A Variable-Radius, Cryogenically-Formed, Gas-filled Capillary Discharge Waveguide

ORAL

Abstract

We report the development and initial guiding results of a variable-radius, cryogenically-formed, gas-filled capillary discharge waveguide. The channel was created by freezing nitrous oxide gas onto the inner walls of a sapphire capillary such that the channel radius could be adjusted in situ by controlling the freezing process. We demonstrate guiding of low-power laser pulses through a 6 cm-long waveguide with varying channel diameters. Through measurements of the pulse energy transmission, the ability to control the matched spot size with the ice layer thickness was shown with experiments and magnetohydrodynamic simulations. This work was supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract Nos. DE-AC02-05CH11231 and DE-FG02- 12ER41798,~ the NSF, and the project High Field Initiative (Grant No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15 003/0000449) from the European Regional Development Fund.

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Authors

  • Kelly Swanson

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, LBNL

  • Anthony Gonsalves

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, LBNL, Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Hann-Shin Mao

    nLIGHT | Nutronics, nLIGHT Nutronics

  • Tyler Sipla

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Christopher Pieronek

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Carlo Benedetti

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • S. S. Bulanov

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, LBNL, USA, Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Nadezhda Bobrova

    Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics RAS

  • Pavel Sasorov

    Institute of Physics ASCR, v.v.i. (FZU), ELI-Beamlines Project; Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics RAS

  • G. Korn

    Inst. Physics of the ASCR, ELI Beamlines, Prague, Czech Republic, Institute of Physics ASCR, Institute of Physics ASCR, v.v.i. (FZU), ELI-Beamlines Project

  • Cameron G. R. Geddes

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Carl Schroeder

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UCB; LBNL, Berkeley National Laboratory, BELLA Center, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • E Esarey

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, BELLA Center, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Wim Leemans

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, DESY