Experimental study on injection-locked Ti:sapphire lasers

An injection-locked Ti:sapphire laser is developed,with injection locking achieved using the Pound-DreverHall technique.By measuring the dependence of output power on the pump power with various Ti:sapphire laser parameters,we experimentally studied the influences of the ring cavity length,the focal length of the pump-laser mode-matching lens,and the output-coupler transmission on the threshold and slope efficiency.The dependence of the output power on the master laser power is also investigated.The present study provides a guideline for developing a Ti:sapphire laser with high slope efficiency and low threshold.     

Dual-wavelength injection-locked pulsed laser

An injection-locked pulsed Ti:sapphire laser oscillating at dual wavelengths is demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. By use of two feedback loops, seeds of two independent master lasers are locked on specific longitudinal modes of a power oscillator, leading to a stable dual-wavelength oscillation over a long time scale. The two injection-locked pulsed outputs completely overlap in time, with spectral purities reaching a Fourier-transform limit. The dual-wavelength oscillation is controlled by the master lasers only, allowing for flexible selectivity of the two wavelengths and full controllability of the relative two-wavelength pulsed energies.     

Numerical modeling of thermal effects in a high-power injection-locked cw Ti:sapphire laser

With the FEA and matrix methods, the thermal lenses induced by the thermooptic effect, thermally induced mechanical strain and end face bulging in a Ti:sapphire crystal are analyzed. The results show that there is an unignorable strain-induced lens in a high pump power region. With the thermal lens effect, an injection-locked cw Ti:sapphire laser is numerically simulated. We find that the poor mode matching between the lasing and pump beams due to thermal lens will cause the slope efficiency decreasing. The calculated results agree with the reported experimental data, and we also predict that the thermal lens is obviously active at a certain pump power level.     

连续钛宝石激光器最佳输出透射率的测量

在连续钛宝石激光器中，在一定泵浦功率下通过直接测量腔内熔融石英片在不同入射角时的反射耦合输出，得到了激光器的最佳输出透射率。在两个不同的输出透射率条件下，测量激光器的泵浦阈值，经计算求得了不同泵浦功率下激光器最佳输出透射率的理论值。对浓度不同的钛宝石棒均作了测量和计算，测量值与理论值基本符合。     

Wavelength swept Ti:sapphire laser

In this study, we demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, electronic wavelength sweeping of a continuous wave Ti:sapphire laser using an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF). The dependence of the laser output on the sweeping frequency and on the spectral tuning range was investigated. The lasing up to maximum scan rate 11 kHz for 10 nm tuning range and 5 W pump power was achieved. We detected and quantified asymmetry in the output for opposite scan directions. We theoretically characterized the maximum sweeping frequency for swept lasers with AOTFs and confirmed calculated results by measurements.     

Narrow bandwidth operation of high-power broad-area diode laser using cascaded phase-conjugate injection locking

A broad-area laser is injection-locked by another broad-area laser that is also injection-locked by a single-mode diode laser. Two double-phase conjugate mirrors of photorefractive BaTaO₃ are used to couple the master laser beams to the first slave laser, and the first slave laser output to the second slave laser. One of the double-phase conjugate mirrors is built up with the beams from two broad-area lasers. Two slave lasers are oscillating in single longitudinal mode at 808.5 nm and the spectral width is the same as that of the master laser. Final single-mode output power from the second slave broad-area laser is 840 mW, which is limited by the power of the injection beam. This work verifies the possibility of the multi-stage cascaded injection locking of high-power diode lasers with phase-conjugate injection. Received: 18 November 1998 / Revised version: 29 January 1999 / Published online: 7 April 1999     

高效连续波钛宝石激光器的优化设计及实验研究

运用ABCD律及自再现条件对钛宝石线性腔的折叠角进行了优化,从而大大提高了钛宝石晶体中光束束腰的耦合效率同时实验上对连续钛宝石激光器进行了研究,采用20mm长的钛宝石晶体和10%输出耦合镜,并运用优化后的折叠角,最终用全线氩离子激光器泵浦的连续波钛宝石激光器的斜率效率高达34.2%,在泵浦功率为7.7W下,连续钛宝石激光器输出功率达1.89W.     

薄片式Yb:YAG激光器及其应用

介绍了薄片式固体激光器的原理,YbYAG晶体的特性及其与传统棒状NdYAG晶体固体激光器的对比.VersaDisk固体激光器是一个功能强大的光学平台,可以实现红外(基频)、绿光(倍频)或双波长(红外和绿光)同时输出,也可以在腔内插入标准具、布儒斯特窗片、双折射滤光片来实现单频、线偏振、波长可调谐等多项传统棒状固体激光器实现不了的功能.该激光器在科研领域可以用于中红外高分辨率光谱、玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚和光镊、材料微加工、泵浦高功率Tisapphire激光器和染料激光器和全息、干涉、光存储等需要激光器单频特性的应用领域.     

