800-fs, 330-µJ pulses from a 100-W regenerative Yb:YAG thin-disk amplifier at 300 kHz, and THz generation in LiNbO3

Schneider, W. and Ryabov, A. and Lombosi, Cs. and Metzger, T. and Major, Zs. and Fülöp József, András (2014) 800-fs, 330-µJ pulses from a 100-W regenerative Yb:YAG thin-disk amplifier at 300 kHz, and THz generation in LiNbO3. OPTICS LETTERS, 39. pp. 6604-6607. ISSN 0146-9592

Text OL_39_6604_Schneider_2014_u.pdf Restricted to Repository staff only until 31 December 2035. Download (469kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Yb:YAG thin-disk lasers offer extraordinary output power, but systems delivering femtosecond pulses at a repetition rate of hundreds of kilohertz are scarce, even though this regime is ideal for ultrafast electron diffraction, coincidence imaging, attosecond science, and terahertz (THz) spectroscopy. Here we describe a regenerative Yb:YAG amplifier based on thin-disk technology, producing 800-fs pulses at a repetition rate adjustable between 50 and 400 kHz. The key design elements are a short regenerative cavity and fast-switching Pockels cell. The average output power is 130Wbefore the compressor and 100Wafter compression, which at 300 kHz corresponds to pulse energies of 430 and 330 μJ, respectively. This is sufficient for a wide range of nonlinear conversions and broadening/ compression schemes. As a first application, we use optical rectification in LiNbO3 to produce 30-nJ single-cycle THz pulses with 6Wpump power. The electric field exceeds 10 kV∕cm at a central frequency of 0.3 THz, suitable for driving structural dynamics or controlling electron beams.

Actions (login required)

Edit Item