Hybrid high-energy high-power pulsewidth-tunable picosecond source

Abstract : A hybrid ytterbium-doped fiber–bulk laser source allowing the generation of 3 ps, 350 μJ, 116 MW peak power Fourier transform-limited pulses at 50 kHz repetition rate and 1030 nm wavelength is described. Pulse duration tunability is provided by an adjustable spectral compression-based seeder system. Energy scaling capabilities of the architecture by use of the divided-pulse amplification method are investigated. This source provides a robust, compact, and versatile solution for applications such as RF photocathode guns, x-and γ-ray generation by inverse Compton scattering , and optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification pumping.