MHz Repetion Rate Yb:YAG and Yb:CaF2 Regenerative Picosecond Laser Amplifiers with a BBO Pockels Cell

Abstract

We present picosecond Yb:YAG and Yb:CaF2 regenerative laser amplifiers with ultra-high repetition rates in the MHz range. A maximum pulse energy of 40 μJ was obtained at 20 kHz while we achieved around 1 μJ at 1 MHz. We demonstrated a pulse duration of 2.1 ps for Yb:YAG and 4.8 ps for Yb:CaF2 when seeded by a mode-locked Yb:KGW fs-oscillator without pulse stretching or phase compensation.

Keywords

• high repetition rate
• regenerative amplifiers
• picosecond lasers
• ytterbium-doped laser materials