title: High-average-power, 50-fs parametric amplifier front-end at 1.55 μm.
abstract: An average-power-scalable, two-stage optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier is presented providing 90-μJ signal pulses at 1.55 μm and 45-μJ idler pulses at 3.1 μm at a repetition rate of 100 kHz. The signal pulses were recompressible to within a few percent of their ~50-fs Fourier limit in anti-reflection coated fused silica at negligible losses. The overall energy conversion efficiency from the 1030-nm pump to the recompressed signal reached 19%, significantly reducing the cost per watt of pump power compared to similar systems. The two-stage source will serve as the front-end of a three-stage system permitting the development of novel experimental strategies towards laser-based imaging of molecular structures and chemical reactivity.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mero
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Noack
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bach
authors.forename: Valentin
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Petrov
authors.forename: Marc J J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Vrakking