Achieving the laser intensity of 55×10²² W/cm² with a wavefront-corrected multi-PW laser

TLDR

The study used a wavefront‑corrected multi‑petawatt Ti:sapphire laser with two stages of deformable mirrors and an f/1.6 off‑axis parabolic mirror to tightly focus the beam and measure the focal spot profile. Wavefront correction yielded a Strehl ratio of ~0.4, a near‑diffraction‑limited spot of 1.5×1.8 µm², and a record peak intensity of 5.5×10^22 W/cm².

Abstract

The generation of ultrahigh intensity laser pulses was investigated by tightly focusing a wavefront-corrected multi-petawatt Ti:sapphire laser. For the wavefront correction of the PW laser, two stages of deformable mirrors were employed. The multi-PW laser beam was tightly focused by an f/1.6 off-axis parabolic mirror and the focal spot profile was measured. After the wavefront correction, the Strehl ratio was about 0.4, and the spot size in full width at half maximum was 1.5×1.8 μm2, close to the diffraction-limited value. The measured peak intensity was 5.5×1022 W/cm2, achieving the highest laser intensity ever reached.