Dual-output kilohertz pump laser for high-energy picosecond OPCPA.

A dual-output thin-disk picosecond laser operating at 100 W with 1 kHz repetition rate is reported in this Letter. By electronically adjusting the amplitude of the optical seed pulses that are injected into the laser cavity, the energy extracted from the gain medium can be shared between two pulses. Amplified double pulses are subsequently spatially separated into two independent beams by a fast Pockels cell, compressed in one common compressor, and frequency-doubled with ∼70% efficiency. This approach significantly decreases strain on the optics, as well as nonlinear effects, and is advantageous for power scaling.

Optical properties of lithium terbium fluoride and implications for performance in high power lasers.

LiTbF4 has the potential to replace traditional magneto-optic garnet materials as a Faraday rotator in high power laser systems due to its high Verdet constant. New measurements are reported of the ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices of LiTbF4 as functions of wavelength and temperature, respectively, as well as their corresponding Sellmeier expressions. Consequently, the Verdet coefficient was calculated and plotted as a function of wavelength and temperature. These measurements will aid in further development of LiTbF4 as an optical isolator.