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Compact, folded multi-pass cells for energy scaling of post-compression

Schönberg, Arthur ; Rajhans, Supriya ; Escoto, Esmerando ; Khodakovskiy, Nikita ; Hariton, Victor ; Farace, Bonaventura ; Põder, Kristjan ; Raab, Ann-Kathrin LU ; Westerberg, Saga LU and Merdanov, Mekan , et al. (2025) In Photonics Research 13(3). p.761-771
Abstract
Combining high peak and high average power has long been a key challenge of ultrafast laser technology, crucial for applications such as laser-plasma acceleration and strong-field physics. A promising solution lies in post-compressed ytterbium lasers, but scaling these to high pulse energies presents a major bottleneck. Post-compression techniques, particularly Herriott-type multi-pass cells (MPCs), have enabled large peak power boosts at high average powers but their pulse energy acceptance reaches practical limits defined by setup size and coating damage threshold. In this work, we address this challenge and demonstrate a novel type of compact, energy-scalable MPC (CMPC). By employing a novel MPC configuration and folding the beam path,... (More)
Combining high peak and high average power has long been a key challenge of ultrafast laser technology, crucial for applications such as laser-plasma acceleration and strong-field physics. A promising solution lies in post-compressed ytterbium lasers, but scaling these to high pulse energies presents a major bottleneck. Post-compression techniques, particularly Herriott-type multi-pass cells (MPCs), have enabled large peak power boosts at high average powers but their pulse energy acceptance reaches practical limits defined by setup size and coating damage threshold. In this work, we address this challenge and demonstrate a novel type of compact, energy-scalable MPC (CMPC). By employing a novel MPC configuration and folding the beam path, the CMPC introduces a new degree of freedom for downsizing the setup length, enabling compact setups even for large pulse energies. We experimentally and numerically verify the CMPC approach, demonstrating post-compression of 8 mJ pulses from 1 ps down to 51 fs in atmospheric air using a cell roughly 45 cm in length at low fluence values. Additionally, we discuss the potential for energy scaling up to 200 mJ with a setup size reaching 2.5 m. Our work presents a new approach to high-energy post-compression, with up-scaling potential far beyond the demonstrated parameters. This opens new routes for achieving the high peak and average powers necessary for demanding applications of ultrafast lasers. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Photonics Research
volume
13
issue
3
pages
761 - 771
publisher
Optica Publishing Group (formerly OSA)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85219748966
DOI
10.1364/PRJ.540977
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
67eb4891-3f8f-4e31-9411-fb5641696383
date added to LUP
2024-10-31 13:28:34
date last changed
2025-06-19 11:33:28
@article{67eb4891-3f8f-4e31-9411-fb5641696383,
  abstract     = {{Combining high peak and high average power has long been a key challenge of ultrafast laser technology, crucial for applications such as laser-plasma acceleration and strong-field physics. A promising solution lies in post-compressed ytterbium lasers, but scaling these to high pulse energies presents a major bottleneck. Post-compression techniques, particularly Herriott-type multi-pass cells (MPCs), have enabled large peak power boosts at high average powers but their pulse energy acceptance reaches practical limits defined by setup size and coating damage threshold. In this work, we address this challenge and demonstrate a novel type of compact, energy-scalable MPC (CMPC). By employing a novel MPC configuration and folding the beam path, the CMPC introduces a new degree of freedom for downsizing the setup length, enabling compact setups even for large pulse energies. We experimentally and numerically verify the CMPC approach, demonstrating post-compression of 8 mJ pulses from 1 ps down to 51 fs in atmospheric air using a cell roughly 45 cm in length at low fluence values. Additionally, we discuss the potential for energy scaling up to 200 mJ with a setup size reaching 2.5 m. Our work presents a new approach to high-energy post-compression, with up-scaling potential far beyond the demonstrated parameters. This opens new routes for achieving the high peak and average powers necessary for demanding applications of ultrafast lasers.}},
  author       = {{Schönberg, Arthur and Rajhans, Supriya and Escoto, Esmerando and Khodakovskiy, Nikita and Hariton, Victor and Farace, Bonaventura and Põder, Kristjan and Raab, Ann-Kathrin and Westerberg, Saga and Merdanov, Mekan and Viotti, Anne-Lise and Arnold, Cord and Leemans, Wim P. and Hartl, Ingmar and Heyl, Christoph M.}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{761--771}},
  publisher    = {{Optica Publishing Group (formerly OSA)}},
  series       = {{Photonics Research}},
  title        = {{Compact, folded multi-pass cells for energy scaling of post-compression}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/PRJ.540977}},
  doi          = {{10.1364/PRJ.540977}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}