Third harmonic generation of Nd:glass laser with novel composite deuterated KDP crystals

A novel composite partially deuterated KDP crystal used for frequency tripling is experimentally demonstrated for the first time in this paper. The deuteration level is used as a degree of freedom to alter the phase matching wavelength so as to increase the bandwidth acceptance. The results show that the acceptance bandwidth based on such crystal can be increased by a factor of 3 comparing with the conventional method. The obtained results are very useful to develop frequency tripling components in broadband third harmonic generation.     

ICF驱动器长脉冲下三倍频晶体中的横向受激拉曼散射

 ICF驱动器在脉宽为3ns的长脉冲条件下运行时，三倍频晶体中的横向受激拉曼散射效应将比短脉冲条件下的效应更为显著。针对长脉冲运行时，KDP晶体和KD*P晶体产生的横向受激拉曼散射光对晶体的危害性作了对比分析，并研究了横向受激拉曼散射效应与增益系数之间的关系，为选择何种晶体作为三倍频晶体提供了理论依据。     

Noncritically phase-matched fourth harmonic generation of Nd:glass lasers in partially deuterated KDP crystals

Noncritically phase-matched (NCPM) fourth harmonic generation (FHG) of Nd:glass laser radiation in partially deuterated dihydrogen phosphate (KD*P) crystals has been demonstrated. At an Nd:glass laser wavelength of 1053.0 nm, NCPM FHG is achieved in 70% deuterated KD*P at a crystal temperature of 18.5±0.1 °C. Tuning the fundamental laser wavelength from 1052.9 to 1053.2 nm, FHG in KD*P is NCPM by changing the crystal temperature from 17.9 °C to 20.5 °C. When driven with 2.4 J of second harmonic radiation in a 3 ns flat-top pulse, corresponding to 1 GW/cm(2) 2ω drive intensity, 1.9 J of fourth harmonic radiation was generated in a 6 mm long KD*P crystal, yielding a second to fourth harmonic energy conversion efficiency of 79%.     

Analysis on dependence of phase matching angle on temperature in KDP crystal

The dependence of the phase matching (PM) angle on temperature in type-I second harmonic generation (SHG) and type-II third harmonic generation (THG) of KDP is experimentally investigated. The experimental results show that as the crystal temperatures vary by 1 °C, the external PM angles of the KDP doubler and tripler change 100 μrad and 220 μrad, respectively. The PM angle of KDP tripler is more sensitive to temperature variation than is that of the KDP doubler. Comparing the numerical calculations and the previous reports, a discrepancy has been found among the different reported results. Based on the analytical solution of the temperature dependence of the SHG process it is shown that a small error in the thermo-optic coefficients of the crystal is the main factor source of the discrepancy.     

不同波长三倍频DKDP晶体的激光损伤

采用传统降温法,利用高纯原料从氘化程度为80%的溶液生长了四方相磷酸二氘钾(DKDP)晶体,并按Ⅱ类三倍频方式切割晶体。三倍频用DKDP晶体的最大问题在于其抗光伤阈值低于KDP晶体,严重限制了激光输出的能量密度和晶体使用寿命。考察了不同波长下三倍频DKDP晶体的损伤阈值,以及激光退火效应。实验表明,激光退火对于DKDP晶体的损伤阈值有显著的提升作用,基频、倍频、三倍频的提升效果分别达到1.4,1.9,2.7倍,是改善DKDP晶体抗光伤能力的有效途径。     

氘化对KH2PO4晶体微观缺陷影响的正电子湮没研究

采用传统降温法从不同程度氘化(x=0, 0.51, 0.85)的生长溶液中生长氘化KH₂PO₄(KDP) 晶体, 利用正电子湮没技术(正电子寿命谱和多普勒展宽谱)、结合X射线衍射谱(XRD) 结构分析, 对KDP晶体氘化生长的微观缺陷进行了研究, 讨论了氘化程度对晶体内部微观结构特性、缺陷类型和浓度的影响. XRD结果显示晶胞参数a, b值随氘含量的增加而增加, c值无明显变化; 正电子寿命谱结果发现随着氘化浓度的提高, KDP晶体内部中性填隙缺陷以及氧缺陷不断增加, 引起晶体晶格畸变; 氢空位、K空位、杂质替位缺陷不断发生缔合反应形成复合缺陷, 缺陷浓度不断减少; 团簇、微空洞等大尺寸缺陷也在不断发生聚合反应, 缺陷浓度表现为不断减少. 多普勒实验结果表明随着氘化程度的提升, 晶体内部各类缺陷表现为同步变化. 实验结果表明, KDP晶体在低浓度氘化生长(50%以内)下缺陷反应较弱, 而在高浓度氘化(50%以上)下的缺陷反应显著增强.     

