Abstract
1 Introduction
Compact, stable and high-power diode-pumped short-pulse laser amplifier systems with excellent spatial quality are ideal sources for high-power optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) and efficient laser processing[
In the past two decades, various solutions and architectures have been proposed for power scaling of regenerative amplifiers. The thin-disk geometry was particularly impressive for heat dissipation. Nubbemeyer
High-repetition-rate regenerative amplifiers are beneficial for promoting industrial throughput and reducing data accumulation or processing time in scientific applications. However, high repetition rates come with bifurcation and even chaotic pulse train dynamics, in which the pulse energy is unstable[
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RAs based on bulk neodymium gain media show specific advantages. A high stimulated-emission cross-section simplifies the system design, and requirements such as the reflectivity for optical components are allayed. RAs based on them are generally free of CPA because of the relatively longer pulse durations. Diode-pumped RAs built with Nd:YAG or Nd:YLF crystals are commonly side-pumped for high pulse energy generation[
Here we report a 100 kHz high-power regenerative amplifier based on a single bulk Nd:GdVO4 crystal. The basic properties of three Nd-doped single crystals are compared in Table
Parameter | Nd:YAG | Nd:YVO | Nd:GdVO4 |
---|---|---|---|
Pump wavelength (nm) | 808 869 885 | 808 880 888 | 808 880 888 |
Emission wavelength (nm) | 1064 | 1064 | 1063 |
Emission bandwidth (nm) | 0.45 | 0.8 | 1.25 |
Efficient emission cross-section | |||
at 1064 nm ( | 2.8 | 13.5 ( | 7.6 ( |
6.5 ( | 1.2 ( | ||
Upper state lifetime ( | 230 | 91 | 90 |
Nonlinear refractive index | |||
( | 8.1 | 14.7 | 12.6 |
Thermal conductivity at 300 K | |||
( | 14 | 5.1 (a) | 10.1 (a) |
5.23 (c) | 11.4 (c) | ||
Absorption cross-section at | |||
808 nm ( | 0.41 | 2.7 ( | 5.2 ( |
1.2 ( | 1.23 ( | ||
Refractive index at 1064 nm | 1.820 | 2.165 (e) | 2.192 (e) |
1.957 (o) | 1.972 (o) |
Table 1. Basic properties of three Nd-doped single crystals (see Refs. [35–42]).
2 Numerical simulations
Looking at its working principle, one RA operation cycle can be divided into two successive stages: the pump stage and the amplification stage. No voltage is applied to the Pockels cell during the pump stage. The amplification stage starts when the seed is injected into the amplification cavity and a high voltage is applied to the Pockels cell. When the pulse energy reaches a certain level, the high voltage is switched off, the amplified pulse is ejected and the next cycle begins[
Numerical simulations were performed to fully exploit the system’s capability: to ensure stable operation and extract as much stored energy as possible. Diagrams presented in the parameter space are very helpful to realize this prospect[
The basic equations describing the pump and amplification stages are listed as Equations (
Here
Parameter | Value | Parameter | Value |
---|---|---|---|
Stable state small signal | |||
gain | 1.91 | Round trip loss | 0.04 |
Emission cross-section | Upper state lifetime | ||
90 |
Table 2. Key parameter values for simulation.
In the simulation, the repetition rate of the RA operation range was set between 1 kHz and 150 kHz. For the seed energy, the mode mismatch between the seed and the RA in the spatial and spectral domains should be taken into account[
3 Experimental setup
The experimental setup of the regenerative amplifier system is shown in Figure
For the amplifier, the gain medium was a 0.5 at.% doped Nd:GdVO4 crystal with dimensions 4 mm (
The RA cavity comprised a dichroic mirror M7, a quarter-wave plate (QWP), a thin-film polarizer (TFP), a Pockels cell (PC) based on BBO crystal with an aperture of 5 mm, and two highly reflective concave mirrors M5 (
4 Experimental results and discussions
Continuous wave (CW) operation was first conducted to confirm the optimum cavity performance, in which the combination of TFP2 and QWP served as the output coupler and the PC driver was switched off. Figure
In the RA operation regime, the seed with 800 nJ pulse energy was injected into the RA for amplification. Its output power is depicted in Figure
The temporal characteristics of the oscillator and RA output pulse were confirmed by an intensity autocorrelator. As shown in Figure
The long-term stability of the RA system at full pump power for 30 min is characterized and presented in Figure
5 Conclusion
In conclusion, we have demonstrated a 100 kHz high-power continuously pumped Nd:GdVO4 regenerative amplifier. The numerical analysis of the continuously pumped high-repetition-rate RA prior to the experiment facilitated optimization of the parameters in our experiment. This helped eliminate bifurcation instability and achieve efficient energy extraction. With a single bulk crystal, a maximum output pulse energy of
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