Tunable picosecond energy transfer distributed feedback dye laser using Rhodamine 6G and Thionine dye mixture

The characteristics of Nd:YAG laser pumped energy transfer distributed feedback dye laser (ETDFDL) is studied both theoretically and experimentally. Using theoretical model proposed the behaviour of ETDFDL for dye mixture Rhodamine 6G and Thionine is studied in detail. The characteristics of donor DFDL, the acceptor DFDL, the dependence of their pulse widths and output powers on donor–acceptor concentration and pump power are studied. The output energy of DFDL is measured experimentally at the emission peaks of donor and acceptor dyes for different pump powers and donor–acceptor concentrations. In addition, the tunability of DFDL emission is measured both in donor and acceptor emission ranges.     

Tunable energy transfer distributed feedback dye laser using pyronin B and crystal violet dye mixture

Using pyronin B and crystal violet dye mixture, the characteristics of energy transfer distributed feedback dye laser (ETDFDL) pumped by 532 nm Nd:YAG laser were investigated. The characteristics of donor DFDL and acceptor DFDL as well as the dependence of their pulse widths and output powers on pump power and acceptor concentrations were studied. The output energy of DFDL was measured at the emission peaks of donor and acceptor dyes for different pump powers and acceptor concentrations, and tunability was observed from 570 to 645 nm using prism dye cell arrangement.     

Energy transfer in solid-state dye lasers based on methyl methacrylate co-doped with sulforhodamine B and crystal violet

Laser action in methyl methacrylate(MMA)co-doped with sulforhodamine B and crystal violet dyes was investigated.The dye mixture was incorporated into a solid polymeric matrix and was pumped by a 532-nm Nd:YAG laser.Distributed feedback dye laser(DFDL)action was induced in the dye mixture using a prism arrangement both in the donor and acceptor regions by an energy transfer mechanism.Theoretically,the characteristics of acceptor and donor DFDLs,and the dependence of their pulse widths and output powers on acceptor–donor concentrations and pump power,were studied.Experimentally,the output energy of DFDL was measured at the emission peaks of donor and acceptor dyes for different pump powers and different acceptor–donor concentrations.Tuning of the output wavelength was achieved by varying the period of the gain modulation of the laser medium.The laser wavelength showed continuous tunability from 563 nm to648 nm.     

Coherence properties of the radiation from X-ray free electron laser

We present a comprehensive analysis of coherence properties of the radiation from X-ray free electron laser (XFEL). We consider practically important case when XFEL is optimized for maximum gain. Such an optimization allows to reduce significantly parameter space. Application of similarity techniques to the results of numerical simulations allows to present all output characteristics of the optimized XFEL as functions of the only parameter, ratio of the emittance to the radiation wavelength, . Our studies show that optimum performance of the XFEL in terms of transverse coherence is achieved at the value of the parameter of about unity. At smaller values of the degree of transverse coherence is reduced due to strong influence of poor longitudinal coherence on a transverse one. At large values of the emittance the degree of transverse coherence degrades due to poor mode selection. Comparative analysis of existing XFEL projects, European XFEL, LCLS, and SCSS is presented as well.     

Problems with power content beam parameter product

The M² beam propagation factor is widely used to characterize the quality of laser radiation and its propagation. When M² is defined by the second-moments, M² ? 1 holds in the paraxial approach. For many applications it is more convenient to use the power content values (normally η = 86.5%), also proposed by ISO. For the corresponding power content factor, it is often assumed that also holds. We have demonstrated previously that for a superposition of two coherent Gauss-Laguerre modes with radial symmetry, the 86.5% value of [6]. In recent years, has also been presented experimentally for a superposition of axially shifted Gaussian beams [7]. The problems with power content for axial superposition of Gaussian beams are discussed. In this paper it is shown that the 86.5% power content value can not be smaller than one for a coherent superposition of axially shifted Gaussian beams with radial symmetry presented in Ref. [7]. A superposition of two Gaussian beams with different waists and without shift is also discussed, and the corresponding of such beam can be smaller than one, depending strongly on the power content value η. For low power content values η and a large (or very small) ratio of the two different waists approaches zero. These investigations demonstrate that is not a suitable parameter to characterize laser radiation.     

Direct nanosecond Nd→Ce nonradiative energy transfer in cerium trifluoride laser crystals

Using third harmonics of LiF:F₂⁺ tunable color center laser excitation and selective fluorescence detection the temperature and concentration dependencies of fluorescence decay curves of the high-lying manifold of the Nd³⁺ ion were measured in CeF₃ crystals. As a result the temperature dependence of energy transfer kinetics from the manifold of the Nd³⁺ donor ions to the manifold of the acceptor Ce³⁺ ions in the ordered practically 100% filled crystal lattice was determined for 13-. Based on the temperature dependence the mechanisms and the channels of the Nd→Ce nonradiative energy transfer have been recognized. The net growth of the resonance Nd→Ce energy transfer rate in the temperature range from 25 to is found to be almost 3 orders of magnitude from 9.0×10⁴ to .In a crystal a significant contribution of the Nd→Nd resonance energy transfer to the manifold quenching is found for 20- and its channel and mechanism are suggested.Discussion of the possibility of subpicosecond and picosecond nonradiative energy transfer in rare-earth doped laser crystals is provided.     