Analysis of broadband third harmonic generation with non-collinear angular dispersion in KDP crystals

A new scheme with non-collinear sum frequency generation (SFG) process of broadband third harmonic generation (THG) with two KDP crystals (one doubler and one mixer) using angular dispersion was proposed. The principle of broadband harmonic generation with non-collinear angular dispersion was presented. The comparison between the schemes of non-collinear and collinear SFG process was performed. The effects of the angular dispersion on the conversion efficiency, the pulse shape and the spectrum of the third harmonic field were discussed. The results show that, if proper angular dispersion is added to the fundamental and the second harmonic field outside the mixing KDP crystal, respectively, the broadband third harmonic conversion efficiency can be improved significantly. However, the difficulty of this scheme arises due to the requirement of two gratings with different angular dispersion outside the mixer. With the new scheme, it can be simpler that only one grating is needed to realize the broadband phase matching in the non-collinear SFG process. Although the fundamental and the second harmonic field inside the mixing crystal are non-collinear except the center wavelength, a blazing grating with proper angular dispersion for the fundamental field (twice as that for second harmonic field) can yield the well compensation for phase mismatching in the SFG process. Consequently, the conversion efficiency and the characteristics of the third harmonic field for the broadband third harmonic generation can be improved significantly.     

Cascaded third-harmonic-generation converter based on a single ADP crystal

Based on a specially designed optical structure, an efficient cascaded third-harmonic-generation(THG) output of a 1064-nm, pico-seconds pulse laser is successively realized by using an NH_4H_2PO_4(ADP) crystal that acts as the secondharmonic-generation component and sum-frequency-generation component. The maximum THG output is 1.61 mJ, and the highest conversion efficiency from 1064 nm to 355 nm reaches 35%, which are obviously superior to the results obtained using a KDP crystal under the same circumstance. The further phase-matching analysis indicates that this THG configuration of ADP crystal can be applied to various fundamental wavelengths in a range of 1 μm–1.1 μm. Compared with the previously reported KDP THG converter, which is based on a similar principle, the present ADP THG converter is favorable for large-energy, high-efficiency operation because of the larger effective nonlinear optical coefficient deffand higher laser damage threshold.     

Efficient frequency tripling of phase modulated laser based on two KDP mixers in tandem array

By using the cascaded KDP crystals, the third harmonic generation (THG) of temporal phase modulated broadband laser is experimentally demonstrated in this paper. The spectral characteristic of the generated third harmonic waves is investigated in detail. The experimental results show that the cascaded crystals method is able to satisfy the acceptance bandwidth of broadband laser beam. In addition, the influence on the THG spectrum and THG conversion efficiency of the air spacing between the two cascaded crystals is experimentally studied and it is remarkable on THG spectrum but insignificant for THG conversion efficiency. The relatively ideal THG spectrum is obtained by the optimal parameter of air spacing and the stability of THG spectrum is very good in our experiment.     

KDP晶体全口径最佳入射角优化方法

根据正交偏振干涉测量法(OPI)获得的KDP晶体折射率的空间分布数据求解KDP晶体内部失谐角分布,进而建立了倍频及和频KDP晶体全口径最佳入射角的优化模型和方法。分析讨论了不同折射率畸变程度和不同功率密度入射情况下倍频及和频晶体入射角的变化规律。在此基础上,对KDP晶体的全口径最佳入射角进行了优化。结果表明:当KDP晶体折射率畸变程度较大时,倍频晶体对折射率变化较为敏感,而和频晶体对折射率变化则相对不敏感。在实际工作中,首先在假设倍频晶体折射率分布均匀的前提下,对和频晶体的最佳入射角进行优化,而后通过适当调整倍频晶体及和频晶体的入射角,最终确定倍频晶体及和频晶体的全口径最佳入射角。     

Landau coefficients and the critical electric field in a KDP crystal

Analytical expressions for the Landau coefficients of deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate (DKDP) crystal are obtained in a four-particle cluster approximation. The critical electric field strengths calculated within the phenomenological and microscopic theories for DKDP are compared to experimental data. Calculations of the critical electric field in potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystal in the cluster approximation with allowance for proton tunneling on hydrogen bonds allows us to determine the tunneling constant and the geometric factor associated with the change in the effective dipole moment upon deuteration. Good agreement with the experimental data is obtained only for positive values of the long-range interaction parameter.     

Heterogeneous growth of KDP/KT crystal

The growth of heterogeneous crystal has aroused a great deal of interest in recent years. In this study, KH_2PO_4(KDP)/KTaO_3(KT) heterogeneous crystal is acquired based on the KT substrate. Here, we report the observation of the oriented layer-by-layer structure in KDP/KT composite crystal by scanning electron microscopy(SEM). The structure of KDP/KT composite crystal is accurately identified by transmission electron microscopy(TEM) for the first time and we find that the KT crystals dope into KDP crystal in the growth process with the mode of doping. It can be obtained from the analysis of crystal structure that the structure difference leads to the doping growth mode. Our research demonstrates a facile method to fabricate a composite nonlinear optical crystal based on KDP/KT heterostructure, and might shed light on potential applications of the composite nonlinear optical crystal.     

