High-intensity and high-repetition-rate Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:YLF-pumped femtosecond amplifier

We report the amplification of a colliding-pulse mode-locking femtosecond laser to energies of 2 microJ per pulse at a repetition rate of 3 kHz in a two-stage double-confocal resonator dye amplifier pumped by a Q-switched diode-pumped frequency-doubled Nd:YLF laser. The amplified pulses were used to generate a continuum in both an ethylene glycol jet and a single-mode fiber. The spectrally broadened pulses from the fiber were compressed to a duration of 13 fs.