15TerawattPicosecondCO2LaserSystem.docVIP

15 Terawatt Picosecond CO2 Laser System D. Haberberger, S. Tochitsky, C. Joshi Neptune Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles420 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095, USAdhaberberger@ucla.edu Abstract: The generation of a record peak-power of 15TW (45J, 3ps) in a single CO2 laser beam is reported. Using a master oscillator–power amplifier laser system, it is shown that up to 100J of energy can be extracted in a train of 3ps laser pulses separated by 18ps, a characteristic time of the CO2 molecule. The bandwidth required for amplifyin