Temporal pulse control of a multi-10 TW diode-pumped Yb:Glass laser

At the Institute of Optics and Quantum Electronics in Jena, Germany, the currently most powerful diode-pumped solid-state laser system with 25-TW peak power Polaris is in operation. In this paper we give an overview about the dispersion management of the chirped pulse amplification in order to minimize the pulse duration and thus to maximize the intensity available for experiments. A detailed description of the stretcher and compressor design with a novel alignment routine is given as well as measurements for the pulse duration and the temporal contrast. The far field measurement of the beam focussed by an off-axis parabola yields a nearly diffraction limited focal spot.