Optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier as an alternative to Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifiers.
We demonstrated a high-pulse energy, femtosecond-pulse source based on optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification. We successfully amplified 1-microm broadband oscillator pulses to 31 mJ and recompressed them to 310-fs pulse duration, at a 10-Hz repetition rate. The gain in our system is 6 x 10(7), achieved by the single passing of only 40 mm of gain material pumped by a commercial Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. This relatively simple system replaces a more complex Ti:sapphire regenerative-amplifier-based chirped-pulse amplification system. Numerous features in design and performance of optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifiers make them a preferred alternative to regenerative amplifiers based on Ti:sapphire in the front end of high-peak-power lasers.
Jovanovic
Igor
I
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California 94550, USA. jovanovic1@llnl.gov
Comaskey
Brian J
BJ
Ebbers
Christopher A
CA
Bonner
Randal A
RA
Pennington
Deanna M
DM
Morse
Edward C
EC