Abstract

Brillouin pulse compression has been proposed¹ as a viable means of efficiently compressing long-pulse excimer laser radiation into the short pulses required for laser fusion or other high-peak-power applications. Results of previous^2,3 and ongoing experiments are compared to simulations using a transient backward wave code which includes laser bandwidth effects by representing the laser field as an arbitrary sum over modes. Effects of transiency on limiting pulse widths are also examined. Constraints on system designs imposed by transiency, absorption, and transverse scattering in windows are also discussed.

© 1985 Optical Society of America