Open AccessGeneration of high-energy, Gaussian laser pulses with tunable duration from 100 picoseconds to 1 millisecond
Author(s) -
Joseph D. Miller,
Mikhail N. Slipchenko,
Josef Felver,
Sukesh Roy
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.409546
Subject(s) - optics , bandwidth limited pulse , pulse (music) , femtosecond pulse shaping , pulse duration , laser beam quality , multiphoton intrapulse interference phase scan , ultrashort pulse , picosecond , laser , pulse shaping , physics , amplifier , materials science , detector , optoelectronics , cmos , laser beams
In this work, a variable-pulse-oscillator is developed and coupled with a burst-mode amplifier for generation of high-energy laser pulses with width of 100 ps to 1 ms and near-Gaussian temporal pulse shape. Pulse energy as high as 600 mJ is demonstrated at 1064 nm, with a super-Gaussian spatial profile and beam quality as good as 1.6 times the diffraction limit. A time-dependent pulse amplification model is developed and is in general agreement with experimentally measured values of output pulse energy and temporal pulse shape of the amplified pulses. Key performance parameters (pulse energy, temporal pulse shape, and spatial beam profile and quality) are analyzed as a function of pulse width across seven orders of magnitude. Additionally, the model is used to elucidate deviations between the simulated and experimental data, showing that the relationship between pulse width and output pulse energy is dominated by the variable-pulse-width oscillator performance, not the burst-mode amplifier.