Analysis and optimization of optical parametric chirped pulse amplification

Ross, I. N.; Matousek, Pavel; New, G.H.C.; Osvay, K.

doi:10.1364/josab.19.002945

Cited by 242 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…This system also proved that NOPCPA can be used to amplify pulses with very low levels of parametric fluorescence (less than 0.2% of the total integrated energy), and a pre-pulse contrast of 10 −8 was achieved. Besides producing the shortest terawatt-intensity pulses ever achieved with the NOPCPA technique (only 2.7 optical cycles), this system approaches the theoretical limits that can be expected from such a 532 nm pumped BBO-based NOPCPA system [1,11].The theoretical basis for NOPCPA has its origin in the well-known process of optical parametric amplification and is therefore well established [1,[11][12][13]. However, the theoretical research and numerical simulations specific to NOPCPA that have been published all seem to focus almost exclusively on the achievable power and gain bandwidth by exploring different types of phase-matching geometries [14][15][16].…”

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confidence: 75%

“…However, the theoretical research and numerical simulations specific to NOPCPA that have been published all seem to focus almost exclusively on the achievable power and gain bandwidth by exploring different types of phase-matching geometries [14][15][16]. Although this has led to designs for ultrashort pulse petawatt amplifier systems [11] and ultra-broadband phase-matching geometries using angular dispersion [17,18], hardly any study seems to have been performed from a more experimental point of view. With the exception of a recent numerical study on the pulse contrast [19], a systematic study which models a realistic NOPCPA setup aimed at identifying optimum values and finding stability requirements for important experimental parameters has -to the best of the authors' knowledge -not been published to date.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Numerical simulations for performance optimization of a few-cycle terawatt NOPCPA system

et al. 2007

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We present a systematic numerical design and performance study of an ultra-broadband noncollinear optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (NOPCPA) system. Using a split-step Fourier approach, we model a three-stage amplifier system which is designed for the generation of 7 fs pulses with multi-terawatt peak intensity. The numerical results are compared with recent experimental data. Several important aspects and design parameters specific to NOPCPA are identified, and the values of these parameters required to achieve optimal working conditions are investigated. We identify and analyze wavelength-dependent gain saturation effects, which are specific to NOPCPA and have a strong influence on the parametric amplification process. Noncollinear optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (NOPCPA) has attracted a lot of attention recently because of its potential as a source of few-cycle laser pulses with peak intensities exceeding a terawatt [1]. Such highintensity ultrashort pulses have many applications in the field of strong-field physics [2], e.g., as a driver source for the generation of single attosecond pulses at extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths [3], or for relativistic optics in the few-cycle pulse regime [4]. In addition, laser-based particle accelerators using few-cycle pulses have recently become the subject of investigation [5].Therefore, it is not surprising that research on NOPCPA has been expanding rapidly in the last few years, with many demonstrations of new NOPCPA implementations at various wavelengths, repetition rates and intensities. This progress has led, for example, to the first demonstration of sub-10-fs pulses with a peak intensity exceeding one terawatt [6] and to the development of a table-top laser system delivering 45 fs pulses with 200 TW peak intensity [7]. Carrier-envelope phase-stable NOPCPA systems have already been constructed for lower peak intensities [8,9]. Recently, we have demonu E-mail: kse.eikema@few.vu.nl strated an NOPCPA system which produces near-Fourierlimited 7.6 fs pulses with a peak intensity of 2 TW running at a 30 Hz repetition rate [10]. This system also proved that NOPCPA can be used to amplify pulses with very low levels of parametric fluorescence (less than 0.2% of the total integrated energy), and a pre-pulse contrast of 10 −8 was achieved. Besides producing the shortest terawatt-intensity pulses ever achieved with the NOPCPA technique (only 2.7 optical cycles), this system approaches the theoretical limits that can be expected from such a 532 nm pumped BBO-based NOPCPA system [1,11].The theoretical basis for NOPCPA has its origin in the well-known process of optical parametric amplification and is therefore well established [1,[11][12][13]. However, the theoretical research and numerical simulations specific to NOPCPA that have been published all seem to focus almost exclusively on the achievable power and gain bandwidth by exploring different types of phase-matching geometries [14][15][16]. Although this has led to designs for ultrashort pul...

