| This dissertation is concerned with the design, construction, and characterization of a Ti:sapphire-based kHz-amplifier system. The main goals are to (1) expand upon our knowledge of the dispersive properties of grating and prism sequences; (2) improve our understanding of how this dispersion affects an optical pulse; and (3) determine the limits to the contrast of this system by studying the pulse shape of the oscillator; and (4) study the noise properties of the oscillator. All four of these studies will help us re-design and build an improved kHz-amplifier system. However, the knowledge gained will be generally applicable to any chirped-pulse amplifier system.;Specifically, the Ti:sapphire oscillator's noise characteristics are presented and compared with those of the better known colliding-pulse modelocked laser in order to determine its suitability as a short-pulse source. Also, we investigate the determination of the pulse shape using autocorrelation techniques. By using a high-dynamic-range autocorrelation in conjunction with a spectrum we show how pulse shapes can be more accurately determined. We find that oscillators and amplifiers can produce both hyperbolic-secant-squared and gaussian pulses by using the proper design. The role of dispersion in shaping the pulse, both in the oscillator and amplifier systems, is expanded beyond the present state-of-the-art.;The knowledge gained in these studies is applied in the design of a kilohertz-repetition rate, chirped-pulse amplifier system capable of amplifying 40-fs, 0.45 mJ pulses of light. Finally, future ways of improving the performance of the system are presented in the conclusion. |
