Ramiro Escamilla

Bio: Ramiro Escamilla is an academic researcher from University of Texas at Austin. The author has contributed to research in topics: Chirped pulse amplification & Laser. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 8 publications receiving 192 citations.

Demonstration of a 1.1 petawatt laser based on a hybrid optical parametric chirped pulse amplification/mixed Nd:glass amplifier

Abstract: We present the design and performance of the Texas Petawatt Laser, which produces a 186 J167 fs pulse based on the combination of optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) and mixed Nd:glass amplification. OPCPA provides the majority of the gain and is used to broaden and shape the seed spectrum, while amplification in Nd:glass accounts for >99% of the final pulse energy. Compression is achieved with highly efficient multilayer dielectric gratings.

Self-injected petawatt laser-driven plasma electron acceleration in 10 17 cm −3 plasma

Abstract: We report observation of electron self-injection and acceleration in a plasma accelerator driven by the Texas petawatt laser at 1017 cm−3 plasma density, an order of magnitude lower density than previous self-injected laser-plasma accelerators.

Adaptive optics on Petawatt lasers; current performance of the Texas Petawatt Laser

Abstract: In this paper, we report on current developments aimed at improving the focusability of the Texas Petawatt Laser. Two major campaigns have been commissioned that address the issue of focusability. First, we implemented a closed loop, 32 actuator bi-moprh deformable mirror (DFM) to compensate for aberrations in the optical train and second, a color corrector lens assembly was installed that compensates for chromatic errors accumulated in broadband (>15 nm), large aperture (>20 cm) laser systems. We will present in detail, pre and post correction results with the DFM and describe challenges faced when one activates a single shot, high energy closed loop system. Secondly, we will provide modeling and experimental results of our color correction system. This is a novel approach to a problem only seen in high energy, broadband, large aperture laser pulses. By using color correction optics we have demonstrated a 6X increase in focal intensity. With the installation of the DFM, the rms wavefront error in the system was reduced from 2.4 waves to .131 waves, further increasing intensities seen at focus by 1 order of magnitude.

Activation of a 1.1 Petawatt hybrid, OPCPA-Nd:glass laser

Abstract: We report on the activation of the 1.1 Petawatt Laser (190 J, 170 fs) based on optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) and mixed Nd:glass amplification.

1.1 Petawatt Hybrid, OPCPA-Nd:glass Laser Demonstrated

Abstract: We demonstrated a 1.1 Petawatt Laser (186 J, 167 fs) based on optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) and mixed Nd:glass amplification, which is to our knowledge currently the highest power operating laser.

Quasi-monoenergetic laser-plasma acceleration of electrons to 2 GeV

Abstract: Laser-plasma accelerators can produce high-energy electron bunches over just a few centimetres of distance, offering possible table-top accelerator capabilities. Wang et al. break the current 1 GeV barrier by applying a petawatt laser to accelerate electrons nearly monoenergetically up to 2 GeV.

Petawatt and exawatt class lasers worldwide

Abstract: In the 2015 review paper 'Petawatt Class Lasers Worldwide' a comprehensive overview of the current status of highpower facilities of >200 TW was presented. This was largely based on facility specifications, with some description of their uses, for instance in fundamental ultra-high-intensity interactions, secondary source generation, and inertial confinement fusion (ICF). With the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded to Professors Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou for the development of the technique of chirped pulse amplification (CPA), which made these lasers possible, we celebrate by providing a comprehensive update of the current status of ultra-high-power lasers and demonstrate how the technology has developed. We are now in the era of multi-petawatt facilities coming online, with 100 PW lasers being proposed and even under construction. In addition to this there is a pull towards development of industrial and multidisciplinary applications, which demands much higher repetition rates, delivering high-average powers with higher efficiencies and the use of alternative wavelengths: mid-IR facilities. So apart from a comprehensive update of the current global status, we want to look at what technologies are to be deployed to get to these new regimes, and some of the critical issues facing their development.

Petawatt class lasers worldwide

Abstract: The use of ultra-high intensity laser beams to achieve extreme material states in the laboratory has become almost routine with the development of the petawatt laser. Petawatt class lasers have been constructed for specific research activities, including particle acceleration, inertial confinement fusion and radiation therapy, and for secondary source generation (x-rays, electrons, protons, neutrons and ions). They are also now routinely coupled, and synchronized, to other large scale facilities including megajoule scale lasers, ion and electron accelerators, x-ray sources and z-pinches. The authors of this paper have tried to compile a comprehensive overview of the current status of petawatt class lasers worldwide. The definition of ‘petawatt class’ in this context is a laser that delivers .

Realization of laser intensity over 10 23 W/cm 2

Abstract: High-intensity lasers are critical for the exploration of strong field quantum electrodynamics. We report here a demonstration of laser intensity exceeding ${{1}}{{{0}}^{23}}\;{\rm{W}}/{\rm{cm}}^2$ with the CoReLS petawatt (PW) laser. After wavefront correction and tight focusing with a two-stage adaptive optical system and an f/1.1 ($f = {{300}}\;{\rm{mm}}$) off-axis parabolic mirror, we obtained near diffraction-limited focusing with a spot size of 1.1 µm (FWHM). From the measurement of 80 consecutive laser shots at 0.1 Hz, we achieved a peak intensity of $({1.1} \;{{\pm}}\; {0.2}) \times {{1}}{{{0}}^{23}}\;{\rm{W}}/{\rm{cm}}^2$, verifying the applicability of the ultrahigh intensity PW laser for ultrahigh intensity laser–matter interactions. From the statistical analysis of the PW laser shots, we identified that the intensity fluctuation originated from air turbulence in the laser beam path and beam pointing. Our achievement could accelerate the study of strong field quantum electrodynamics by enabling exploration of nonlinear Compton scattering and Breit–Wheeler pair production.

Space–time characterization of ultra-intense femtosecond laser beams

Abstract: Femtosecond lasers can now deliver ultrahigh intensities at focus, making it possible to induce relativistic motion of charged particles with light and opening the way to new generations of compact particle accelerators and X-ray sources. With diameters of up to tens of centimetres, ultra-intense laser beams tend to suffer from spatiotemporal distortions, that is, a spatial dependence of their temporal properties that can dramatically reduce their peak intensities. At present, however, these intense electromagnetic fields are characterized and optimized in space and time separately. Here, we present the first complete spatiotemporal experimental reconstruction of the field E(t,r) for a 100 TW peak-power laser, and reveal the spatiotemporal distortions that can affect such beams. This new measurement capability opens the way to in-depth characterization and optimization of ultra-intense lasers and ultimately to the advanced control of relativistic motion of matter with femtosecond laser beams structured in space–time. The complete spatiotemporal characterization of a 100-TW laser beam highlights distortions that must be taken into account for present and future generations of ultra-intense lasers.