All-fiber high-power 1700 nm femtosecond laser based on optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification

We present the design and construction of an all-fiber high-power optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier working at 1700 nm, an important wavelength for bio-photonics and medical treatments. The laser delivers 1.42 W of output average power at 1700 nm, which corresponds to ∼40 nJ pulse energy. The pulse can be de-chirped with a conventional grating pair compressor to ∼450 fs. Furthermore, the laser has a stable performance with relative intensity noise typically below the -130 dBc/Hz level for the idler pulses at 1700 nm from 10kHz to 16.95 MHz, half of the laser repetition rate f/2.