100-TW sub-20-fs Ti:sapphire laser system operating at a 10-Hz repetition rate

We developed a compact three-stage Ti:sapphire amplifier laser system that produced peak power in excess of 100 TW for a pulse duration of less than 19 fs and an average power of 19 W at a 10-Hz repetition rate. A final 40-mm-diameter Ti:sapphire amplifier is pumped by a Nd:YAG master-oscillator–power-amplifier system that produces $\sim 7-\mathrm{J}$ output of 532-nm radiation. The spatial beam quality is approximately 2 times diffraction limited for the full amplified compressed output pulse. With $f/3$ optics, this system should therefore be capable of producing a focused intensity of $\sim 3\times {10}^{20} \mathrm{W}/{\text{cm}}^2$.