Overview of diode pumped high energy solid state lasers

In the past, ultra-short laser pulses with several 100J have been produced by mature flash lamp technologies1, 2. Alternatively, diode-pumped lasers have a great potential for generating peak-powers at higher repetition rates (1-10Hz). Worldwide, several ambitious laser projects e.g. MERCURY3, LUCIA4, GENBU5, HALNA6, DIPOLE7, LIFE8 are developing diode-pumped amplifier systems for output pulses with expected energies of 100J or more.
The Helmholtz-Centre Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) is currently building a fully diode-pumped Petawatt laser called PEnELOPE (Petawatt, Energy-Efficient Laser for Optical Plasma Experiments). PEnELOPE is designed for pulse energy of 150J, a repetition rate of 1Hz and pulse duration of 120fs. Additionally, the operational Ti:Sapphire based laser system DRACO (Dresden laser acceleration source9) is currently upgraded (25-30fs, 30J). Both PW-class lasers are designated for laser-plasma and particle acceleration research. While electron acceleration experiments and principles of proton/ion-acceleration are studied with DRACO, PEnELOPE is dedicated to produce laser accelerated proton and ion beams with energies of 100MeV or more which become relevant for future cancer therapy applications