Daniel Albach

14 J/2 Hz Yb3+:YAG diode pumped solid state laser chain.

The Lucia laser chain is a Diode Pumped Solid State Laser system based on Yb3+ doped YAG disks used in an active mirror scheme. Front-end and amplifier stages are presented with recent energetic performances (14 J/2 Hz) achieved with improved pumping and extraction architectures. Emphasis is given on the crucial role of ASE and thermal mitigation considerations in engineering the amplifier head.

Active-mirror-laser-amplifier thermal management with tunable helium pressure at cryogenic temperatures.

We illustrate the benefits of a thin, low pressure helium cell for efficient and safe heat removal in cryogenically-cooled active mirror laser amplifiers operating in the [100 J-1 kJ]/[1-10 Hz] range. A homogeneous gain medium temperature distribution averaging 160 K is obtained with a sub-mm helium-filled gap between the gain medium and a copper plate at 77 K. A significant degree of flexibility for tuning the temperature in the amplifier can be achieved by varying the pressure of the helium gas in the 10(2) to 10(5) Pa range.

PEnELOPE: a high peak-power diode-pumped laser system for laser-plasma experiments

We introduce the directly diode-pumped PEnELOPE laser-system which is designed for a pulse energy of 150 J, a repetition rate of 1Hz and a pulse duration of 120 fs. The principle setup of amplifier and stretcher-compressor system as well as the pumping, energy extraction and cooling scheme of the power amplifiers will be reported. In this paper we focus on numerical modeling as well as design studies.

Current Status on High Average Power and Energy Diode Pumped Solid State Lasers

With ongoing efforts in Europe, the United States, and Asia on power production through inertial fusion, intense work has been focused on proposing and studying Diode Pumped Solid State Lasers (DPSSLs). Such drivers should be able to deliver 1 to 10 kJ at a repetition rate in the 10-Hz range and a wall-plug efficient nearing 10%. Recent achievements will be presented with emphasis on 100 J-class prototypes, which are currently being built.

First results with the novel petawatt laser acceleration facility in Dresden

We report on first commissioning results of the DRACO Petawatt ultra-short pulse laser system implemented at the ELBE center for high power radiation sources of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. Key parameters of the laser system essential for efficient and reproducible performance of plasma accelerators are presented and discussed with the demonstration of 40 MeV proton acceleration under TNSA conditions as well as peaked electron spectra with unprecedented bunch charge in the 0.5 nC range.

Large size crystalline vs. co-sintered ceramic Yb 3+ :YAG disk performance in diode pumped amplifiers

A comprehensive experimental benchmarking of Yb(3+):YAG crystalline and co-sintered ceramic disks of similar thickness and doping level is presented in the context of high average power laser amplifier operation. Comparison is performed considering gain, depolarization and wave front deformation quantitative measurements and analysis.

High-energy diode-pumped D2O-cooled multislab Yb:YAG and Yb:QX-glass lasers.

We investigated the lasing performance of a multislab Yb:QX and Yb:YAG laser amplifiers using a facet-cooled design. Di-deuterium oxide (D2O) was used as the coolant flowing between the active slabs with the pump and laser light passing through the very low absorbing heavy-water films. A square pump profile at a maximum intensity of 40  kW/cm2 drove the amplifier with a peak fluence of 5.5  J/cm2 and a pulse duration of 6 ns. We demonstrated a maximum pulse energy of 1 J for each gain medium as well as a repetition rate of 10 Hz for Yb:YAG and 1 Hz for Yb:QX glass, thus showing the feasibility and scalability of directly water-cooled, diode-pumped, high-energy short-pulse lasers.

Beyond 10 J/ 2 Hz LUCIA current status with cryogenic amplifier

More than 10 Joules at 2 Hz were recently obtained from the LUCIA laser system based on diode-pumped Yb:YAG active mirrors. This achievement is the result of careful management of both Amplified Spontaneous Emission and thermal effects in laser amplifiers. Future developments including a cryogenically-cooled active mirror are also presented.

Broadband, diode pumped Yb-doped fused silica laser

We report on the fabrication, optical properties and, to the first time to our knowledge, lasing characteristics of Yb-doped fused silica in bulk volume. The glass rods were manufactured by sintering of Yb-doped fused silica granulates and subsequent homogenization. Samples of various thicknesses containing doping levels of 0.27 mol% and 0.39 mol%, respectively, were investigated. The glass shows a high optical quality with refractive index variations in the 10 ppm range. We successfully demonstrated quasi-cw lasing with a maximum optical to optical efficiency of 60 % and slope efficiencies of about 70 % with respect to absorbed pump power for all samples. The laser cavity could be tuned in a wavelength range of 100 nm. The large amplification bandwidth of fused silica was verified by gain distribution measurements in a double-pass amplifier configuration.

Impact of Variable Doped Gain Medium on HiPER Multiple kJ / ~10Hz Diode Pumped Beam Lines Design

We discuss advantages of variable doping on gain medium volume requirement, Amplified Spontaneous Emission and thermal management when designing high energy (several kJ) high average power (several tens of kW) Diode Pumped Solid State Laser.