Compact and efficient multipass Ti:sapphire system for femtosecond chirped-pulse amplification at the terawatt level.

We have developed efficient multipass Ti:sapphire amplifiers for femtosecond chirped-pulse amplification. With only two of these devices we get an amplification factor of 10(8), which corresponds to a peak power of ~0.5 TW after compression. We present a detailed analysis of such a system and its advantages in terms of its high quantum yield (0.3), flexibility, optical quality, and potential for tunability.