100-terawatt titanium-sapphire laser for high field laser-matter interaction studies

Summary form only given. At present, for basic research in many nonfusion related areas, ultra-high field strength and high repetition rate are of more concern than high pulse energy. In this case, Ti:sapphire (Ti:Sa) appears to be the most attractive and advanced laser medium for laser systems of 100 TW-petawatt level. The peak power of Ti:Sa lasers is still considerably below the limit, although several groups have succeeded in the development of Ti:Sa lasers with peak power exceeding tens of terawatts. We have recently developed a Ti:Sa laser capable of producing >10 TW, 50 fs laser pulses at 10-Hz repetition rate. The system is currently being upgraded to 100 TW for laser-matter interaction at a level of focused intensity I/spl sim/10/sup 19/-10/sup 20/ W/cm/sup 2/.