Design of intra-cavity phase masks for high power flat-top Yb:YAG thin-disk cavities

Industrial and scientific applications are in constant demand of high power laser sources. Ytterbium disk laser sources can reach several kilowatt of average power while the thermal effects are well controlled. In 2017, a step has been taken toward high energy picosecond pulses with the demonstration of 1 kW at 5 and 10 kHz by using the thin-disk technology [1] . On the other hand, cryogenically-cooled thick-disk technology has demonstrated recently up to 1.1 kW at 1 kHz [2] but with longer 4.5 ps pulse duration. At the same time, all-thin-disk technology has demonstrated sub picosecond pulses with an energy up to 720 mJ at 1 kHz [3] . Reaching 1J with sub-picosecond pulses at 1 kHz with the thin-disk technology is then a real challenge.