Plasma-breakdown retropulse isolators for the infrared

Abstract

The design and performance of a passive plasma isolator for suppressing retropulses in high-power CO(2) laser-fusion systems are described. The device uses a gas-filled spatial filter designed to produce a plasma at the focal plane iris. General design criteria for these isolators are discussed, and the performance of a specific isolator is evaluated. For the unit tested, retropulse attenuations of 33 dB for focal plane intensities of 1.5 TW/cm(2) have been demonstrated.