Abstract

We have constructed and measured the performance of a Nd:glass multisegment disk amplifier (MSA) containing four individual 29-cm square apertures arranged in a 2×2 array. The MSA offers reduced complexity and reduced cost in large devices by packaging more disks and lamps in a single mechanical structure and grouping beams so that they can be easily transported as a single larger beam.¹ Our MSA, shown in Fig. 1, represents one-fourth of the 4 × 4 MSA that we have proposed in our Athena design for a multimegajoule laboratory microfusion facility.

© 1990 Optical Society of America