General ultrafast pulse measurement using the cross-correlation single-shot sonogram technique

The cross-correlation single-shot sonogram technique offers exact pulse measurement and real-time pulse monitoring via an intuitive time-frequency trace whose shape and orientation directly indicate the spectral chirp of an ultrashort laser pulse. We demonstrate an algorithm that solves a fundamental limitation of the cross-correlation sonogram method, namely, that the time-gating operation is implemented using a replica of the measured pulse rather than the ideal delta-function-like pulse. Using a modified principal-components generalized projections algorithm, we experimentally show accurate pulse retrieval of an asymmetric double pulse, a case that is prone to systematic error when one is using the original sonogram retrieval algorithm.     

Single-shot sonogram: a real-time chirp monitor for ultrafast oscillators

We report a static single-shot configuration for measuring the sonogram trace of an ultrashort optical pulse. When it is combined with a CCD camera, the instrument provides an intuitive video-rate monitor of the pulse chirp, and it is equally compatible with a high-repetition-rate mode-locked oscillator and a low-repetition-rate amplified source. The performance of the instrument is described, and iterative retrieval of the measured sonogram trace, which yields complete and unambiguous pulse characterization, is demonstrated.     

Shaper-assisted full-phase characterization of UV pulses without a spectrometer

A full-phase measurement of low-energy femtosecond UV pulses is presented. The method relies on phase retrieval of measured sonogram traces and is greatly simplified by a two-dimensional shaper-assisted cross correlation setup. As all required pulses are generated by the pulse shaper, the method is free of external references and additional tunable filter setups.     

Generation of ultrafast pulse via combined effects of stimulated Raman scattering and non-degenerate two-photon absorption in silicon nanophotonic chip

A project of ultrafast pulse generation has been presented and demonstrated by utilizing the combined nonlinear effects of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and non-degenerate two-photon absorption (TPA) based on silicon nanophotonic chip, in which a continuous wave (CW) and an ultrafast dark pulse are co-propagating in the silicon chip so that the CW will be modulated inversely by the dark pulse during the propagation. As a result, an ultrafast bright pulse is achieved using the technique. Simulation results show that an ultrafast pulse with a pulsewidth (full-width at half-maximum (FWHM)) of about 50 fs is generated at the end of a 5-mm long silicon chip, when the initial conditions, including an input maximum of 0.5 W and FWHM of ∼176 fs for dark pulse, and CW with power of 5 W, are chosen.      

Formation of a ripple pattern at a water/silicon interface using an oscillating bubble

A single femtosecond laser pulse was irradiated at a water/silicon interface, and the processed surface was investigated. Rings surrounded by ripples were found within the irradiated spot. The diameter of the rings ranged from 500 nm to 10 μm. It is proposed that acoustic waves, caused by the oscillating motion of bubbles near the water/silicon interface, deformed the melting silicon surface. In the present work, a pulse (pulse width: 150 fs) was tightly focused in water to induce optical breakdown, and a bubble was generated at an arbitrary spot. When the power density was below the ablation threshold and above the melting threshold at the silicon surface and set above the breakdown threshold at the focus in water, a pattern was generated at a specific place and with a specific size. PACS 79.20.Ds; 42.62.Cf     

纳秒激光单脉冲烧蚀硅表面的超快成像研究

利用ICCD可以在纳秒时间尺度下成像的特点,以飞秒准连续激光产生的超短脉冲光为探测光,对纳秒激光单脉冲烧蚀硅靶表面的演化过程进行动态监测。在能量密度为50J／cm^2时,捕获了纳秒单脉冲激光烧蚀硅靶面过程中等离子体演化的时间分辨图像。图像表明,纳秒激光烧蚀硅靶产生的等离子体开始时密度大,膨胀速度快,当纳秒激光脉冲过后,等离子体不再产生,并且其膨胀速度不再增加,直至完全消失。     

飞秒脉冲在硅波导中产生超连续谱的研究

利用非线性薛定谔方程对飞秒脉冲在硅波导中的传输以及超连续谱的产生进行了研究,计算和分析了色散参量及非线性损耗在超连续谱的产生过程中的影响.结果表明,孤子分裂是飞秒脉冲在硅波导中产生超连续谱的主要机理.飞秒脉冲中心波长与波导零色散点的相对位置对超连续谱的产生有极大影响.当中心波长位于近零色散点的反常色散区时,孤子分裂现象最明显,谱宽远大于在零色散波长及正常色散处入射时的情况,并且达到稳定展宽所需波导长度最短.其次,高阶色散的大小也会影响光谱展宽,三阶色散绝对值较小时,能够获得较大的展宽.另外,由于双光子吸收效应带来大量损耗,限制了谱宽,并且随着初始脉冲功率的逐渐增大,展宽出现饱和现象. 关键词： 超连续谱 孤子分裂 色散 硅波导     

Influence of pulse duration on the doping quality in laser chemical processing (LCP)—a simulative approach

