Fifteen terawatt picosecond CO2 laser system

The generation of a record peak-power of 15TW (45J, 3ps) in a single CO2 laser beam is reported. Using a master oscillator-power amplifier laser system, it is shown that up to 100J of energy can be extracted in a train of 3ps laser pulses separated by 18ps, a characteristic time of the CO2 molecule. The bandwidth required for amplifying the short injected laser pulse train in a 2.5atm final CO2 amplifier is provided by field broadening of the medium at intensities of up to 140GW/cm(2). The measured saturation energy for 3ps pulses is 120mJ/cm(2) which confirms that energy is simultaneously extracted from six rovibrational lines. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America