Abstract

Large laser systems for fusion research employ disk laser amplifiers at the output of each amplifier chain owing to the superior nonlinear performance of large-aperture (d > 10-cm) disk amplifiers over rod amplifiers of the same aperture. This superior performance arises from three sources:

(1) generally higher attainable gain coefficients;

(2) reduction in beam intensity inside the Brewster’s angle disks; and

(3) the air spaces between successive disks permitting diffraction to diverge small-scale self-focusing filaments.

© 1976 Optical Society of America