High-Power and Sub-Two-Cycle 2.5 μm Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification System

Mid-infrared (mid-IR) laser sources with a high repetition rate and peak power are particularly interesting for strong-field and attosecond science, enabling fast measurements and shorter attosecond pulses via the high-harmonic cut-off [1]. Here we demonstrate our optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) system delivering pulses with 12.6 W average power and a pulse duration of 14.4 fs at 100 kHz with a center wavelength of 2.5 μm. This corresponds to a record-high mid-IR (above 2 μώ) peak power of 6.3 GW at 100 kHz repetition rate [2]. Moreover we present a new time-gated pulse shaping scheme which enables optimal compression of the high-power mid-IR pulses [3].