Versatile dual stage tunable NOPA with pulse duration down to 17 fs and energy up to 3 μJ at 500 kHz repetition rate

Noncollinear optical parametric amplification (NOPA) is now established as a unique technology to generate ultrashort tunable pulses with high flexibility for spectroscopic applications. With the availability of commercial ultrafast fiber lasers delivering energies of several tens of microjoules, such devices can be designed to operate at unprecedented repetition rates of several MHz, enabling shorter acquisition time as well as better signal-to-noise ratio. Fiber laser-pumped tunable sources are also valuable tools for X-ray time resolved studies, to match the MHz repetition rate of synchrotrons or free electrons laser facilities. We report here on the development of a new tunable ultrashort NOPA pumped by a fiber laser at 500 kHz repetition rate with improved performances over previously published similar designs.