Signal-to-idler energy conversion from 1.9 to 2.3 µm by transient stimulated Raman chirped-pulse amplification

Abstract

The combination of optical parametric and transient stimulated Raman amplification of chirped pulses demonstrates a new approach for idler energy buildup in the short-wave (SW)IR range. Optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) output pulses in the wavelength range from ∼1800 nm to ∼2000 nm for the signal and from ∼2100 nm to ∼2400 nm for the idler were used as pump and Stokes seed, respectively, in a stimulated Raman amplifier based on a KGd(WO₄)₂ crystal. Both OPCPA and its supercontinuum seed were pumped with ∼1.2-ps transform-limited pulses from a Yb:YAG chirped-pulse amplifier. The transient stimulated Raman chirped-pulse amplifier provides a 33% increase in idler energy with nearly transform-limited ∼53-fs pulses after compression.