Dual-slab Yb:KGd(WO₄)₂ regenerative amplifier for spectral shaping and high-power output

A high-power regenerative amplifier (RA) based on dual-slab Yb:KGd(WO₄)₂ (Yb:KGW) was demonstrated, which provided a maximum average power of 33.7 W at a repetition rate of 75-200 kHz before compression with a central wavelength of 1039 nm, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 51.4%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest average power from the Yb:KGW solid-state RA. The compressed pulse duration of 205 fs was realized under the maximum output power. By adjusting the gain of the crystals, respectively, the spectral shaping can be achieved. A combination spectrum with root-mean-square (RMS) bandwidth of 4.5 nm was generated with a central wavelength of 1035 nm at an output power of 20 W, the compressed pulse duration was 159 fs. Meanwhile, effective mitigation of thermal effects by dual-slab configuration guaranteed the nearly diffraction-limited beam quality: M x2= 1.17 and M y2 = 1.20.