Nonlinear pulse compression of a 200 mJ and 1 kW ultrafast thin-disk amplifier
Y. Pfaff, Gaia Barbiero, Michael Rampp, Sandro Klingebiel, Jonathan Brons, Catherine Y. Teisset, Haochuan Wang, Robert Jung, Jasna Jaksic, A. H. Woldegeorgis, Maximilian Trunk, Andreas R. Maier, Clara J. Saraceno, Thomas Metzger
Abstract
We present a high-energy laser source consisting of an ultrafast thin-disk amplifier followed by a nonlinear compression stage. At a repetition rate of 5 kHz, the drive laser provides a pulse energy of up to 200 mJ with a pulse duration below 500 fs. Nonlinear broadening is implemented inside a Herriott-type multipass cell purged with noble gas, allowing us to operate under different seeding conditions. Firstly, the nonlinear broadening of 64 mJ pulses is demonstrated in an argon-filled cell, showing a compressibility down to 32 fs. Finally, we employ helium as a nonlinear medium to increase the energy up to 200 mJ while maintaining compressibility below 50 fs. Such high-energy pulses with sub-50 fs duration hold great promise as drivers of secondary sources.