Multi-gigawatt peak power post-compression in a bulk multi-pass cell at high repetition rate

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a record 2.5 GW peak power pulse achieved through efficient post-compression of a high-repetition-rate Yb amplifier, maintaining beam quality and enabling advanced nonlinear optical applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel high-repetition-rate post-compression technique achieving record peak power in a bulk multi-pass cell with high efficiency.

Findings

Achieved 2.5 GW peak power in a single-stage bulk multi-pass cell.

Maintained high beam quality despite operation above self-focusing threshold.

Demonstrated pulse compression from 300 fs to 31 fs at 200 kHz repetition rate.

Abstract

The output of a 200 kHz, 34 W, 300 fs Yb amplifier is compressed to 31 fs with > 88 % efficiency to reach a peak power of 2.5 GW, which to date is a record for a single-stage bulk multi-pass cell. Despite operation 80 times above the critical power for self-focusing in bulk material, the setup demonstrates excellent preservation of the input beam quality. Extensive beam and pulse characterizations are performed to show that the compressed pulses are promising drivers for high harmonic generation and nonlinear optics in gases or solids.