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

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 Cr2+:ZnS-based CPO as a source of energy-scalable DSs with well-controllable phase characteristics for a single-pass Cr2+: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 mu m. (C) 2023 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

This paper presents a new method for achieving ultrafast high laser peak power and energy scaling in a hybrid mid-IR chirped pulse oscillator-amplifier (CPO-CPA) system, without compromising pulse duration or energy. The method utilizes a CPO as a seed source combined with a universal CPA technique to implement a dissipative soliton (DS) energy scaling approach. By using a chirped high-fidelity pulse from the CPO, destructive nonlinearity in the final stages of the amplifier and compressor elements is avoided. The suggested technique provides a roadmap for developing and scaling energy in hybrid CPO-CPA laser systems, enabling the generation of extremely intense ultra-short pulses and frequency combs in the mid-IR spectral range.