Abstract

Generation and amplification of ultrashort laser pulses has been at the forefront of laser research in the recent period, driven primarily by newly accessible physics phenomena and commercial applications such as materials processing. The interest in optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA)¹ for ultrashort pulse amplification has been motivated by its favorable properties. Large single-pass gain achievable in a ~cm length of nonlinear material pumped by nanosecond pump laser eliminates the need for regenerative amplification. Broad bandwidth capabilities and scalability make OPCPA a possible amplification technology for future multi-PW sources.² Absence of thermal load should allow short pulse amplification up to kW-level average power. While the ultrashort amplification capabilities of optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) have been demonstrated down to 5 fs, the compression of ultrashort (<100 fs) pulses in thick OPCPA crystals remains largely unexplored. Here, we present the first pulse compression in highly nondegenerate OPCPA and obtain the shortest pulses produced in OPCPA to date.

© 2002 Optical Society of America