The laser chemical processing (LCP) technique for the local doping of crystalline silicon solar cells is investigated. Here, a liquid jet containing a dopant source acts as a waveguide for pulsed laser light, which results in the melting and subsequent doping of the silicon surface. Typical LCP pulse durations are in the 15 ns range, giving satisfactory results for specific parameter settings. While great potential is assumed to exist, optimization of the pulse duration has until now not been deeply investigated, because it is hard to change this parameter in laser systems. Therefore, this paper accesses the influence of the pulse duration by a simulative approach. The model includes optics, thermodynamics, and melt dynamics induced by the liquid jet and dopant diffusion into the silicon melt. It is solved by coupling our existing finite differences Matlab-code LCPSim with the commercial fluid flow solver Ansys Fluent. Simulations of axial symmetric single pulses were performed for pulse durations ranging from 15 ns to 500 ns. Detailed results are given, which show that for longer pulse durations lateral heat conduction significantly homogenizes the inhomogeneous dopant distribution caused by the speckled intensity profile within the liquid jet cross section. The melt expulsion by the liquid jet is low enough that a sufficiently doped layer remains after full resolidification for all pulse durations. Last, temperature gradients are evaluated to give an indication on the amount of laser damage induced by thermal stress.     

Microhole machining of silicon wafer in air and under deionized water by pulsed UV laser system

The study investigated the laser microhole drilling performance of polycrystalline silicon using the trepanning drilling method combined with the helix swing path with varying parameters, including laser pulse energy, pulse repetition frequency, and galvanometric scan speed. A pulsed ultraviolet laser system was used in an atmospheric condition and under deionized water. Moreover, the trepanning method was used to obtain a larger via diameter. The surface morphology, taper angle, and melted residual high were evaluated using a three-dimensional confocal laser scanning microscope and field emission scanning electron microscope. This method can produce larger holes and can be applied to crystalline silicon, multicrystalline silicon, thin-film silicon, and other materials for photovoltaic applications.     

利用单模光纤中的交叉相位调制产生单周期化脉冲的研究

描述了利用光纤中的交叉相位调制（XPM）效应产生单周期化脉冲的基本原理.详细分析了不同初始脉冲条件对脉冲频谱展宽的影响，然后针对具体事例用分步傅里叶方法对分析结果进行了验证.最终得到了200—1000THz的超宽带频谱，并给出了理想压缩脉冲的时域脉宽和形状. 关键词： 单周期化脉冲 交叉相位调制 超宽带频谱     

Structural transitions in silicon induced by a femtosecond laser pulse: The role of an electron-hole plasma and phonon-phonon anharmonicity

It is shown by the methods of time-resolved self-reflection and linear reflection that irradiation of a silicon target by a 100-fs laser pulse induces successive structural transitions of the target material to new crystal and liquid metal phases, which can occur during the laser pulse or 0.1–10³ ps after the pulse termination, depending on the excitation conditions. The thresholds of these structural transitions are determined, and “’soft” phonon modes involved in them are identified, which represent “hot” short-wavelength LA modes. The dynamics of the structural transitions in silicon in the time interval from 0.1 to 10³ ps is described using the model of instability of phonon modes caused by an electron-hole plasma and intra-and intermode phonon-phonon anharmonic interactions     

High-average-power, 1-MW peak-power self-mode-locked Ti:sapphire oscillator

We describe a novel self-mode-locked Ti:sapphire ring laser that produces 13-fs pulses with peak powers exceeding 1 MW, pulse energies of 13 nJ, and average mode-locked output powers of 1.5 W at a cavity repetition frequency of 110 MHz. A complete resonator analysis describing the optimum mode-locking configuration is presented, together with fringe-resolved autocorrelation and sonogram measurements of the output pulses.     

Acoustic pulse echoes probed with time-resolved X-ray triple-crystal diffractometry

Acoustic pulse echoes generated by femtosecond laser irradiation were detected using time-resolved x-ray triple-crystal diffractometry. The determined time-dependent longitudinal strain component for pulse echoes in silicon and gallium arsenide plates showed that the polarity of the strain pulse was dependent on the optically induced initial stress, and that the bipolar pulse waveform was gradually deformed and broadened in the course of propagation. The three-dimensional wave front distortion of pulse echoes was shown simply as the pulse duration broadening, which was consistent with a boundary roughness for an unpolished plate.     

All-Optical Wavelength Conversion Based on Four-Wave Mixing in Dispersion-Engineered Silicon Nanowaveguides

We demonstrate experimentally all-optical wavelength conversion based on four-wave mixing in dispersion-engineered silicon nanowaveguides with a picosecond pulse pump. We find that the conversion efficiency is significantly limited by nonlinear losses induced by the two-photon absorption and freecarrier absorption. Using a picosecond pulse pump centered at 1,550 nm, we show that the input continuous-wave signals can efficiently be converted into a broadband idler pulse in silicon waveguides with various dimensions. Conversion efficiencies versus signal wavelengths are different for silicon waveguides with different dimensions due to the variation in the phase mismatch; we obtain a conversion efficiency of – 32 dB in silicon nanowaveguides with a length of 5.8 mm. Such on-chip optical wavelength converters can find important potential applications in highly-integrated optical circuits for all-optical ultrafast signal processing.     

