title: Double plasma mirror for ultrahigh temporal contrast ultraintense laser pulses.
abstract: We present and characterize a very efficient optical device that employs the plasma mirror technique to increase the contrast of high-power laser systems. Contrast improvements higher than 10(4) with 50% transmission are shown to be routinely achieved on a typical 10 TW laser system when the pulse is reflected on two consecutive plasma mirrors. Used at the end of the laser system, this double plasma mirror preserves the spatial profile of the initial beam, is unaffected by shot-to-shot fluctuations, and is suitable for most high peak power laser systems. We use the generation of high-order harmonics as an effective test for the contrast improvement produced by the double plasma mirrors.
authors.affiliation: Service des Photons, Atomes et Molécules, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lévy
authors.forename: Tiberio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ceccotti
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: D'Oliveira
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Réau
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perdrix
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Quéré
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Monot
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bougeard
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lagadec
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Geindre
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Audebert