Efficient, diode-laser-pumped, diode-laser-seeded, high-peak-power Nd:YLF regenerative amplifier

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics
• Semiconductor Lasers

Background:

• Regenerative amplifiers are crucial for amplifying laser pulses to high energies.
• Diode-laser pumping offers advantages in efficiency and compactness for laser systems.
• Achieving high optical gain is essential for various scientific and industrial applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate significant optical amplification in a microlens-collimated, diode-laser-pumped regenerative amplifier.
• To evaluate the amplifier's performance when seeded with different pulse sources.
• To assess the electrical-to-optical efficiency of the diode-seeded system.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a microlens-collimated, diode-laser-pumped regenerative amplifier setup.
• Seeded the amplifier with 20-picosecond (ps) pulses from an FM mode-locked oscillator.
• Also seeded with 0.9-nanosecond (ns) pulses from a modulated diode laser.

Main Results:

• Achieved optical amplification of 11 orders of magnitude.
• Amplified seed pulses from both sources to energies exceeding 2.5 millijoules (mJ).
• The diode-seeded system demonstrated an electrical-to-optical efficiency of 2.2% (excluding specific components).

Conclusions:

• The diode-laser-pumped regenerative amplifier is capable of substantial optical gain.
• The system effectively amplifies both short (ps) and long (ns) seed pulses.
• The demonstrated efficiency highlights the potential of diode-laser-pumped systems for practical applications.