Yb : YAG thin-rod laser amplifier with a high pulse energy for a fibre oscillator

Abstract

High (more than ten times) small-signal gain is demonstrated in an Yb : YAG single crystal thin rods with pumping by a fibre-coupled diode laser. A four-pass amplifier for a fibre master oscillator with an average output power exceeding 15 W at a pulse repetition rate of 3 MHz is fabricated based on this active element. The small-signal gain in the developed amplifier is 26 dB, which is comparable with the gain in regenerative amplifiers. The possibility of obtaining sub-millijoule pulse energy at a pulse repetition rate of tens of kilohertz is shown.

eXawatt Center for Extreme Light Studies

“…In the solid-state part (Figure 3(b)), optimal temporal and spatial profiles of the laser pulses are formed, and the pulses are also amplified to the required energies. A femtosecond regenerative Yb amplifier [ 37 , 38 ] amplifies the pulse to a millijoule energy level while maintaining a subpicosecond duration. This pulse is used in the parametric part to generate a pulse at a wavelength of 910 nm.…”