Work

Generation of stable, reflective plasma gratings from structured solid surfaces

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Plasma optics enable manipulation of ultra-intense laser pulses beyond the damage limits of conventional solid-state components. In high-power laser systems, diffraction grating damage thresholds constrain achievable energy, often requiring increased beam size in pulse compressors. While plasma gratings offer a promising alternative, existing implementations are limited by low operational fluence and poor stability. Here, we demonstrate a simple plasma grating generated from ionizing the surface of a solid grating. The plasma grating faithfully replicates the geometry of the underlying solid grating and is capable of handling input fluences up to 15 J/cm², achieving an operational efficiency of 36% with less than 0.3% standard deviation. Depending on the design of the solid grating, the operational efficiency may be dramatically improved to ~80%.

Source: Optics Express

DOI: 10.1364/oe.603936

Authors: Cheonha Jeon, Michael Spilatro, Benjamin Webb, Seung-Whan Bahk, Jake Bromage

Language: English

Topic: Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,270

Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy

Awards: Research Infrastructure: Midscale RI-1 (M1:DP): OMEGA-EP-Pumped Optical Parametric Amplifier Line (EP-OPAL) Facility Design, G5484809798