Efficient temporal compression of 10-µJ pulses in periodic layered Kerr media

Pulse compression based on periodic layered Kerr media has been demonstrated as an effective technique for femtosecond pulses with energies around 100 µJ or more. We report such a compressor designed for pulses in the 10-µJ range, which is valuable for many applications. Pulses from a fiber chirped-pulse amplifier are compressed from 300 fs to as short as 60 fs, with good pulse and beam quality. The compressor is a simple and efficient way to extend the performance of common Yb-based sources of pulses with microjoule energies.