100 MW Peak Power Picosecond Laser Based on Hybrid End-Pumped Nd:YVO4 and Side-Pumped Nd:YAG Amplifiers
A mode-locked fiber laser with pulse duration of 4.8 ps and repetition rate of 30 kHz is amplified by end-pumped Nd:YVO<sub>4</sub> amplifiers and side-pumped Nd:YAG amplifiers. The output power is amplified up to 31.8 W, achieving a pulse peak power of more than 100 MW and a gain of 59 dB. The beam quality is well preserved with <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> ${M^2}$</tex-math></inline-formula> factor of 1.26, based on the method of aberration self compensation. The laser beam size in amplifiers is optimized to prevent the unwanted damage due to the high pulse peak power density by using two different types of pumping scheme. It is demonstrated to be an ideal laser source for higher harmonic generation due to high peak power and good beam quality.