title: Generation of high-contrast millijoule pulses by optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification in periodically poled KTiOPO4.
abstract: A new high-contrast, high-gain optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier (OPCPA) architecture is demonstrated in periodically poled KTiOPO4 (PPKTP). This architecture overcomes parametric fluorescence contrast limitations of the OPCPA in periodically poled materials. The scheme is based on two passes of a single relay-imaged pump pulse and a free-propagating signal pulse through a 1.5 mm x 5 mm x 7.5 mm PPKTP crystal. The output energy of 1.2 mJ is generated at a center wavelength of 1053 nm by 24 mJ of pump energy. A prepulse contrast level of > 3 x 10(7) was measured with > 10(6) saturated gain in the amplifier. Amplified pulses were compressed to 200 fs. This simple and versatile concept requires only a modest pump energy from a commercial pump laser and represents a possible high-contrast front end for high-energy Nd:glass-based petawatt-class lasers.
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Mail Code L-470, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550, USA. jovanovic1@llnl.gov
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jovanovic
authors.forename: Curtis G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Ebbers
authors.forename: C P J
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Barty
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Forget
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Le Blanc