Energy Scaling of Infrared Femtosecond Pulses by Dual-Chirped Optical Parametric Amplification

Abstract

We present an energy-scaling experiment on a femtosecond infrared pulse using dual-chirped optical parametric amplification (DC-OPA). A total output energy exceeding 100 mJ with 36-fs pulse duration was achieved in the infrared region, which is the highest energy ever reported for an ultrafast optical parametric amplifier scheme. We also discuss the generation of high-energy 15-30-THz pulses through difference frequency generation between chirped signal and idler pulses based on DC-OPA. By manipulating the phase of a seed pulse in the DC-OPA system, the spectral phase of a THz pulse can be indirectly controlled precisely, which is very helpful for compressing THz pulses.

Keywords

• Laser
• infrared
• parametric amplification
• ultrafast
• THz.