High-repetition-rate picosecond pump laser based on a Yb:YAG disk amplifier for optical parametric amplification

Metzger, Thomas; Schwarz, Alexander; Teisset, Catherine Y.; Sutter, Dirk; Killi, Alexander; Kienberger, Reinhard; Krausz, Ferenc

doi:10.1364/ol.34.002123

Cited by 158 publications

(64 citation statements)

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“…In order to achieve high energy per pulse in the femtosecond regime, master oscillator power amplifier systems are commonly used. Regenerative amplifiers based on bulk or thin disk Yb-doped crystals can amplify ultrashort pulses to several tens of millijoules [1,2]. They can provide high gain and high output energy at a low repetition rate, but they are limited in terms of repetition rate to a few hundreds of kilohertz due to the high-voltage-driven switch speed.…”

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Yb:YAG single crystal fiber power amplifier for femtosecond sources

et al. 2013

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We demonstrate a versatile femtosecond power amplifier using a Yb:YAG single crystal fiber operating from 10 kHz to 10 MHz. For a total pump power of 75 W, up to 30 W is generated from the double-pass power amplifier. At a repetition rate of 10 kHz, an output energy of 1 mJ is obtained after recompression. In this configuration, the pulse duration is 380 fs, corresponding to a peak power of 2.2 GW. The M 2 beam quality factor is better than 1.1 for investigated parameters. © 2013 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 320.7090, 140.3615.Ultrafast lasers are now a common tool for scientific and industrial applications. Over the past decade, many technological developments of diode-pumped solid-state laser systems have allowed tremendous improvements of their performance, reliability, and cost. In order to achieve high energy per pulse in the femtosecond regime, master oscillator power amplifier systems are commonly used. Regenerative amplifiers based on bulk or thin disk Yb-doped crystals can amplify ultrashort pulses to several tens of millijoules [1,2]. They can provide high gain and high output energy at a low repetition rate, but they are limited in terms of repetition rate to a few hundreds of kilohertz due to the high-voltage-driven switch speed. Ytterbium-doped optical fibers can also be used to amplify ultrashort pulses. Their high surface-to-volume ratio provides good thermal management and allows attainment of high average powers of several hundreds of watts [3]. However, the signal confinement in smallcross-section cores induces nonlinear effects, such as self-phase modulation and self-focusing, which limit the peak power and the pulse energy. Femtosecond pulses with an energy of 2.2 mJ were obtained using the well-known chirped pulse amplification technique together with large-core-diameter photonic crystal fibers [4]. Another approach consists in amplifying femtosecond pulses directly in Yb-doped crystals using multipass amplifiers without active elements. Although it requires quite complex systems, the slab geometry has proven to be a very successful approach. Up to 1.1 kW [5] average power and 20 mJ [6] energy were obtained with an Yb:YAG Innoslab amplifier. Significant improvement of the emission cross section and the thermal conductivity can be observed at cryogenic temperatures in most Ybdoped crystals. 40 mJ output energy was obtained using a cryogenic Yb:YAG double-pass amplifier [7]. However, stronger spectral narrowing at low temperatures induces longer optical pulses of several picoseconds. Finally, the single crystal fiber (SCF) concept lies between fibers and crystals and can contribute to original performance for femtosecond systems. SCFs are long, thin crystal rods with a diameter lower than 1 mm and a typical length of a few centimeters.

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Yb:YAG single crystal fiber power amplifier for femtosecond sources

et al. 2013

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“…Typically, Ho:YLF RAs were either operated at relatively low repetition rates [9], thus completely suppressing the onset of bifurcation, at high repetition rates until the onset of bifurcation [11], or directly in the bifurcation at a stable double-pulsing state [12]. In the latter case, pulse-picking only the higher energy pulse at half the repetition rate allows the extraction of stable and high-energy pulses [12,13]. By employing high pump intensities, we demonstrated operation of our Ho:YLF RA up to repetition rates of 750 Hz without any sign of bifurcation, which is more than an order of magnitude higher than the inverse lifetime [6].…”

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Study on laser characteristics of Ho:YLF regenerative amplifiers: Operation regimes, gain dynamics, and highly stable operation points

et al. 2017

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We present a comprehensive study of laser pulse amplification of Ho:YLF regenerative amplifiers (RAs) with respect to operation regimes, gain dynamics, and output pulse stability. The findings are expected to be more generic than for this specific gain material. Operation regimes are distinguished with respect to pulse energy and the appearance of pulse instability, and are studied as a function of the repetition rate, seed energy, and pump intensity. The corresponding gain dynamics are presented, identifying highly stable operation points related to high-gain build-up during pumping and high-gain depletion during pulse amplification. Such operation points are studied numerically and experimentally as a function of several parameters, thereby achieving, for our Ho:YLF RA, highly stable output pulses with measured fluctuations of only 0.19% (standard deviation)

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“…State-of-the-art systems achieve pulse energies of 30 mJ at 10 kHz repetition rate and 200 mJ at 1 kHz [10]. For amplification, the pulses are typically stretched to durations in the nanosecond range [4,11].…”

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confidence: 99%