Tailored pulse sequences from an 880 nm pumped Nd:YVO4 bounce amplifier

We report on an 880 nm quasi-continuously pumped Nd:YVO4 grazing-incidence bounce amplifier, operating at a 300 Hz repetition rate. More than 70 dB small signal gain is achieved with a single crystal. Combined with fast programmable modulators, high-contrast and near-diffraction-limited pulse sequences at the 100 mu J level are produced and can be tailored in terms of pulse duration, amplitude, and a temporal spacing well into the microsecond range. This system could significantly improve extreme-UV comb generation based on parametric amplification and harmonic upconversion of two near-IR comb laser pulses. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America