Zero-phonon-line pumped 1 kHz Yb:YAG thin-disk regenerative amplifier

We are developing high-energy thin-disk regenerative amplifier operating at kilohertz repetition rate delivering 1-2 ps long pulses for science and industry applications. We have developed a prototype Yb:YAG thin disk regenerative amplifier which can operate up to 10-kHz repetition rate pumped by the 940-nm laser diode. The pulse energy was achieved to 5-mJ at 10-kHz operation and to 29.5-mJ at 1-kHz operation. We found that the pulsed pumping method can improve the optical-to-optical efficiency. We demonstrated the zero-phonon-line-pumped (968.825-nm¹) regenerative amplifier at 1-kHz, and obtained the output energy of 32-mJ with nearly diffraction limited beam profile.