High peak power and energy scaling in the mid-IR chirped-pulse oscillator-amplifier laser systems

• Published in: Optics express 2023-05, Vol.31 (11), p.17820-17835
• Main Authors: Rudenkov, Alexander, Kalashnikov, Vladimir L, Sorokin, Evgeni, Demesh, Maksim, Sorokina, Irina T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1094-4087; 1094-4087
• DOI: 10.1364/OE.484742

The paper introduces a new route towards the ultrafast high laser peak power and energy scaling in a hybrid mid-IR chirped pulse oscillator-amplifier (CPO-CPA) system, without sacrificing neither the pulse duration nor energy. The method is based on using a CPO as a seed source allowing the beneficial implementation of a dissipative soliton (DS) energy scaling approach, coupled with a universal CPA technique. The key is avoiding a destructive nonlinearity in the final stages of an amplifier and compressor elements by using a chirped high-fidelity pulse from CPO. Our main intention is to realize this approach in a Cr :ZnS-based CPO as a source of energy-scalable DSs with well-controllable phase characteristics for a single-pass Cr :ZnS amplifier. A qualitative comparison of experimental and theoretical results provides a road map for the development and energy scaling of the hybrid CPO-CPA laser systems, without compromising pulse duration. The suggested technique opens up a route towards extremely intense ultra-short pulses and frequency combs from the multi-pass CPO-CPA laser systems that are particularly interesting for real-life applications in the mid-IR spectral range from 1 to 20 μm.