Highly Efficient Self-Starting Femtosecond Cr:Forsterite Laser

We report a highly efficient and high power self-starting femtosecond Cr：forsterite laser pumped by a 1064-nm Yb doped fibre laser. Five chirped mirrors are used to compensate for the intra-cavity group-delay dispersion, and the mode-locking is initiated by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror （SESAM）. Under pump power of 7.9 W, stable femtosecond laser pulses with average power of 760mW are obtained, yielding a pump power slope efficiency of 12.3%. The measured pulse duration and spectral bandwidth （FWHM） are 46 fs and 45 nm; the repetition rate is 82 MHz.     

Passive picosecond and femtosecond mode-locking laser action of Yb<Superscript>3+</Superscript>:LuYSiO<Subscript>5</Subscript>

Efficient passive mode locking of a diode-pumped Yb³⁺:LuYSiO₅ (Yb:LYSO) laser is first demonstrated in experiment using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM), to the best of our knowledge. A stable pulse train with a repetition rate of 101 MHz is generated. The average output power of 2.13 W and the pulse duration of 3.9 ps. With a pair of SF10 uncoated prisms for dispersion compensation, we obtained pulses as short as 780 fs with center wavelength around 1042 nm, the average output power of 1.03 W and the peak power of 13.1 kW.     

Femtosecond 5-W Yb:KGW slab laser oscillator pumped by a single broad-area diode and its application as supercontinuum source

We demonstrate a novel and very simple design for an efficient high-power femtosecond Yb:KGW slab laser oscillator. The laser is capable of producing output powers of more than 5 W at 44-MHz repetition rate and pulse widths as short as 161 fs with a nearly diffraction limited beam and an optical-to-optical efficiency of more than 28%. The laser is pumped by a single broad-area laser diode and employs simple pump optics consisting of three lenses. The laser output power is distributed between two beams and single or combined outputs are discussed. In combination with a tapered fiber the laser was used to generate femtosecond supercontinua with up to 1.3-W average power and spectra spanning from 420 to over 1750 nm.     

A 1.7-ps pulse mode-locked Yb3+:Sc2SiO5 laser with a reflective graphene oxide saturable absorber

By using a reflective graphene oxide as saturable absorber,a diode-pumped passively mode-locked Yb3+:Sc2Si O5(Yb:SSO)laser has been demonstrated for the first time.Without extra negative dispersion compensation,the minimum pulse duration of 1.7 ps with a repetition rate of 94 MHz was obtained at the central wavelength of 1062.6 nm.The average output power amounts to 355 m W under the absorbed pump power of 15 W.The maximum peak power of the mode-locking laser is up to 2.2 k W,and the single pulse energy is 3.8nJ.     

Diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked femtosecond Yb:YAG ceramic laser

We experimentally demonstrated a diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked femtosecond laser based on an Yb:YAG ceramic. Stable laser pulses with 97-fs duration, 2.8-nJ pulse energy, and 320-mW average power were obtained. The femtosecond oscillator operated at a central wavelength of 1049 nm and a repetition rate of 115 MHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a Kerr-lens mode-locked operation in a diode-pumped Yb:YAG ceramic laser with sub-100 fs pulse duration.     

Ultrashort-pulse Yb3+-fiber-based laser and amplifier system producing >25-W average power

We have demonstrated an ultrashort-pulse Yb3+-fiber laser and amplifier system that produces >400-nJ pulses at a repetition rate of 62 MHz (>25-W average power). The output pulses were recompressed to a duration of 110 fs with good pulse quality by use of a standard bulk grating-based compressor.     

Tunable femtosecond near-infrared source based on a Yb:LYSO-laser-pumped optical parametric oscillator

We demonstrate a widely tunable near-infrared source from 767 nm to 874 nm generated by the intracavity second harmonic generation(SHG) in an optical parametric oscillator pumped by a Yb:LYSO solid-state laser. The home-made Yb:LYSO oscillator centered at 1035 nm delivers an average power of 2 W and a pulse duration as short as 351 fs. Two Mg O doped periodically poled lithium niobates(Mg O:PPLN) with grating periods of 28.5–31.5 μm in steps of 0.5 μm and19.5–21.3 μm in steps of 0.2 μm are used for the OPO and intracavity SHG, respectively. The maximum average output power of 180 m W at 798 nm was obtained and the output pulses have pulse duration of 313 fs at 792 nm if a sech2-pulse shape was assumed. In addition, tunable signal femtosecond pulses from 1428 nm to 1763 nm are also realized with the maximum average power of 355 m W at 1628 nm.     

