Abstract. The beam combination method using stimulated Brillouin scattering phase conjugation mirrors (SBS-PCMs) is a promising technique for a commercial laser fusion driver operated with a high repetition rate around 10 Hz. The phase control of the SBS wave is essential for realization of the coherent beam combined output in the beam combination. For this reason, we proposed the 'self-phase control technique' of the stimulated Brillouin scattering wave, and its principle has been demonstrated experimentally over the past several years. In this work, the experiments are performed for the phase stabilization of wave-front dividing two-beam and four-beam combined systems by reducing the beam pointing fluctuation of the laser source using a beam expansion.

PACS numbers: 42.65.Es, 42.65.Hw, 52.57.−z, 42.60.−v

Print publication: Issue 12 (December 2009)
Received 31 December 2008, accepted for publication 25 September 2009
Published 22 October 2009