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High-power lasers

Plasma optics promise exawatt performance

Modelling shows how plasma density gradients can be tailored to compress optical pulses in the final stages of laser systems towards exawatt (1018 W) peak powers.

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Fig. 1: Schematic for the operation of a chirped plasma mirror.

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Correspondence to Brendan Dromey.

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Dromey, B. Plasma optics promise exawatt performance. Nat. Photon. 17, 1026–1027 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-023-01334-6

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