High energy Yb:YAG active mirror laser system for transform limited pulses bridging the picosecond gap

A diode-pumped Yb:YAG MOPA-System for the unprecedented generation of transform limited pulses with variable pulse duration in the range between 10 ps and 100 ps is presented. First applications relying on unique pulse parameters as modulation free spectrum, tunability and coherence length, namely the direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) and laser cooling of stored relativistic ion beams are highlighted. Pulses are generated by a mode-locked fs-oscillator while the spectral bandwidth is narrowed in the subsequent regenerative amplifier by an intra-cavity grating monochromator. Two alternative booster amplifiers were added to increase the pulse energy to 100 mJ and 10 mJ, respectively.