The Trident Laser consisted of three main laser chains (A,B, and C) of neodymium glass amplifiers (or Nd:glass), two identical longpulse beams lines, A&B, and a third beamline, C, that could be operated either in longpulse or in chirped pulse amplification (CPA) shortpulse mode.[2]
Longpulse beams A and B, were laser chains capable of delivering up to ~500 J at 1054 nm, which were frequency doubled to 527 nm and ~200 J depending on pulse duration; the pulse duration could be varied from 100 ps to 1 μs, and was a unique capability of any large laser in the US (and possibly the world). The third laser chain, beamline C, could produce up to ~200 J at 1054 nm, or could be frequency doubled to 527 nm at ~100 J in the longpulse mode with the same pulse duration variability as beams A and B; or could be used in the Trident enhancement configuration allowing the ~200 J beam to be compressed via CPA to ~600 fs and ~100 J, producing powers on the scale of a quarter petawatt(~200 TW) with a host of laser and plasma diagnostics.[3] A 100 mJ 500 fs probe beamline is also available.
The 200TW shortpulse ultra high-intensity laser system is currently a world record holder in ion acceleration energy with Target Normal Sheath Acceleration mechanism,[4] producing protons at 58.5 MeV from a flat-foil,[5] beating the record of the NOVA Petawatt laser back in 1999;[6] and 67.5 MeV protons from micro-cone targets.[7][8] Trident delivers Petawatt performance at a fifth of the power. The 200TW or C beam is capable of focusing down to less than 10 micrometers in diameter to reach laser field intensities (irradiance) of ~2x1020 W/cm2, producing protons over 50 MeV[9] as well as high quality, high energy xrays.[10] The interaction can be diagnosed with a Backscatter Focal Diagnostics [11] similar to a Full Aperture Back-scatter (FABS)[12] diagnostic at the National Ignition Facility. A new front-end for the laser employs a 2nd order cleaning technique, dubbed SPOPA (for Short-Pulse Optical Parametric Amplification) cleaning, which reduces the contrast to better than 10−9 ASE intensity ratio, making it one of the cleanest ultra high-intensity high-power laser in the world.[13]
The laser was being used for Fast Ignition ICF research, warm dense matter experiments, materials dynamics studies, and laser-matter interaction research, including particle acceleration, x-ray backlighting and laser-plasma instabilities (LPI).
^Moncur, N. K.; Johnson, R. P.; Watt, R. G.; Gibson, R. B. (20 July 1995). "Trident: a versatile high-power Nd:glass laser facility for inertial confinement fusion experiments". Applied Optics. 34 (21): 4274–83. Bibcode:1995ApOpt..34.4274M. doi:10.1364/AO.34.004274. PMID21052257.
^Batha, S. H.; Aragonez, R.; Archuleta, F. L.; Archuleta, T. N.; Benage, J. F.; Cobble, J. A.; Cowan, J. S.; Fatherley, V. E.; Flippo, K. A.; Gautier, D. C.; Gonzales, R. P.; Greenfield, S. R.; Hegelich, B. M.; Hurry, T. R.; Johnson, R. P.; Kline, J. L.; Letzring, S. A.; Loomis, E. N.; Lopez, F. E.; Luo, S. N.; Montgomery, D. S.; Oertel, J. A.; Paisley, D. L.; Reid, S. M.; Sanchez, P. G.; Seifter, A.; Shimada, T.; Workman, J. B. (1 January 2008). "TRIDENT high-energy-density facility experimental capabilities and diagnostics". Review of Scientific Instruments. 79 (10): 10F305. Bibcode:2008RScI...79jF305B. doi:10.1063/1.2972020. PMID19044618.
^Flippo, K. A.; Workman, J.; Gautier, D. C.; Letzring, S.; Johnson, R. P.; Shimada, T. (1 January 2008). "Scaling laws for energetic ions from the commissioning of the new Los Alamos National Laboratory 200 TW Trident laser". Review of Scientific Instruments. 79 (10): 10E534. Bibcode:2008RScI...79jE534F. doi:10.1063/1.2987678. PMID19044515.
