Spectral phase noise analysis of a cryogenically cooled Ti:Sapphire amplifier.

ABSTRACT

The spectral phase noise of a cryogenically cooled TiSapphire amplifier was analyzed by spectrally resolved interferometry. Since a relative phase difference measurement is performed, the effect of the amplifier stage can be determined with high precision. Contributions of the cooling system to the spectral phase noise were found to be below 50 mrad for both the vacuum pumps and the cryogenic system. The carrier-envelope phase noise of thermal and mechanical origin was also determined for different repetition rates of laser operation. Mechanical vibrational spectra were recorded by an accelerometer for different stages of operation and compared to the interferometric phase noise measurements.