18- \mu J energy, 160-kHz repetition rate, 250-MW peak power mid-IR OPCPA

Abstract

Progresses on the development of a high repetition rate mid-IR laser source suitable for the next generation of high-field physics experiments are reported. The presented optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) source currently delivers carrier-envelope phase (CEP)-stable 67-fs duration optical pulses with up to 18-μJ output energy at 160-kHz repetition rate. The focusability of the output beam (M2 ∼2) enables peak intensities exceeding 1014 W/cm2 and the record output energy stability-below 1% power fluctuation over 4.5 h makes this source a key enabler for the strong field physics community.