High efficiency, monolithic fiber chirped pulse amplification system for high energy femtosecond pulse generation

A novel monolithic fiber-optic chirped pulse amplification (CPA) system for high energy, femtosecond pulse generation is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. By employing a high gain amplifier comprising merely 20 cm of high efficiency media (HEM) gain fiber, an optimal balance of output pulse energy, optical efficiency, and B-integral is achieved. The HEM amplifier is fabricated from erbium-doped phosphate glass fiber and yields gain of 1.443 dB/cm with slope efficiency >45%. We experimentally demonstrate near diffraction-limited beam quality and near transform-limited femtosecond pulse quality at 1.55 mu m wavelength. With pulse energy >100 mu J and pulse duration of 636 fs (FWHM), the peak power is estimated to be similar to 160 MW. NAVAIR Public Release Distribution Statement A-Approved for Public release; distribution is unlimited. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America