Chirped pulse waveguide amplifier

Abstract

We introduce a single-mode Cr:ZnS crystalline waveguide ultrafast amplifier that provides a high gain of 5.5 dB/cm and 2.35 W of average output power. The depressed-cladding buried waveguide is produced by an ultrafast laser writing procedure, which allows a high degree of flexibility in fabrication when the geometry, size, and even effective index can be modified along the waveguide. An analytical model that includes both, pump and pulse propagation, allows calculation and optimization of the waveguide design. In a CPA arrangement with a volume Bragg grating-based stretcher/compressor, we demonstrate a broadband 34-mm long amplifier in a polycrystalline Cr:ZnS with a single-pass gain factor of 75 (5.5 dB/cm) and a high average output power up to 2.35 W.