A High-Energy, 100 Hz, Picosecond Laser for OPCPA Pumping

A high-energy diode-pumped picosecond laser system centered at 1064 nm for optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier (OPCPA) pumping was demonstrated. The laser system was based on a master oscillator power amplifier configuration, which contained an Nd: YVO4 mode-locked seed laser, an LD-pumped Nd: YAG regenerative amplifier, and two double-pass amplifiers. A reflecting volume Bragg grating with a 0.1 nm reflective bandwidth was used in the regenerative amplifier for spectrum narrowing and pulse broadening to suit the pulse duration of the optical parametric amplifier (OPA) process. Laser pulses with an energy of 316.5 mJ and a pulse duration of 50 ps were obtained at a 100 Hz repetition rate. A top-hat beam distribution and a 0.53% energy stability (RMS) were achieved in this system.