Generation of sub-30-fs pulses from a scaleable high-energy oscillator

We report on the generation of sub-30fs pulses from a mirror-dispersion- controlled (MDC) Ti:sapphire oscillator, containing a multiple-pass Herriott-cell for increasing the cavity length. Using that scheme, repetition rates down to some few MHz could be achieved. To avoid multiple pulsing instabilities, we operate the laser in a regime of slight positive group-delay dispersion (GDD) over a very broad wavelength range. This results in the formation of strongly chirped light pulses, reducing the otherwise very high peak-intensity inside the laser crystal, which would limit the maximum output energy. We have investigated the spectral phase associated with these pulses with the help of the well known SPIDER-technique, and, based on the results, have constructed an optimized compressor. When pumped with the full 10 W of a frequency-doubled Nd:YVO₄ laser (Coherent Verdi V10), output energies well above 200 nJ could be obtained. As no signs of instabilities were observed, we believe, that our approach is scaleable to even higher energies if more powerful pump lasers are used. Thanks to the excellent beam profile, high-resolution micromachining of various materials, including transparent dielectrica could be demonstrated. Results on sub-micrometer surface modification of transparent materials will be presented.