Highly efficient mode-locked Yb:Sc2O3 laser

Passive mode locking of the Yb:Sc2O3 laser is demonstrated. We investigate the laser performance with Ti:sapphire and diode-laser pumping. The laser is mode locked by use of a semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror and emits as much as 0.8 W of power in the picosecond range with a pump efficiency as high as 47%. With dispersion compensation, pulses as short as 230 fs for an average power of 0.54 W are obtained at 1044 nm. This is, to our knowledge, the first femtosecond oscillator based on an Yb-doped sesquioxide crystal.     

Apatite-structure crystal, Yb(3+):SrY(4)(SiO(4))(3)O, for the development of diode-pumped femtosecond lasers

We report what is believed to be the first diode-pumped Yb(3+): SrY(4)(SiO(4)) (3)O laser. We investigate both the cw and the mode-locked regimes. In the cw regime an average output power of 1.05 W is demonstrated for 3.6 W of incident pump power. In the femtosecond regime a pulse duration of 94 fs for an average power of 110 mW is obtained at a central wavelength of 1068 nm. This is, to our knowledge, the first femtosecond mode-locked oscillator made with an Yb-doped apatitelike crystal. These properties are related to the unique spectroscopic properties of Yb(3+) ions in this atypical apatite-family crystal.     

Ti:sapphire second-harmonic-pumped visible range femtosecond optical parametric oscillator

A β-barium borate (BBO) femtosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by the second-harmonic of a modelocked 82 MHz Ti:sapphire laser is described. With intracavity dispersion compensation, pulse durations down to 30 fs are obtained with a total average power up to 100 mW. The current wavelength range, with a 400 nm pump, is from 566 nm to 676 nm. Unusual tuning characteristics, including bichromatic emission, are presented in detail and explained theoretically.     

Low-threshold, 12-MHz, multipass-cavity femtosecond Cr4+: Forsterite laser

We report on the development of an extended-cavity, low-threshold femtosecond Cr⁴⁺:forsterite laser operating near 1270 nm. The resonator was end-pumped by a continuous-wave Yb-fiber laser at 1060 nm. The 195-MHz short cavity could be operated with absorbed threshold pump powers as low as about 300 mW. To scale up the pulse energy, the cavity length was increased by using a q-preserving multipass cavity (MPC) consisting of a flat and a curved (R = 4 m), notched high-reflector. Kerr-lens mode locking was used to generate femtosecond pulses and double-chirped mirrors were included in the cavity for dispersion compensation. With an absorbed pump power of 1250 mW, the mode-locked laser produced 4 nJ of pulse energy at an average output power of only 47 mW. The corresponding repetition rate of the extended cavity was 11.7 MHz. The pulse-width was 90 fs and the spectral bandwidth was 23 nm, corresponding to a time-bandwidth product of 0.37.     

同步泵浦PML飞秒激光研究

采用CW锁模YAG倍频激光器同步泵浦PML飞秒染料激光器,产生了平均脉宽约55fs、功率为15mW的光脉冲。文章在理论和实验上还研究了同步泵浦飞秒激光脉冲产生技术。     

采用多通腔望远镜谐振腔结构的10MHz重复频率飞秒钛宝石激光器特性研究

通过在钛宝石激光腔内引入望远镜长腔系统增加腔长,实现了重复频率低到10?MHz的飞秒激光振荡,在5?W的抽运功率下获得了平均输出功率200?mW、单脉冲能量20?nJ的稳定输出. 在此基础上分析了腔内不同色散情况下的输出脉冲光谱和脉宽特性,结果表明在腔内存在一定负色散的情况下,锁模脉宽可接近转换极限,最短脉宽可达56?fs. 而在正色散的情况下,锁模输出的脉宽较宽,并且随着腔内正色散的增多,脉宽可到大于600?fs,锁模光谱也呈马鞍形. 关键词： 钛宝石激光器 飞秒脉冲 低重复频率 望远镜腔     

Femtosecond fiber laser at 780 nm for two-photon autofluorescence imaging

We present an Er-doped fiber(Er:fiber)-based femtosecond laser at 780 nm with 256 MHz repetition rate, 191 fs pulse duration, and over 1 W average power. Apart from the careful third-order dispersion management, we introduce moderate self-phase modulation to broaden the output spectrum of the Er:fiber amplifier and achieve 193 fs pulse duration and 2.43 W average power. Over 40% frequency doubling efficiency is obtained by a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal. Delivering through a hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber, this robust laser becomes an ideal and convenient light source for two-photon autofluorescence imaging.     