^Snavely, R.; Key, M.; Hatchett, S.; Cowan, T.; Roth, M.; Phillips, T.; Stoyer, M.; Henry, E.; Sangster, T.; Singh, M.; Wilks, S.; MacKinnon, A.; Offenberger, A.; Pennington, D.; Yasuike, K.; Langdon, A.; Lasinski, B.; Johnson, J.; Perry, M.; Campbell, E. (1 October 2000). "Intense High-Energy Proton Beams from Petawatt-Laser Irradiation of Solids". Physical Review Letters. 85 (14): 2945–2948. Bibcode:2000PhRvL..85.2945S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.85.2945. PMID11005974.
^Flippo, K. A.; d'Humières, E.; Gaillard, S. A.; Rassuchine, J.; Gautier, D. C.; Schollmeier, M.; Nürnberg, F.; Kline, J. L.; Adams, J.; Albright, B.; Bakeman, M.; Harres, K.; Johnson, R. P.; Korgan, G.; Letzring, S.; Malekos, S.; Renard-LeGalloudec, N.; Sentoku, Y.; Shimada, T.; Roth, M.; Cowan, T. E.; Fernández, J. C.; Hegelich, B. M. (1 January 2008). "Increased efficiency of short-pulse laser-generated proton beams from novel flat-top cone targets". Physics of Plasmas. 15 (5): 056709. Bibcode:2008PhPl...15e6709F. doi:10.1063/1.2918125.
^Flippo, K. A.; Workman, J.; Gautier, D. C.; Letzring, S.; Johnson, R. P.; Shimada, T. (1 January 2008). "Scaling laws for energetic ions from the commissioning of the new Los Alamos National Laboratory 200 TW Trident laser". Review of Scientific Instruments. 79 (10): 10E534. Bibcode:2008RScI...79jE534F. doi:10.1063/1.2987678. PMID19044515.
^Workman, J.; Cobble, J.; Flippo, K.; Gautier, D. C.; Letzring, S. (1 January 2008). "High-energy, high-resolution x-ray imaging on the Trident short-pulse laser facility". Review of Scientific Instruments. 79 (10): 10E905. Bibcode:2008RScI...79jE905W. doi:10.1063/1.2965012. PMID19044560.
^Gautier, D. C.; Flippo, K. A.; Letzring, S. A.; Shimada, J. Workman T.; Johnson, R. P.; Hurry, T. R.; Gaillard, S. A.; Hegelich, B. M. (1 January 2008). "A novel backscatter focus diagnostic for the TRIDENT 200 TW laser". Review of Scientific Instruments. 79 (10): 10F547. Bibcode:2008RScI...79jF547G. doi:10.1063/1.2979881. PMID19044689.
^Shah, Rahul C.; Johnson, Randall P.; Shimada, Tsutomu; Flippo, Kirk A.; Fernandez, Juan C.; Hegelich, B. M. (1 August 2009). "High-temporal contrast using low-gain optical parametric amplification". Optics Letters. 34 (15): 2273–5. Bibcode:2009OptL...34.2273S. doi:10.1364/OL.34.002273. OSTI960915. PMID19649068.
^Schaeffer, D. B.; Everson, E. T.; Winske, D.; Constantin, C. G.; Bondarenko, A. S.; Morton, L. A.; Flippo, K. A.; Montgomery, D. S.; Gaillard, S. A.; Niemann, C. (1 January 2012). "Generation of magnetized collisionless shocks by a novel, laser-driven magnetic piston". Physics of Plasmas. 19 (7): 070702. Bibcode:2012PhPl...19g0702S. doi:10.1063/1.4736846.
^Flippo, Kirk A.; Gaillard, Sandrine A.; Cowan, Joseph S.; Gautier, D. Cort; Mucino, J. Eduardo; Lowenstern, Mariano E. (1 November 2011). "Overcritical to Underdense Plasma in Under 1 μm: 150 TW Laser-Thin-Target Interactions for Particle Acceleration". IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science. 39 (11): 2428–2429. Bibcode:2011ITPS...39.2428F. doi:10.1109/TPS.2011.2163426. S2CID41645210.
^Niemann, Christoph; Bondarenko, Anton S.; Constantin, Carmen G.; Everson, Erik T.; Flippo, Kirk A.; Gaillard, Sandrine A.; Johnson, Randall P.; Letzring, Samuel A.; Montgomery, David S.; Morton, Lucas A.; Schaeffer, Derek B.; Shimada, Tsutomu; Winske, Dan (1 November 2011). "Collisionless Shocks in a Large Magnetized Laser-Plasma Plume". IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science. 39 (11): 2406–2407. Bibcode:2011ITPS...39.2406N. doi:10.1109/TPS.2011.2162007. S2CID28559709.
