Cr-ZnSe master-oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) system to efficiently generate mid-IR to THz radiation to study high-intensity light matter interactions at the wavelength frontier . This Cr-ZnSe MOPA will be developed through a collaboration between the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics (UR LLE) and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and will be the basis of a newly developed Infrared Intense Sources (IRIS) laboratory at the UR LLE. This ultrafast mid-IR laser system will intially be applied to efficiently generate 0.1 - 1 ps, mid-IR to THz, pulses via nonlinear optical interactions in crystals and plasma. The nonlinear optics of crystals and plasmas driven by high-intensity mid-IR light will be elucidated by comparing these experimental results to detailed numerical simulations using the unidirectional pulse propagation equation (UPPE) and particle-in-cell (PIC) codes.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Feb 06, 2025
Source ID
FA95502410160

Entities

People

  • Jeremy Pigeon

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • United States Air Force
  • University of Rochester

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Academic Conference Management
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy