Hundred mJ, sub-picoseconds, high temporal contrast OPCPA/Yb:YAG ceramic thin disk hybrid laser system

The authors have demonstrated an optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA)/Yb:YAG ceramic thin disk hybrid laser system having hundred mJ level pulse energy sub-picosecond pulse duration with high temporal contrast. At an input chirped-pulse energy of 3.8 mJ from an OPCPA preamplifier an output energy of 130 mJ has been generated from multipass diode-pumped Yb:YAG ceramic thin disk amplifier. A recompressed pulse duration of 450 fs with a contrast level of less than 7.2×10−9 at −150 ps before the main pulse has been obtained. The contrast level is the highest value achieved in Yb:YAG chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) laser system at 100 mJ level.