GHz Burst Mode Ultrashort Pulse Laser

High energy pulsed lasers are being pursued as a potential directed energy solution for several relevant threats including asymmetric UAS warfare, long and intermediate range missiles, and enemy ISR. However, many of these sources operate within a narrow set of pulse parameters. Exploring new pulse format modalities has the potential to unlock new lethality mechanisms by exploiting laser-material interactions across multiple time scales. A primary example is the use of high energy ultrafast GHz bursts, which have shown enhanced capabilities for applications including laser RF generation, supercontinuum generation, and rapid laser ablation. These promising demonstrations have been achieved by large laboratory systems that do not offer sufficient transportability or tunability required for a deployed platform. The laser system proposed here will bridge this gap by scaling total energy, number of pulses within a GHz burst, and on-the-fly waveform tunability within a compact commercial architecture. This system will also be used to demonstrate and characterize the many appealing ultrafast GHz burst effects as laser energy is scaled, a necessity for evaluation against real threat scenarios.