Temperature- and wavelength-insensitive parametric amplification enabled by noncollinear achromatic phase-matching.

Daolong Tang,Jing Wang,Liejia Qian,Guoqiang Xie,Heyuan Zhu,Bingjie Zhou,Peng Yuan,Jingui Ma

doi:10.1038/srep36059

Daolong Tang, Jing Wang + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36059

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Abstract

Optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) has been demonstrated to be a promising approach for pushing femtosecond pulses towards ultra-high peak powers. However, the future success of OPCPA strongly relies on the ability to manipulate its phase-matching (PM) configuration. When a high average power pump laser is involved, the thermal effects in nonlinear crystals induce phase-mismatch distortions that pose an inherent limitation on the conversion efficiency. Here, we demonstrate that the noncollinear configuration previously adopted for wavelength-insensitive PM can be employed for temperature-insensitive PM when the noncollinear angle is properly reset. Simultaneous temperature- and wavelength-insensitive PM is realized for the first time by imposing such a temperature-insensitive noncollinear configuration with an angularly dispersed seed signal. Based on the lithium triborate crystal, the proposed noncollinear achromatic PM has a thermal acceptance 6 times larger than that of the conventional wavelength-insensitive noncollinear PM and has a sufficient spectral acceptance to support pulse durations of ~20 fs at 800 nm. These achievements open new possibilities for generating ultra-high peak power lasers with high average power.

Highlights

At 0.532 μm and ~0.5 cm−1 at 2.55 μm[21]
Aiming for the generation of high peak and average power ultrafast lasers, here we propose an OPCPA PM configuration that is insensitive to temperature and wavelength simultaneously
We demonstrate a PM configuration for OPCPA that is insensitive to temperature and wavelength simultaneously, which is achieved by adopting a temperature-insensitive noncollinear configuration and applying angular dispersion to the seed

Summary

Introduction

At 0.532 μm and ~0.5 cm−1 at 2.55 μm[21]. The absorption of the interacting waves non-uniformly heats the crystal and induces phase-mismatch among the spectra, which is more severe in the high average power regime[22]. The right-hand term in Eq (6) involves the group-velocity mismatch caused by the deviation from the angle for wavelength-insensitive PM, which can be compensated by an adequate angular dispersion of the seed signal, as shown in the left-hand term. When the group-velocities of the signal and idler are matched (α = 1.18°), ∂Δk/∂ωs vanishes exactly, and wavelength-insensitive PM is achieved, corresponding to the conventional noncollinear PM30.

Results

Conclusion