Abstract

The LULI laboratory is committed to provide reliable and high quality laser systems to the high intensity laser-matter interaction and plasma physics community. Laser shots on demand with high energy laser pulses and very well defined spatial and temporal characteristics have has always been a recurrent request from users. While the demand on ultra-short and intense pulses is high, nanosecond lasers are still highly required for real life applications such as material processing. This led us to consider that the basic component for high energy lasers will be solid state lasers able to deliver pulse in the nanosecond regime with a high repetition rate, 10 Hz at least. This indeed conducts to diode pumped devices and Ytterbium based materials. While Yb—crystals are often able to amplify short pulses, recent demonstrations of the OPCPA scheme¹ reveals that these nanosecond laser systems are now able to directly provide femtosecond pulses, in addition to their potential of pumping Ti-Sapphire crystals.

© 2002 Optical Society of America