Inverse problem of cascaded third-harmonic generation

Based on some numerical techniques such as split-step Fourier transformation, fourth-order Runge-Kutta and successive iteration method, the fundamental field was calculated from the known third-harmonic (TH) field in the process of TH generation (THG) using one doubling and one mixing KDP crystals. The effects of the monochromatic initial fields on the iteration numbers and the calculation precision were discussed. The inverse solution of the broadband laser pulse with linear frequency chirp was also carried out. The results show that the method proposed in this paper is available and efficient, which gives a new way to design and optimize the process of THG.     

One-on-One and R-on-One Tests on KDP and DKDP Crystals with Different Orientations

By testing a substantial number of tripler and z-cut KDP and DKDP crystals, we have observed that at 355nm, the laser induced damage threshold in the R-on-one test is higher than that in the one-on-one test. It is proved that laser conditioning is an efficient way to improve the damage resistance. The efficiency of laser conditioning becomes increasingly good with smaller ramping fluence steps. We have also found that the damage resistance of the z-cut crystal is higher than the triplet cut, and the pinpoint number is definitely less in the z-cut crystal. The reason for these observations is discussed.     

宽带三倍频混频过程的群速匹配关系

基于非线性耦合波理论分析了三倍频过程中群速度之间的关系，推导出三波混频条件下的群速匹配关系式.对超短脉冲在Ⅱ类KDP晶体中的混频过程进行了模拟分析，结果表明：当三波(基波ω，谐波2ω和3ω)的群速度满足该匹配关系式时，三倍频(3ω)的带宽和转换效率均可达最大值；而随着三波群速度对该关系式的偏离逐渐增大，带宽变窄、转换效率下降.导出的三波群速匹配关系式对寻找合适的色散晶体和选择有效的匹配措施、实现宽带三次谐波转换具有指导意义.     

基频倍频光群速度对超短脉冲三倍频的影响分析

在超短脉冲的谐波转换过程中, 由于不同波包之间的群速度失配的存在, 非线性晶体的有效厚度、转换效率及带宽等将相互制约, 不能获得理想结果。基于耦合波方程, 在平面波和小信号近似条件下推导出了关于基频、倍频光群速度关系的解析表达式。通过对200 fs超短脉冲在II类KDP晶体中的混频过程的模拟分析, 发现在满足相位匹配的前提下, 三次谐波转换效率随着基频、倍频光群速度倒数的差值的平方呈现出指数衰减的关系, 与理论结果吻合。得出的关于基频光、倍频光群速度的表达式, 作为三倍频群速度匹配关系式的必要补充, 对寻找合适的色散晶体和选择有效的匹配措施, 实现宽带三次谐波转换具有理论指导意义。     

KDP晶体三倍频实验和分析

报道了ＫＤＰ晶体中的三倍频产生的实验研究，计算了比较了直接三倍频过程和级联过程对ＫＤＰ晶体三阶有效非线性系数的贡献，并探讨了ＫＤＰ作为非线性晶体材料三阶非线性系数测量基准的可行性。     

氘含量对DKDP晶体横向受激拉曼散射增益系数的影响

本文测量了不同氘含量K(H_1-xD_x)₂PO₄晶体(DKDP晶体)在Z(XX)Y散射配置下的自发拉曼散射光谱, 并详细分析了氘含量对与横向受激拉曼散射(TSRS)增益系数有关的拉曼频移、半峰宽和散射强度的影响. 然后通过与去离子水拉曼散射对比得出了不同氘含量DKDP晶体的TSRS增益系数. 结果表明随着氘含量的增加DKDP晶体的TSRS增益系数先减小至KDP晶体的40.1%, 后增大至68.9%; 本文认为掺氘后拉曼半峰宽的变化是引起TSRS增益系数随氘含量变化的主要原因.     

晶体面形畸变对三倍频转换效率的影响

在惯性约束聚变(ICF)领域,为了满足物理实验需求,需要采用短波长的紫外激光打靶。目前,国内外高功率固体激光装置普遍采用谐波转换的方式来获得三倍频紫外激光。高效的频率转换必须满足相位匹配条件,而晶体的反射面形畸变过大对准直精度和倍频效率均匀性都会产生不利影响。通过实验验证了晶体准直光斑的质量退化主要来源于晶体因夹持和重力导致的反射面形畸变,证明了改进晶体的夹持方式可以有效改善晶体面形,提高准直精度和准直光斑质量,并显著提升三倍频转换效率。     

Studies on a novel organic NLO single crystal: L-asparaginium oxalate

A new organic nonlinear optical (NLO) material, L-asparaginium Oxalate (ASOX) was synthesized and single crystals of ASOX with dimension (10*5*5) mm³ was grown from aqueous solution by slow evaporation solution growth technique. Single crystal XRD data reveals that ASOX belongs to triclinic crystallographic system with non-centrosymmetric space group P1. The grown organic NLO crystal was subjected to various characterizations like PXRD, FT-IR analysis, thermal studies, micro hardness test and optical studies for identifying the transparency range and the emission spectrum. The laser damage threshold value was found to be 2.04 GW/cm². The second harmonic efficiency of the grown crystal was examined using Kurtz Perry powder technique and it was found to be 68% that of KDP. Hence it can be effectively employed for various optoelectronic and photonic applications.