We demonstrate a carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stabilized high temporal contrast generator at 1053 nm for the first time. The device relies on a collinear optical parametric amplifier (OPA) followed by a frequency-doubling crystal. It is driven by a femtosecond laser source centered at 800 nm and finally generates CEP passively stabilized pulses with an energy of 130 µJ and a FWHM for the spectrum of 40 nm with 46 fs pulse duration at 1053 nm. The temporal contrast reaches >10 11 at a few picoseconds before the main pulse.
Significant enhancement of temporal contrast is achieved in a femtosecond petawatt Ti:sapphire laser. A pulse cleaning technique, combining double-CPA, non-collinear optical parametrical amplification and second harmonics generation, is applied to improve the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) contrast. Meanwhile, pre-pulse leaking from the regenerative amplifier is suppressed by double Pockels cells and a saturable absorber. Measurement results show that pre-pulse on nanosecond scale can be effectively suppressed and the ASE contrast can be improved from the original ∼10−8 to ∼2 × 10−12. Proton acceleration experimental results with a foil target also demonstrate a significant enhancement of temporal contrast.
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