Divided-pulse nonlinear compression in a multipass cell

The pulse-energy and peak-power limitations of a gas-filled multipass cell (MPC) for nonlinear pulse compression are surpassed by applying a burst of four temporally separated pulses instead of a single one. The burst is generated by two birefringent crystals and contains 1 mJ of energy per pulse replica. It is then spectrally broadened in an Argon-filled MPC and recombined into a single pulse by a second set of birefringent crystals. The combined pulse is compressed by chirped mirrors to a pulse duration of 32 fs and a pulse energy of 3.4 mJ. An excellent passive stability and a high system efficiency of >90% are reached. Using the 4-pulse burst, the overall output energy supported by the MPC is doubled in comparison to single-pulse operation.

Automated summary

In this study, the pulse-energy and peak-power limitations of a gas-filled multipass cell (MPC) for nonlinear pulse compression are surpassed by using a burst of four temporally separated pulses generated by two birefringent crystals. The burst is then spectrally broadened and recombined into a single pulse before compression. The use of the 4-pulse burst doubles the overall output energy supported by the MPC.