Tunable picosecond optical parametric amplifier pumped by 1 ps pulses at 1 µm for coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering

We report an optical parametric amplifier (OPA), providing a maximum pulse energy of ∼200 µJ at 700–950 nm and a pulse duration of ∼1 ps. The OPA is driven by a ∼1 ps pulse with ∼2.5 mJ energy at 1 kHz, provided by a commercial thin-disk based laser. Using the output pulse of the OPA as pump, the thin-disk laser pulses at 1030 nm as Stokes, and the second harmonic (515 nm) as probe, we investigate the coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) of N2 and CO2 at various temperatures.