Energy and average power scalable optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification in yttrium calcium oxyborate.

Optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) in nonlinear crystals has the potential to produce extremes of peak and average power but is limited either in energy by crystal growth issues or in average power by crystal thermo-optic characteristics. Recently, large (7.5 cm diameter x 25 cm length) crystals of yttrium calcium oxyborate (YCOB) have been grown and utilized for high-average-power second-harmonic generation. Further, YCOB has the necessary thermo-optic properties required for scaling OPCPA systems to high peak and average power operation for wavelengths near 1 microm. We report what is believed to be the first use of YCOB for OPCPA. Scalability to higher peak and average power is addressed.

[1]  Deanna M. Pennington,et al.  Precision short-pulse damage test station utilizing optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification , 2004 .

[2]  Darrell J. Armstrong,et al.  Parametric amplification and oscillation with walkoff-compensating crystals , 1997 .

[3]  Beasley Jd,et al.  Thermal conductivities of some novel nonlinear optical materials , 1994 .

[4]  Ian N. Ross,et al.  The prospects for ultrashort pulse duration and ultrahigh intensity using optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers , 1997 .

[5]  Igor Jovanovic,et al.  Optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier as an alternative to Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifiers. , 2002, Applied optics.

[6]  D. Armstrong,et al.  Measurement of the chi^(^2^) tensor of GdCa~4O(BO~3)~3 and YCa~4O(BO~3)~3 crystals , 2005 .

[7]  Hiroyuki Furuya,et al.  Crystal Growth and Optical Characterization of Rare-Earth (Re) Calcium Oxyborate ReCa4O(BO3)3 (Re=Y or Gd) as New Nonlinear Optical Material , 1997 .

[8]  S. Payne,et al.  Nonlinear optical properties of LaCa(4)O(BO(3))(3). , 2001, Optics letters.

[9]  Audrius Dubietis,et al.  Powerful femtosecond pulse generation by chirped and stretched pulse parametric amplification in BBO crystal , 1992 .

[10]  F. Salin,et al.  A New Non-Linear and Neodymium Laser Self-Frequency Doubling Crystal with Congruent Melting: Ca4GdO(BO3)3 (GdCOB). , 2010 .

[11]  Bruce H. T. Chai,et al.  Crystal growth of YCa4O(BO3)3 and its orientation , 1999 .

[12]  Kenneth C. Kulander,et al.  High Harmonic Generation at Long Wavelengths , 1999 .

[13]  J. Zuegel,et al.  High-conversion-efficiency optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification system using spatiotemporally shaped pump pulses. , 2003, Optics letters.

[14]  C A Ebbers,et al.  Optical absorption at 1.06 microm in highly deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate. , 1992, Applied optics.

[15]  Andy J. Bayramian,et al.  The mercury laser system – An average power, gas-cooled, Yb:S-FAP based system with frequency conversion and wavefront correction , 2005 .