High energy picosecond Yb:YAG CPA system at 10 Hz repetition rate for pumping optical parametric amplifiers

We present a chirped pulse amplification (CPA) system based on diode-pumped Yb:YAG. The stretched ns-pulses are amplified and have been compressed to less than 900fs with an energy of 200mJ and a repetition rate of 10Hz. This system is optically synchronized with a broadband seed laser and therefore ideally suited for pumping optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) stages on a ps-timescale. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America