Diode‐pumped chirped pulse amplification to the TW level using Yb:CaF2

We present a terawatt diode‐pumped chirped pulse amplifier using single‐crystalline Yb:CaF2 as the gain medium. A maximum pulse energy of 420 mJ and a repetition rate of 1 Hz was obtained. After recompression, a pulse energy of 197 mJ and a pulse duration of 192 fs were achieved, corresponding to a peak power of 1 TW.