Diode pumped chirped pulse amplification to the Joule level

In this paper, we demonstrate direct pumping scheme using Yb doped fluoride phosphate glass as active material. Antireflective coatings on the glass surface allow using both polarizations for pumping and amplifying as well. The pump system consists of stacked laser diode bars at 940 nm wavelength focused tightly to the glass. Joule-level amplification of broad band width chirped pulses was achieved.