^Workman, J.; Cobble, J.; Flippo, K.; Gautier, D. C.; Montgomery, D. S.; Offermann, D. T. (1 January 2010). "Phase-contrast imaging using ultrafast x-rays in laser-shocked materials". Review of Scientific Instruments. 81 (10): 10E520. Bibcode:2010RScI...81jE520W. doi:10.1063/1.3485109. OSTI1013598. PMID21034048.
^Kline, J. L.; Montgomery, D. S.; Flippo, K. A.; Johnson, R. P.; Rose, H. A.; Shimada, T.; Williams, E. A. (1 January 2008). "Using a short-pulse diffraction-limited laser beam to probe filamentation of a random phase plate smoothed beam". Review of Scientific Instruments. 79 (10): 10F551. Bibcode:2008RScI...79jF551K. doi:10.1063/1.2955927. PMID19044693.
^Schollmeier, M.; Becker, S.; Geißel, M.; Flippo, K.; Blažević, A.; Gaillard, S.; Gautier, D.; Grüner, F.; Harres, K.; Kimmel, M.; Nürnberg, F.; Rambo, P.; Schramm, U.; Schreiber, J.; Schütrumpf, J.; Schwarz, J.; Tahir, N.; Atherton, B.; Habs, D.; Hegelich, B.; Roth, M. (1 August 2008). "Controlled Transport and Focusing of Laser-Accelerated Protons with Miniature Magnetic Devices". Physical Review Letters. 101 (5): 055004. Bibcode:2008PhRvL.101e5004S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.055004. PMID18764401.
^Schollmeier, M.; Harres, K.; Nürnberg, F.; Blažević, A.; Audebert, P.; Brambrink, E.; Fernández, J. C.; Flippo, K. A.; Gautier, D. C.; Geißel, M.; Hegelich, B. M.; Schreiber, J.; Roth, M. (1 January 2008). "Laser beam-profile impression and target thickness impact on laser-accelerated protons". Physics of Plasmas. 15 (5): 053101. Bibcode:2008PhPl...15e3101S. doi:10.1063/1.2912451.
^Kline, J. L.; Shimada, T.; Johnson, R. P.; Montgomery, D. S.; Hegelich, B. M.; Esquibel, D. M.; Flippo, K. A.; Gonzales, R. P.; Hurry, T. R.; Reid, S. L. (1 January 2007). "Short pulse laser train for laser plasma interaction experiments". Review of Scientific Instruments. 78 (8): 083501–083501–5. Bibcode:2007RScI...78h3501K. doi:10.1063/1.2760687. PMID17764320.
^Schollmeier, Marius; Roth, M.; Blazevic, A.; Brambrink, E.; Cobble, J.A.; Fernandez, J.C.; Flippo, K.A.; Gautier, D.C.; Habs, D.; Harres, K.; Hegelich, B.M.; Heßling, T.; Hoffmann, D.H.H.; Letzring, S.; Nürnberg, F.; Schaumann, G.; Schreiber, J.; Witte, K. (1 July 2007). "Laser ion acceleration with micro-grooved targets". Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. 577 (1–2): 186–190. Bibcode:2007NIMPA.577..186S. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2007.02.052.
^Yin, L.; Albright, B. J.; Hegelich, B. M.; Bowers, K. J.; Flippo, K. A.; Kwan, T. J. T.; Fernández, J. C. (1 January 2007). "Monoenergetic and GeV ion acceleration from the laser breakout afterburner using ultrathin targets". Physics of Plasmas. 14 (5): 056706. Bibcode:2007PhPl...14e6706Y. doi:10.1063/1.2436857.
^FERNÁNDEZ, JUAN C.; HEGELICH, B. MANUEL; COBBLE, JAMES A.; FLIPPO, KIRK A.; LETZRING, SAMUEL A.; JOHNSON, RANDALL P.; GAUTIER, D. CORT; SHIMADA, TSUTOMU; KYRALA, GEORGE A.; WANG, YONGQIANG; WETTELAND, CHRIS J.; SCHREIBER, JÖRG (30 August 2005). "Laser-ablation treatment of short-pulse laser targets: Toward an experimental program on energetic-ion interactions with dense plasmas". Laser and Particle Beams. 23 (3): 267. Bibcode:2005LPB....23..267F. doi:10.1017/S0263034605050287.