A method is proposed for compressing laser pulses by fast-extending plasma gratings(FEPGs),which are created by ionizing a hypersonic wave generated by stimulated Brillouin scattering in a background gas.Ionized by a short laser pulse,the phonon forms a light-velocity FEPG to fully reflect a resonant pump laser.As the reflecting surface moves with the velocity of light,the reflected pulse is temporally overlapped and compressed.One-and two-dimensional fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations with a laser wavelength of 1μm show that in this regime,a pump pulse is compressed from 10–40 ps to 7–10 fs(i.e.,a few optical cycles),with a two-dimensional transfer efficiency up to 60%.This method is a promising way to produce critical laser powers while avoiding several significant problems that arise in plasma-based compressors,including an unwanted linear stage,major plasma instabilities,and the need for seed preparation.
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