Theoretical and Experimental Investigations of Diode-Pumped Tm:YAG Laser in Active Mirror Configuration

Based on the rate-equations of quasi-three-level lasers, we analyzed the threshold and the output power of longitudinally pumped Tm:YAG lasers in an active mirror configuration. In contrast to one-pass pumping, two-pass pumping in this configuration will result in a 24% decrease in threshold and 16% increase in slope efficiency. Using a 3-W diode-laser pumping in the active mirror configuration, we demonstrated a CW Tm:YAG laser and obtained 735 mW output power with a slope efficiency up to 49%. Using a Ti:sapphire laser to pump the same device, the threshold power was further reduced and the slope efficiency reached 59%.     

多波长单腔型自锁模飞秒钛宝石激光器的运转特性

在自锁模飞秒钛宝石激光器运转状态不变的条件下,仅仅改变所加光阑,便可获得三波长或双波长的飞秒光脉冲运转.在此基础上,我们比较了这两种运转状态下激光器输出脉冲的脉宽,啁啾、中心波长间距和输出功率的差异.给出了在不同条件下运转时的双波长激光器的输出特性.讨论了多波长运转时的一些规律.     

Noise characterization of an all-solid-state mirror-dispersion-controlled 10-fs Ti:sapphire laser

We characterized the phase and amplitude noise of a mirror-dispersion-controlled 10-fs Ti:sapphire laser pumped by a frequency-doubled cw diode-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser and compared with these of the Ti:sapphire laser pumped by an Ar-ion laser. The rms timing jitters and rms amplitude noise for the all-solid-state and Ar-ion laser pumped Ti:sapphire lasers are calculated to be 0.31 ps rms and 0.71 ps rms and 0.15% rms and 0.32% rms, in the frequency range from 20 kHz to 400 kHz, respectively. The phase and amplitude noise characteristics of the Ti:sapphire laser were greatly improved by using the diode-pumped solid state laser as a pump source.     

High-power continuous-wave upconversion fiber laser at room temperature

We report cw laser emission of a Pr, Yb-doped ZrF(4)-BaF(2)-LaF(3)-AlF(3)-NaF fiber in the red spectral region. Laser emission was achieved on the transition P(0)(3)?F(2)(3)(lambda(L)=635 nm) with a Ti:sapphire pump laser tuned to lambda(p)=850 nm . A maximum output power of P(out)=675 mW was obtained at an incident pump power of P(in)=3.37 W . The output power was increased to P(out)=1020 mW when pumping with P(in)=5.51 W was provided by two Ti:sapphire lasers. A photon avalanche process was found to contribute strongly to the population of the upper laser level.     

Excited-state absorption and 1064-nm end-pumped laser emission of Nd:YVO4 single-crystal fiber grown by laser-heated pedestal growth

We present an investigation of the excited-state absorption and laser emission of a 1.0-at. %-Nd3+-doped YVO4 single-crystal fiber grown by the low-cost and versatile laser-heated pedestal growth technique. Efficient laser emission at 1064 nm was achieved when the fiber was pumped, in an end-pump cavity, by a Ti:sapphire laser at 808 nm. A continuous-wave threshold of 10 mW was observed with an efficiency of 42% with respect to the absorbed pump power and the maximum output power of 200 mW. These results are excellent when compared with those of a commercial bulk crystal adapted to the same cavity (48% efficiency, 250-mW maximum output power). Thus the fibers are characterized as strong candidates for the construction of compact lasers that can also be pumped by low-cost diode lasers.     

Performance of gain-switched all-solid-state quasi-continuous-wave tunable Ti:sapphire laser system

We have made a gain-switched all-solid-state quasi-continuous-wave （QCW） tunable Ti：sapphire laser system, which is pumped by a 532 nm intracavity frequency-doubled Nd：YAG laser. Based on the theory of gain-switching and the study on the influencing factors of the output pulse width, an effective method for obtaining high power and narrow pulse width output is proposed. Through deliberately designing the pump source and the resonator of the Ti：sapphire laser, when the repetition rate is 6 kHz and the length of the cavity is 220 mm, at an incident pump power of 22 W, the tunable Ti：sapphire laser from 700 to 950nm can be achieved. It has a maximum average output power of 5.6W at 800nm and the pulse width of 13.2 ns, giving an optical conversion efficiency of 25.5% from the 532 mn pump laser to the Ti：sapphire laser.     

Solid-state laser spectral narrowing using a volumetric photothermal refractive Bragg grating cavity mirror

Dramatic spectral narrowing of two normally broadband lasers, Ti:sapphire and Cr:LiSAF, was achieved by simply replacing the output mirror with a reflective, volumetric Bragg grating recorded in photothermal refractive glass. The output power of each laser was unchanged from that obtained using dielectric coated output mirrors with the same output coupling as the Bragg grating while spectral brightness increased by 3 orders of magnitude.     

