Scattering-initiated parametric noise in optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification

TL;DR

This paper investigates a new type of parametric noise in optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification, initiated by signal scattering and amplified, which affects efficiency but not pulse contrast.

Contribution

It experimentally characterizes scattering-initiated parametric noise and its effects on amplification performance in chirped-pulse systems.

Findings

Scattering noise is similar to super-fluorescence but stronger.

The noise inherits the signal pulse's chirp and can be compressed.

It reduces conversion efficiency without affecting pulse contrast.

Abstract

We experimentally study a new kind of parametric noise that is initiated from signal scattering and enhanced through optical parametric amplification. Such scattering noise behaves similarly to the parametric super-fluorescence in the spatial domain, yet is typically much stronger. In the time domain, it inherits the chirp of signal pulses and can be well compressed. We demonstrate that this scattering-initiated parametric noise has little influence on the amplified pulse contrast but can degrade the conversion efficiency substantially.