Plasma-grating-based laser pulse compression

A chirped plasma-based grating is proposed for compressing laser pulses in high-power laser systems to prevent damage. This grating is generated through the interaction of chirped pump laser pulses in a plasma slab. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations demonstrate that the grating lasts long enough to be utilized in the final chirped pulse amplification (CPA) stage. The generation of the grating is flexible, allowing adjustments to parameters such as plasma density, chirp, length, and pump laser intensity. The structure of the grating is analyzed in terms of the ponderomotive effects of the pump laser pulses. Its primary application lies in compressing laser pulses to high amplitudes and short durations after they have been stretched and amplified. The compression factor is explored concerning potential grating parameters. Reflectivity and effective bandwidth are critical parameters to optimize, with spectral bandwidth increases coming at the expense of reflectivity. PIC results are clarified through model calculations based on coupled mode equations.