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Numerical simulations for performance optimization of a few-cycle terawatt NOPCPA system

et al. 2007

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“…The parametric amplification process and self-and cross-phase modulation between all interacting beams can imprint a phase shift on the amplified pulses, depending mostly on the pump intensity [31,34,35]. Any differential phase shift �Φ between different pulse pairs can lead to a frequency shift of the excited two-photon transition according to:…”

Section: Laser Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-accuracy deep-UV Ramsey-comb spectroscopy in krypton

Galtier¹,

Altmann²,

Dreissen³

et al. 2016

Appl. Phys. B

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and bound-state QED tests based on precision spectroscopy in atoms, molecules and highly charged ions (see, e.g., [5][6][7][8][9][10]). Moreover, in the pursuit of testing QED ever better, substantial efforts have been made to extract fundamental quantities such as the Rydberg constant R ∞ and the proton charge radius. Both can be obtained from spectroscopy of atomic hydrogen, assuming that QED is sufficiently precise. However, when the CREMA collaboration determined the proton charge radius from spectroscopy in muonic hydrogen (consisting of a proton and a muon), it leads to a considerable (7σ) mismatch with the value extracted from normal (electronic) hydrogen [11][12][13]. This mismatch, known as the proton radius puzzle, remains to be explained and requires more spectroscopic measurements, e.g., in systems other than (muonic) hydrogen. Recent results on muonic deuterium [14] reveal that also the deuteron radius is significantly smaller (7.5 σ) than the radius based on normal deuterium spectroscopy.Interesting candidates for precision spectroscopy to solve this puzzle need to be sufficiently simple for precise theoretical treatment. One example is molecular hydrogen, made possible by recent improvements in theory [15]. Another is He + [16], which can be compared to muonic-He + spectroscopy [13]. The experimental challenge is the short wavelengths required for excitation, which ranges from the deep UV (≈ 200 nm) for H 2 to extreme ultraviolet (XUV, < 60 nm) for He + .Such short wavelengths are typically obtained by frequency upconversion of near-infrared lasers in nonlinear crystals or noble gases. One can use a frequency-comb (FC) laser as the fundamental laser and take advantage of its excellent spectral resolution and pulse peak power, to perform direct frequency-comb spectroscopy (DFCS) [17][18][19]. To achieve sufficient upconversion to the UV or XUV range, several approaches have been investigated. AbstractIn this paper, we present a detailed account of the first precision Ramsey-comb spectroscopy in the deep UV. We excite krypton in an atomic beam using pairs of frequency-comb laser pulses that have been amplified to the millijoule level and upconverted through frequency doubling in BBO crystals. The resulting phase-coherent deep-UV pulses at 212.55 nm are used in the Ramseycomb method to excite the two-photon 4p 6 → 4p 5 5p[1/2] 0 transition. For the 84 Kr isotope, we find a transition frequency of 2829833101679(103) kHz. The fractional accuracy of 3.7 × 10 −11 is 34 times better than previous measurements, and also the isotope shifts are measured with improved accuracy. This demonstration shows the potential of Ramsey-comb excitation for precision spectroscopy at short wavelengths.

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“…During the parametric amplification process without an initial idler beam, the phases of the pump (at frequency ω p ), signal (ω s ) and idler (ω i ) waves obey [7] φ s = φ s (0),…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pump phase transfer and its control in hybrid seeded optical parametric amplifiers

Yuan¹,

Ma²,

Wang³

et al. 2014

High Pow Laser Sci Eng

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Due to the existence of spatial walk-off and/or group-velocity mismatch effects, pump-to-signal phase transfer becomes inevitable during parametric amplification. We experimentally demonstrate that in hybrid seeded optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) that include two OPA stages seeded by the signal and idler waves, respectively, the phase of the output signal can be restored to its initial value, although there are spatial and temporal phase fluctuations on the pump source. This method significantly relaxes the requirement for high pump beam quality, which is always very stringent in parametric amplification systems. With the introduction of this scheme into birefringent phase-matching OPAs or chirped-pulse OPAs, it should be promising to achieve intense femtosecond laser pulses that are close to the diffraction limit in space and ultra-high contrast in time, simultaneously.

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Analysis and optimization of optical parametric chirped pulse amplification

Cited by 242 publications

References 26 publications

Numerical simulations for performance optimization of a few-cycle terawatt NOPCPA system

Numerical simulations for performance optimization of a few-cycle terawatt NOPCPA system

High-accuracy deep-UV Ramsey-comb spectroscopy in krypton

Pump phase transfer and its control in hybrid seeded optical parametric amplifiers

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