Short pulse laser stretcher-compressor using a single common reflective grating

An apparatus, comprising:

• a single common reflective diffraction grating adapted for stretching a source of laser pulses in a stretcher beam path to produce one or more stretched laser pulses and adapted for producing one or more compressed amplified laser pulses obtained from said one or more stretched amplified laser pulses in a compressor beam path received from an amplifier wherein said stretched laser pulses and said compressed amplified laser pulses are received at a common area on said single common reflective diffraction grating;
• a reflective focusing element constructed to provide a desired number of passes in said stretcher beam path from said single common reflective diffraction grating;
• a mirror positioned at the focal plane of said reflective focusing element, constructed to provide a desired number of passes in said stretcher beam path from said single common reflective diffraction grating;
• a first retro-reflector mirror constructed to provide a desired number of passes in said stretcher beam path wherein said first retro-reflector directs said laser pulses to an interleaved common area on said single common reflective diffraction grating;
• and
• a second retro-reflective mirror constructed to receive said amplified stretched pulses and arranged to provide a desired number of passes in said compressor beam path wherein said amplified laser pulses are directed to said interleaved common area on said single common reflective diffraction grating.

A method of stretching an ultra-short pulse in a system comprising:

• generating an ultra-short pulse;
• directing said ultra-short pulse into said system to a common area on a single common diffraction grating wherein said common area is capable of producing a stretched laser pulse or a compressed laser pulse;
• stretching said ultra-short pulse by spatially dispersing said ultra-short pulse in a forward sequence by said single common reflective diffraction grating;
• focusing said dispersed pulse to a line focus by a focusing element;
• reflecting said dispersed pulse by said mirror positioned at the focal plane of said focusing element so as to strike said focusing element at a vertically displaced position such that said dispersed pulse diverges to produce a minimized spherically aberrated beam and to produce a beam size of unit magnification;
• reflecting said dispersed laser pulse by said focusing element so as to strike said grating at a vertically displaced position;
• further stretching said dispersed laser pulse by said single common reflective diffraction grating;
• retro-reflecting said further stretched laser pulse to a vertically displaced position on said grating;
• and
• reversing said forward sequence in the reverse order wherein a desired number of passes is made so that a stretched laser pulse exits said system.

A method of compressing an amplified laser pulse in a system comprising:

• generating a stretched amplified laser pulse;
• directing said stretched amplified laser pulse into said system to a common area on a single common diffraction grating wherein said common area is capable of producing a stretched laser pulse or a compressed laser pulse;
• compressing said stretched amplified laser pulse by spatially dispersing said stretched amplified laser pulse on said single common diffraction grating in a forward sequence;
• retro-reflecting said dispersed laser pulse wherein negatively chirped pulse compression is controlled by horizontal translation of a pair of flat mirrors;
• further dispersing of said laser pulse by said single common reflective diffraction grating;
• and
• reversing said forward sequence in the reverse order wherein a desired number of passes is made so that a compressed amplified laser pulse exits said system.