Self-phase modulation in chirped-pulse amplification

Abstract
The effect of self-phase modulation in chirped-pulse amplification is investigated. A numerical model is used to predict the effects of phase modulation on pulse recompression, and experimental results are presented that agree well with the calculations. We show that even moderate self-phase modulation can significantly distort the recompressed pulse after amplification, thereby reducing the peak power and degrading the pulse contrast.