High-repetition-rate pulse-burst laser for Thomson scattering on the MST reversed-field pinch

A new, high-repetition-rate pulse-burst laser system for the MST Thomson scattering diagnostic has operated with 2 J pulses at repetition rates up to 75 kHz within a burst. The 1064 nm laser currently employs a q-switched, diode pumped Nd:YVO4 master oscillator, four Nd:YAG amplifier stages, and a Nd:glass amplifier, with plans for an additional Nd:glass amplifier. The laser can maintain 1.5–2 J pulses in two operating modes: either at a uniform repetition rate of 5–10 kHz (sustained for 5–8 ms), or reach rates of up to 75 kHz in pulse-burst operation (for 10 bursts of 15 pulses each), limited by flashlamp explosion energy and wall loading. The full system, including an additional Nd:glass amplifier, is designed to produce bursts of 2 J pulses at a repetition rate of at least 250 kHz. Custom programmable square-pulse power supplies drive the amplifier flashlamps, providing fine control of pulse timing, duration, and repetition, and allow for pulse-burst operation. The new laser system integrates with the same collection optics and detectors as used by the previous MST Thomson laser: 21 spatial points across the MST minor radius, filter polychromators with 6 to 8 channels (10 eV–5 keV range), avalanche photodiode detectors, and 1 GSample/s/channel digitization. Use of the previous pulse-burst laser continues concurrently with new laser development. Additional notes on optimization of flashlamp simmering will also be covered, showing that an increase in simmer currents can improve pulse-to-pulse energy consistency on both the new and older lasers.