The objective of the proposed effort is to examine the feasibility of applying advanced laser architectures towards the ultimate development and delivery of a high energy and repetition rate non-Chirped Pulsed Amplified (non-CPA), Ultra-Short Pulse Laser (USPL) prototype system. The proposed conceptual design is capable of producing sub- 500 fs pulses, > 10 mJ/pulse, and > 1 kHz repetition rates at a 1-micron wavelength. The architecture is extendable to 1.5 and 2 micron regimes by a substitution of laser gain media and pump wavelengths. The proposed system inherently possesses a small footprint, volume, reduced complexity, and optical component count in comparison to currently existing CPA systems.
Benefit: The proposed development will develop a new laser architecture to enable high peak power USPL systems to avoid the limitations associated with the stretching and compressing stages for existing USPL systems. The more compact more robust system will apply broadly for industrial, research, and military applications.
Keywords: non-CHP USPL, non-CHP USPL
