High intensity, high temporal contrast, high repetition-rate laser for laser driven particle acceleration

We have demonstrated an optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA)/Yb:YAG ceramic thin disk hybrid laser system having hundred mJ level pulse energy sub-picosecond pulse duration with high temporal contrast. At an input chirped-pulse energy of 3.8 mJ from an OPCPA preamplifer an output energy of 130 mJ has been generated from multipass laser diode-pumped Yb:YAG ceramic thin disk amplifier. A recompressed pulse duration of 450 fs with a contrast level of less than 7.2×10−9 at −150 ps before the main pulse has been obtained. The contrast level is the highest value achieved in Yb:YAG chirped pulse amplification (CPA) laser system with hundred mJ level.