Simultaneous stimulated Raman, Brillouin, and electron-acoustic scattering reveals a potential saturation mechanism in Raman plasma amplifiers

Abstract

In a Raman plasma amplifier, the aim is to create plasma conditions in which Raman backscattering is the fastest growing instability, outrunning all competing effects so that it is possible to amplify and compress a laser beam to unprecedented unfocused intensities by utilizing that instability. However, achieving high efficiencies via this scheme has proven very difficult experimentally. Recent data show the simultaneous occurrence of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), and stimulated electron-acoustic scattering (SEAS). The appearance of SEAS is indicative of strong particle trapping, the existence of which is hard to justify without highlighting the interplay between SRS and SBS.