Spatially and temporally resolved simulation of high-energy post-compression in thin dielectric plates

As we progress towards the limits of modern, high-peak power chirped pulse amplification in terms of gain bandwidth, various post-compression techniques are emerging to further shorten the duration of these pulses. Here, we present a spatio-temporally resolved simulation environment for the post-compression of energetic ultrashort laser pulses in thin dielectric media. Our approach applies an advanced Fourier transform technique, which helps to reduce computational costs drastically. We also provide experimental validation to support our simulations. In addition to showing excellent agreement with measured data from multi-TW, single-cycle post-compression experiments, the theoretical results revealed complex spatio-spectral and spatio-temporal features. The developed platform enables robust a priori optimization of post-compression setups across a broad energy range, from tens of millijoules to tens of Joules.