Design of high-efficiency broad-bandwidth pulse compression device based on composite transmission grating with high damage threshold

Abstract

A novel pulse compression device has been developed for femto-second Ti: sapphire laser at 800nm center wavelength with 700nm~900nm bandwidth. This new kind of composite pulse compression device consists of two fused silica transmission gratings with 1250lp/mm and 3300lp/mm respectively and these two fused silica transmission gratings are located in two optical surfaces of the same fused silica plate. Owing to use anti-reflection transmission gratings with high space frequency (3300lp/mm), it can avoid the wave-front distort derived from coating antireflection film on one surface of the fused silica plate. Being made of fused silica, this new composite pulse compression device will be expected to have high laser damage threshold. The calculation results show that: the -1 st order diffraction efficiency of 1250lp/mm grating is over 87% within the 700nm and 900nm broad-bandwidth for rectangular groove and TE polarization state. And the average diffraction efficiency within the 700nm and 900nm broad-bandwidth is more than 92%. At 800nm, the -1 st transmitted order diffraction efficiency is great to 96% while the transmittance of 3300lp/mm grating is up to 99.9%.