Thin-disk multipass amplifier for ultrashort laser pulses with kilowatt average output power and mJ pulse energies

Jan-Philipp Negel; Andreas Voss; Marwan Abdou Ahmed; Dominik Bauer; Dirk Sutter; Alexander Killi; Thomas Graf

doi:10.1117/12.2053964

1 May 2014 Thin-disk multipass amplifier for ultrashort laser pulses with kilowatt average output power and mJ pulse energies

Jan-Philipp Negel, Andreas Voss, Marwan Abdou Ahmed, Dominik Bauer, Dirk Sutter, Alexander Killi, Thomas Graf

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9135, Laser Sources and Applications II; 91351D (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2053964
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2014, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract

We report on a Yb:YAG thin-disk multipass amplifier for ultrashort laser pulses delivering an average output power of 1.1 kW which to the best of our knowledge is the highest output power reported from such a system so far. A modified commercial TruMicro5050 laser delivers the seed pulses with an average power of 80 W at a wavelength of 1030 nm, a pulse duration of 6.5 ps and a repetition rate of 800 kHz. These pulses are amplified to 1.38 mJ of pulse energy with a duration of 7.3 ps. To achieve this, we developed a scheme in which an array of 40 plane mirrors is used to geometrically fold the seed beam over the pumped thin-disk crystal. Exploiting the incoming linear polarization, an overall number of 40 double-passes through the disk was realized by using the backpath through the amplifier with the orthogonal linear polarization state. Thermal issues on the disk were mitigated by zero-phonon line pumping at a wavelength of 969 nm directly into the upper laser level and by employing a retroreflective mirror pair. The amplifier exhibits an optical efficiency of 44 % and a slope efficiency of 46 %. The beam quality was measured to be better than M²=1.25 at all power levels. As this system can deliver high pulse energies and high average output powers at the same time without the need of a CPA technique, it can be very suitable for high productivity material processing with ultrashort laser pulses.

Citation Download Citation

Jan-Philipp Negel, Andreas Voss, Marwan Abdou Ahmed, Dominik Bauer, Dirk Sutter, Alexander Killi, and Thomas Graf "Thin-disk multipass amplifier for ultrashort laser pulses with kilowatt average output power and mJ pulse energies", Proc. SPIE 9135, Laser Sources and Applications II, 91351D (1 May 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2053964

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available