Ytterbium-based regenerative amplification at 1053 nm

We present here the characterization and performance of a diode-pumped regenerative amplifier based on ytterbium-doped active materials, towards its integration in the L2I chirped pulse amplification Nd:glass chain. The amplifier generates mJ, ~5 nm bandwidth pulses centered at 1053 nm at 1 Hz repetition rate. The pulses are then double-passed through a pair of Nd:glass rod amplifiers, where their energy is raised to the Joule level. Multi-terawatt pulses are then achieved after a vacuum-enclosed, double-passed grating compressor and can be available for laser-matter experiments. The comparative study of the materials, given their very different thermal and pump absorption characteristics, will allow us to define, with the ongoing experimental study, the ideal candidate for integration in a Nd:glass system.