Compact large-chirp stretcher for narrowband high-energy high-repetition-rate short-pulse lasers

In order to adapt to the development of compact narrowband high-energy high-repetition-rate short-pulse lasers, we report a compact chirped volume Bragg grating (CVBG)-based large-chirp stretcher that had stretched the duration of narrowband sub-picosecond laser pulses from approximate 530 fs to 1.54 ns (>2900times) with a very small space, while maintaining good output quality. The energy stability (RMS∼1.5%), beam quality (M²<1.5), beam pointing stability (STD∼3.05µrad), and throughput efficiency (23%) were demonstrated. Because CVBGs were used, by changing the incidence direction, a matched compressor can be easily installed. Furthermore, by replacing commercial mounts with custom mechanical holders, the overall size of this large-chirp stretcher/compressor can be further reduced to 150mm×75mm, which is highly valuable for dispersion management of compact narrowband high-energy high-repetition-rate short-pulse laser systems.