This dissertation describes the design, construction and characterization of a high energy chirped-pulse amplification Titanium-Sapphire laser system for the excitation of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lasers. Compact EUV lasers have made possible nano-scale imaging, dense plasma diagnostics and photo-chemistry and photo-physics studies. They also have the potential to make possible a variety of new studies of surfaces and materials and enable the development of unique metrology and processing tools for industry. The components developed to realize high energy operation of the Titanium-Sapphire laser include the development of a Nd:Glass zig-zag slab pump laser and novel 800 nm multi-layer dielectric diffraction gratings for picosecond compression.

The Titanium-Sapphire laser was used to pump several table-top EUV lasers. Increased average power operation of a 13.9 nm nickel-like silver laser generating 20 μW was demonstrated. This is the highest average power obtained from a compact EUV laser to date. Injection seeding of the 13.9 nm EUV amplifier produced laser beams with greatly improved beam characteristics which includes a large reduction in beam divergence and a near Gaussian far-field profile. The laser was also used to pump a gain-saturated table-top laser at 10.9 nm in nickel-like tellurium.