Abstract

Self-phase modulation (SPM) plays an important role in determining the final shape of the compressed pulse in chirped pulse amplification (CPA) lasers, even at relatively low values of the cumulative B-integral, B ~1-2.^1,2 The pulse's chirp can be distorted by the B-integral in the amplifiers. This causes the compressed pulse duration to increase noticeably near B ~1 and approximately double for B ~2.^1,2 One can reset the expansion or compression grating to compensate for this effect on average, but the radial variation of the B-integral means that it cannot be compensated for exactly. In addition, temporal structure (wings) will appear.

© 1996 Optical Society of America