Authors

A. Vaupel; N. Bodnar; B. Webb; L. Shah;M. Richardson

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

Opt. Eng.

Keywords

ultrafast laser amplifiers; laser amplifiers; solid-state laser; optical; parametric chirped-pulse amplification; MHZ REPETITION RATE; GW PEAK POWER; PUMPED OPCPA SYSTEM; 2.1 MU-M; HIGH-ENERGY; AVERAGE-POWER; LASER-PULSES; REGENERATIVE AMPLIFIER; CPA; SYSTEM; MULTIPASS AMPLIFIER; Optics

Abstract

More than 20 years after the first presentation of optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA), the technology has matured as a powerful technique to produce high-intensity, few-cycle, and ultrashort laser pulses. The output characteristics of these systems cover a wide range of center wavelengths, pulse energies, and average powers. The current record performance of table-top, few-cycle OPCPA systems are 16 TW peak power and 22 W average power, which show that OPCPA is able to directly compete with Ti: sapphire chirped-pulse amplification-based systems as source for intense optical pulses. Here, we review the concepts of OPCPA and present the current state-of-the art performance level for several systems reported in the literature. To date, the performance of these systems is most generally limited by the employed pump laser. Thus, we present a comprehensive review on the recent progress in high-energy, high-average-power, picosecond laser systems, which provide improved performance relative to OPCPA pump lasers employed to date. From here, the impact of these novel pump lasers on table-top, few-cycle OPCPA is detailed and the prospects for next-generation OPCPA systems are discussed. (C) The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

Journal Title

Optical Engineering

Volume

53

Issue/Number

5

Publication Date

1-1-2014

Document Type

Review

Language

English

First Page

12

WOS Identifier

WOS:000329571200010

ISSN

0091-3286

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