DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OF A MULTITERAWATT CR-LISRALF6 LASER SYSTEM

We have developed a compact, flash-lamp-pumped Cr:LiSrAlF6 (Cr:LiSAF) laser capable of producing femtosecond pulses exhibiting peak powers greater than 2 TW. Chirped pulse amplification in a Cr:LiSAF regenerative amplifier produces 15-mJ pulses at a 5-Hz repetition rate. Further amplification in Cr:LiSAF yields recompressed pulse energies of 280 mJ and a pulse duration of less than 135 fs at a 1.0-Hz repetition rate. We describe the design and performance of this laser as well as the optimization of chirped pulse amplification in flash-lamp-pumped Cr:LiSAF.