Yb3+-doped YVO4 crystal for efficient Kerr-lens mode locking in solid-state lasers

We report the first demonstration, to our knowledge, of soft-aperture Kerr-lens mode locking in a diode-pumped femtosecond Yb3+:YVO4 laser. Near-transform-limited pulses as short as 61 fs are generated around a center wavelength of 1050 nm with an output power of 54 mW and a pulse repetition frequency of 104.5 MHz. This is, to our knowledge, the shortest pulse generated directly from an Yb laser having a crystalline host material. The femtosecond operation has a mode-locking threshold at an absorbed pump power of 190 mW. The nonlinear refractive indexes of the Yb3+:YVO4 crystal have been measured to be 19 x 10(-16) cm2/W and 15 x 10(-16) cm2/W for the sigma and pi polarizations, respectively, at 1080 nm.     

High-power tunable diode-pumped Yb3+:CaF2 laser

Results of diode-pumped cw laser operation of an Yb3+:CaF2 single crystal are reported for what is to our knowledge the first time. With a 5-at.% Yb3+ -doped sample we obtained 5.8-W output power at 1053 nm for 15 W of incident power at 980 nm. The laser wavelength could be tuned from 1018 to 1072 nm, and a small-signal gain as high as 1.8 was achieved, showing the great potential of Yb3+:CaF2 as an amplifier medium for femtosecond pulses.     

Dissipative soliton operation in diode pumped ultrafast Yb:GdYSiO5 oscillator

We demonstrate the dissipative soliton mode locking in a diode pumped Yb：GdYSiO~（Yb：GYSO） laser operating in the positive dispersion regime. We obtain stable passively mode-locked pulses with strong positive chirp and with very steep spectral edges. The central wavelength is 1050 nm with bandwidth of about 4 nm, autocorrelation trace shown the typical pulse duration is about 3.5 ps. We obtain the maximum average power of 558 mW for a 3.3-W absorbed pump power, with 22% slope efficiency, and a 78-MHz pulse repetition frequency.     

Efficient femtosecond green-light source with a diode-pumped mode-locked Yb3+:KY(WO4)2 laser

Efficient generation of femtosecond pulses at 524 nm is demonstrated by the extracavity frequency doubling of the output of a diode-pumped femtosecond Yb3+:KY(WO4)2 laser using a periodically poled LiTaO3 crystal. An average second-harmonic power of 120 mW is produced at an internal conversion efficiency of 40%. The temporal characteristics of the frequency-doubled pulses as a function of focusing conditions in a thick nonlinear crystal are investigated experimentally, and pulses as short as 225 fs are generated at a pulse repetition frequency of 86 MHz.     

Ultrafast thulium-doped fiber-oscillator with pulse energy of 4.3 nJ

A femtosecond fiber laser based on thulium-doped double-clad silica fiber with an internal dispersion compensation is presented that generates pulses at a center wavelength of 1976 nm with an energy of 4.3 nJ and a duration of 1.2 ps. The dechirped pulse duration is 294 fs. The pulse energy is more than 2 orders of magnitude above the pulse energy demonstrated previously. Mode locking is achieved using additive pulse mode locking, and dispersion compensation is facilitated by a grating stretcher arrangement.     

Diode-pumped Yb:Sr(3)Y(BO(3))(3) femtosecond laser

We have developed a diode-pumped Yb(3+)Sr(3)Y(BO(3))(3) (Yb:BOYS) laser generating 69-fs pulses, at a central wavelength of 1062 nm. This laser is mode locked by use of a semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror and emits 80 mW of average power at 113 MHz. This is, to our knowledge, the first mode-locked Yb:BOYS laser and the shortest duration obtained from an ytterbium laser with a crystalline host. The central wavelength can be tuned from 1051 to 1070 nm, for sub-100-fs pulses. We have also achieved an average power as high as 300 mW with pulse duration of 86 fs at 1068 nm.