Martin Schmidberger Pumping Yb. YAG thin-disks at 940 nm and the Zero-Phonon-Line

Masterarbeit aus dem Jahr 2013 im Fachbereich Physik - Optik, Note: 1.3, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: With the prospect of high-intensity isolated attosecond pulses XUV pump-XUV probe spectroscopy as well as novel methods for controlling atomic-scale currents seem feasible paving the way for new physical, chemical, biological, and medical applications such as attosecond X-ray diffraction, non-invasive imaging and cancer therapy.To reach these ambitious goals, optical parametric chirped pulse amplifcation (OPCPA) in combination with high harmonic generation (HHG) seems like a promising route. But this approach puts stringent demands on the pump laser driving it. To overcome these challenges Yb:YAG as active laser medium in a thin-disk geometry is often used offering a lot of favourable properties for high power applications with excellent beam quality.Yb:Yag can be pumped at either 940 nm or, more recently, since the advent of Volume-Bragg-Grating stabilized diodes, at its Zero-Phonon-Line with a wavelength of 969 nm. These two wavelengths excite different transitions in the 5 F 1/2 electronic shell each exhibiting its own assets and drawbacks. This thesis will focus on a comparison between them.A theoretical model of the conditions in the pumped thin-disk is created. Absorption of the pump light is calculated numerically. Amplified spontaneous emission and thermal effects are considered, too. The structure of the 5 F 1/2 energy manifold ...