Gas and Plasma Optics for High-Power Lasers and Fusion Energy

Abstract:

Our ability to build and use more powerful lasers, whether high-repetition-rate petawatt systems for particle accelerators, exawatt-class lasers capable of probing Schwinger-limit fields, or megajoule inertial-fusion drivers with target-facing final optics, is fundamentally limited by the damage thresholds of the dielectric coatings, glass, and metal that make up modern optics. Here, we will discuss how gases and plasmas can be shaped into precision optics suitable for our most powerful and energetic lasers, providing both ultra-high damage thresholds and resistance to the neutron and debris fluxes that will be present in an inertial fusion plant. We will show recent experimental, computational, and analytic results on the performance of gas and plasma diffraction gratings and lenses, including demonstrations of efficiency and stability comparable to the capabilities of standard solid-state optics. We will then discuss designs for plasma-based laser systems and how these ultra-robust optics solve a key challenge in delivering laser energy to inertial fusion experiments.

Bio:

Matthew Edwards is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. He received BSE, MA, and PhD degrees from Princeton University in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. From 2019 to 2022 he was a Lawrence Fellow in the National Ignition Facility and Photon Science Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.