Abstract

The technique of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) [1] has been successfully used to generate peak laser powers well beyond the terawatt region [2-4], These subpicosecond laser pulses when focused can produce intensities exceeding 10¹⁸ W/cm², thus giving access to new regimes of laser-matter interaction. Second harmonic generation (SHG) in nonlinear crystals is important because it extends the available wavelength range and significantly improves the contrast ratio. This is an important issue for high density laser-plasma experiments in which the fs-laser radiation should interact with the solid rather than with a pre-formed plasma.

© 1994 Optical Society of America