Picosecond laser ablation of nano-sized WTi thin film

Interaction of an Nd:YAG laser, operating at 532 nm wavelength and pulse duration of 40 ps, with tungsten-titanium (WTi) thin film (thickness, 190 nm) deposited on single silicon (100) substrate was studied. Laser fluences of 10.5 and 13.4 J/cm² were found to be sufficient for modification of the WTi/silicon target system. The energy absorbed from the Nd:YAG laser beam is partially converted to thermal energy, which generates a series of effects, such as melting, vaporization of the molten material, shock waves, etc. The following WTi/silicon surface morphological changes were observed: (i) ablation of the thin film during the first laser pulse. The boundary of damage area was relatively sharp after action of one pulse whereas it was quite diffuse after irradiation with more than 10 pulses; (ii) appearance of some nano-structures (e.g., nano-ripples) in the irradiated region; (iii) appearance of the micro-cracking. The process of the laser interaction with WTi/silicon target was accompanied by formation of plasma.     

Two-temperature model for pulsed-laser-induced subsurface modifications in Si

We investigated the laser–material interaction during the production of laser-induced subsurface modifications in silicon with a numerical model. Such modifications are of interest for subsurface wafer dicing. To predict the shape of these modifications, a two-temperature model and an optical model were combined. We compared the model results with experimental data obtained by focusing laser pulses in the bulk of silicon wafers using a microscope objective. This comparison revealed a good agreement between the simulations and the experimental results. A parameter study was performed to investigate the effect of the laser wavelength, pulse duration and pulse energy on the formation of subsurface modifications. We found that both single- and multi-photon absorption may be used to produce subsurface modifications in silicon.     

超短脉冲激光对硅膜的热力效应分析

为了研究超短脉冲激光辐照下半导体材料的热力效应,在热电子崩力和自洽场两种模型的基础上,得到了完全耦合的非线性热弹方程组。在单轴应力条件下,采用有限差分法,讨论了不同脉宽的超短脉冲激光辐照下,硅膜内载流子温度、晶格温度、热应力以及热电子崩力随时间及膜深度的变化情况。结果表明,脉冲宽度对硅膜的热力损伤过程起重要作用。能量密度一定时,载流子和晶格达到热平衡所需时间随脉冲宽度的增加而增加;热电子崩力呈现明显的双峰结构,同时脉冲宽度对第二个峰值的影响较大;脉宽越窄,热应力的峰值越大,越容易对材料造成损伤,为激光加工和光电器件的损伤提供了理论参考。     

Compact all-optical switch for WDM networks based on Raman effect in silicon nanowavegide

We propose an all-optical switching scheme based on Raman gain in a silicon nanowaveguide suitable for multichannel optical communication. Raman gain is used for amplification of a control pulse with a higher wavelength, which depletes the tuned channel signal. Separation between control and signal pulses should be equal to the Raman shift in silicon. By employing a 3 mm channel nanowaveguide, we demonstrate a channel attenuation of about 12 dB, while the suppression ratios for the first and second neighboring channels are about 1.6 dB and 1 dB, respectively. This scheme can be used as an all-optical switch in dense wavelength division multiplexing networks. Moreover, we demonstrate that the depleted channel can be retrieved by a control pulse with lower wavelength in which the pulse amplifies the channel in contrast to the prior situation.     

表面微构造的硅材料--一种新型的光电功能材料

在SF6气体氛围内用飞秒激光照射硅表面,可在硅表面产生准规则排列的微米量级尖峰结构,形成“黑硅”新材料．初步研究表明,这种“黑硅”新材料对波长为250-2500nm的光波有大于90％的吸收,同时它还具有相当好的场致发射特性．由于具有这些奇特的光电性质,这种表面微构造的硅材料在光电探测器、太阳能电池、平板显示器等器件制造领域有着重要的潜在应用价值．     

UWB monocycle pulse generation using two-photon absorption in a silicon waveguide

We propose and experimentally demonstrate ultrawideband monocycle pulse generation using nondegenerate two-photon absorption in a silicon waveguide. The free-carrier absorption induced pulse tail at the rising edge of inverted probe pulse is largely compensated by the overlapped pump pulse and results in a symmetric negative monocycle pulse. A 143 ps Gaussian monocycle pulse is successfully obtained with a 131.7% fractional 10 dB bandwidth using a 68 ps pulsed pump. The 10 dB bandwidth and center frequency of the RF spectrum for the generated monocycle pulse can be largely tuned using an optical delay line. An operational bandwidth of 30 nm is demonstrated experimentally with stable performance, and larger optical bandwidth is expected.