Growth and properties of KLu(WO4)2, and novel ytterbium and thulium lasers based on this monoclinic crystalline host

High‐quality crystals of monoclinic KLu(WO₄)₂, shortly KLuW, were grown with sizes sufficient for its characterization and substantial progress was achieved in the field of spectroscopy and laser operation with Yb³⁺‐ and Tm³⁺‐doping. We review the growth methodology for bulk KLuW and epitaxial layers, its structural, thermo‐mechanical, and optical properties, the Yb³⁺ and Tm³⁺ spectroscopy, and present laser results obtained in several operational regimes both with Ti:sapphire and direct diode laser pumping using InGaAs and AlGaAs diodes near 980 and 800 nm, respectively. The slope efficiencies with respect to the absorbed pump power achieved with continuous‐wave (CW) bulk and epitaxial Yb:KLuW lasers under Ti:sapphire laser pumping were ≈ 57 and ≈ 66%, respectively. Output powers as high as 3.28 W were obtained with diode pumping in a simple two‐mirror cavity where the slope efficiency with respect to the incident pump power reached ≈ 78%. Passively Q‐switched laser operation of bulk Yb:KLuW was realized with a Cr:YAG saturable absorber resulting in oscillation at ≈ 1031 nm with a repetition rate of 28 kHz and simultaneous Raman conversion to ≈ 1138 nm with maximum energies of 32.4 and 14.4 μJ, respectively. The corresponding pulse durations were 1.41 and 0.71 ns. Passive mode‐locking by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) produced bandwidth‐limited pulses with duration of 81 fs (1046 nm, 95 MHz) and 114 fs (1030 nm, 101 MHz) for bulk and epitaxial Yb:KLuW lasers, respectively. Slope efficiency as high as 69% with respect to the absorbed power and an output power of 4 W at 1950 nm were achieved with a diode‐pumped Tm:KLuW laser. The slope efficiency reached with an epitaxial Tm:KLuW laser under Ti:sapphire laser pumping was 64 %. The tunability achieved with bulk and epitaxial Tm:KLuW lasers extended from 1800 to 1987 nm and from 1894 to 2039 nm, respectively.     

Intensity and frequency noise characteristics of two coherently-added injection-locked Nd:YAG lasers

Coherent addition of two injection-locked Nd:YAG lasers has been performed. A maximum output power of 4.4 W and addition efficiency of 0.94 was achieved, which is the highest power-coupling efficiency ever reported. It was shown experimentally that the frequency and intensity noise level of the coherently-added laser are the same as those of a single injection-locked laser. In particular, no additional intensity noise was observed above the relaxation oscillation frequency of the slave laser, which is suitable for use as the light source for a future gravitational wave detector. The frequency noise of the coherently-added laser was suppressed to 1×10^-4 Hz/ by controlling that of the master laser, and the intensity noise was also suppressed to 1×10^-8 / by controlling the intensity of pump lasers used for the slave lasers. Received: 11 April 2001 / Revised version: 20 June 2001 / Published online: 19 September 2001     

Wavelength dependent damage in biological multi-photon confocal microscopy: A micro-spectroscopic comparison between femtosecond Ti:sapphire and Cr:forsterite laser sources

Molecular excitation by the simultaneous absorption of two photons provides intrinsic three-dimensional resolution in laser scanning fluorescence microscopy. Thus induced two-photon absorption and the accompanied multi-photon absorption/ionization not only cause photo-bleaching but also cell damage in the vicinity of the focal point. In this paper, we study the wavelength dependent cell damage induced by high intensity femtosecond near infrared lasers. The study was performed with a Ti:sapphire laser and a Cr:forsterite laser. With a longer output wavelength from a Cr:forsterite laser, multi-photon absorption and auto-fluorescence were found to be significantly suppressed and the destructive plasma formation was found to be greatly reduced. Sustained multi-photon spectra can be observed in most plant specimens with a tightly focused Cr:forsterite laser beam under long term irradiation with more than 100 mW laser average power. In contrast, multi-photon absorption induced destructive plasma formation were frequently observed with a tightly focused Ti:sapphire laser beam within seconds with more than 10 mW laser average power.     

Femtosecond pulse parametric amplification at narrowband high power gas laser pumping

In ultrashort pulse amplification a narrowband gas pump pulse laser has been used for the first time. An all-stage optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier (OPCPA) was driven by a single-shot iodine photodissociation laser. For the first time a broadband amplification was achieved in potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystal at 800 nm seeding. Ti:sapphire laser pulses stretched from 12.5 fs to 250 ps were amplified and compressed to 27 fs at a 0.5 TW output power. The results suggest using narrowband high power gas lasers as OPCPA drivers to generate petawatt beams.     

High power all-solid-state quasi-continuous-wave tunable Ti: sapphire laser system

This paper reports a high power, all-solid-state, quasi-continuous-wave tunable Ti:sapphire laser system pumped by laser diode (LD) pumped frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser. The maximum tuned output power of 4.2 W (797 nm) and tuned average power of 3.7 W were achieved when fixing the Ti:sapphire broadband output power at 5.0 W and applying 750-850 nm broadband coated mirror.