Development of a Broad Bandwidth 193 Nanometer Laser Driver for Inertial Confinement Fusion

Abstract The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has built a 137 Joule electron beam pumped argon fluoride (ArF) laser operating at 193 nanometers utilizing the Electra facility. This paper highlights initial ArF oscillator measurements in the context of significant benefits of ArF laser characterization for inertial confinement fusion target performance and development of a kinetics code with predictive capabilities. Other aspects of NRL's ArF laser development program, including large scale electron beam pumped ArF amplifier development and ArF optical transport, are discussed. Initial measurements were made utilizing a quadruple pass oscillator configuration constructed in the Electra facility with a nominal 100 cm2 aperture. Laser yields between 80 and 100 Joules, time-dependent laser intensity, and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) are reported over a range of gas pressure (0.8 – 1.4 atmospheres). Higher laser yields, 137 Joules, were attained in a non-optimized dual ArF oscillator configuration wherein the optical axis was rotated to conform to the measured electron beam deposition in the laser gas mixture.