Demonstration of the dual-tripler scheme for increased-bandwidth frequency tripling

Summary form only given. Beam-smoothing schemes for laser fusion, such as smoothing by spectral dispersion, requires a large bandwidth on the laser beams, which are usually generated as the third harmonic (351 nm) of the Nd:glass laser wavelength. The smoothing rate on target is presently limited by the bandwidth acceptance of the KH/sub 2/PO/sub 4/ (KDP) crystals, which are usually used to perform the third-harmonic generation (THG). It has recently been proposed that broader bandwidth THG can be achieved by using dual triplers.