Compensation of gain narrowing by using AOPDF in high-power ultra-short pulse laser systems

Laser pulse durations are dominated by the spectral bandwidths in chirped pulse amplification systems.Therefore,gain narrowing during amplification is one of the most important factors that limits the minimal pulse durations of compressed pulses in high_power ultrashort_pulse laser systems.The gain narrowing can be compensated by applying an acousto_optic programmable dispersive filter(AOPDF) to the laser system.Here we present the experiments and results with an AOPDF for the 200_TW Ti:sapphire laser.The spectral bandwidth is increased from the original 27?nm to 44?nm.The pulse duration correspondingly is decreased from 60?fs to 30?fs and thus the output pulse power is doubled.