Edge-pumped, folded zig-zag Nd:YAG slab laser

 We report the design and performance of conduction-cooled, edge-pumped, folded zig-zag continuous wave Nd:YAG slab laser. The Nd:YAG slab is pumped with waveguide coupled laser diode bars. The coupling efficiency of waveguide to laser diode radiation is 97%. In a folded zig-zag resonator, a maximum output power of 37 W in multimode operation is achieved for an incident pump power of nearly 180 W on the Nd:YAG slab. This corresponds to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 20% and slope efficiency of 32%. We obtained more than 10 W of output power with the beam quality factors in the width dimension and in the thickness dimension equal to 8.     

Diode laser spectroscopy of ammonia at 760 nm

A tunable diode laser spectrometer has been employed to examine the unknown overtone absorption lines of NH₃ around (760 nm). The spectrometer sources are commercially available heterostructure AlGaAs tunable diode lasers operating in the “free-running” mode. The detection of the lines has been possible by the use of the wavelength modulation spectroscopy and the second harmonic detection technique. A special algorithm has been used in order to fit the highly modulated absorption lines. The weakest observed resonances have absorption cross sections on the order of ?/molecule or ?/amagat. For some of the more intense lines self-, air-, N₂-, He- and H₂-broadening coefficients have been obtained at room temperature and also some shifting coefficients have been measured.     

Laser diode beam shaping with GRIN lenses using the twisted beam approach and its application in pumping of a solid-state laser

We report a novel beam shaping method for laser diodes based on the concept of twisted Gaussian Schell-model beams using GRIN lenses. This method enables a more symmetric pump as well as a compact setup for pumping of solid-state lasers. In the experiment with a standard 2 W diode, the beam quality factors in the two orthogonal directions were equalized to and , respectively, which pumped an intra-cavity frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser at 946 nm with an output of 28 mW at 473 nm.     

High-power continuous-wave operation of a diode-pumped laser at

The continuous-wave laser properties of an efficient diode-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ crystal operating at formed with a simple plane-concave cavity have been studied. With the incident pump power of 21 W, an output power of 6.9 W was obtained, giving an optical conversion efficiency of 32.8% and a slope efficiency of 35.3%. The laser characterization of two different Nd³⁺-doped concentration of Nd:GdVO₄ crystals were studied.     

Performance studies of diode-side-pumped CW Nd:YAG laser in copper coated optical pump cavity

This paper reports the performance studies of Nd:YAG rods with different diameters and doping concentration in the CW diode-side-pumped geometry. We have used p-polarized diodes to pump the active medium and we studied the performance of different rods in terms of thermal lensing, its fluorescence profile, power output, and M² factor of the laser beam. We achieved a maximum of 378 W of output power for an input pump power of 757 W, which corresponds to optical conversion efficiency close to 50%. The slope efficiency of the system was 56.4%. These efficiencies are the highest reported to the best of our knowledge and we achieved with Nd:YAG rod at 1.1-at% doping.     

Investigation of nonlinear optical properties of organic dye by Z-scan technique using He-Ne laser

The third-order nonlinear optical properties of Basic Green 1 dye were measured by the Z-scan technique and measurements were carried out at different concentrations and several incident intensities. The results showed that the Basic Green 1 dye exhibited large nonlinear refractive coefficient () and nonlinear absorption coefficient () at the wavelength 632.8 nm of He-Ne. The negative sign of the nonlinear refractive index n₂ indicates that this material exhibits self-defocusing optical nonlinearity. These results show that Basic Green 1 dye has potential applications in nonlinear optics.     

A high-power subpicosecond distributed feedback dye laser system pumped by a mode-locked Nd: YAG laser

The design and operation characteristics of a distributed feedback dye laser (DFDL) system pumped by the second harmonic of a flashlamp pumped mode-locked Nd: YAG laser are described. The DFDL oscillator facilitates a large tuning range with nearly Fourier limited pulse durations of about 1.6 ps. The combined action of saturated absorption and amplification results in a pulse shortening to about 600 fs, with small fluctuations in the pulse duration. Output pulse energies of more than 400 J are achieved, corresponding to a peak power of more than 650 MW. Since the dye amplifiers are pumped by pulses of only 25 ps duration the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) is very low, typically less than 10^–4.     

20 ps pulse generation by an excimer laser pumped double self-Q-switched distributed feedback dye laser

The behaviour of an excimer-laser-pumped distributed feedback dye laser (ELP DFDL) using a mixture of saturable absorber and laser dye as an active medium was studied. In a DFDL self-Q-switching occurs because of the population inversion dependence of the feedback. If the DFDL contains absorber saturation of the absorption by the leading edge of the created laser pulse also causes Q-switching. As a result of this double self-Q-switching, mixing a saturable absorber into the laser dye, the laser pulses become shorter and more stable. This was demonstrated experimentally. Mixing Rhodamine B into the dye solution of a Coumarin 153 ELP DFDL, a six-fold reduction in the pulse duration and a more than two-fold reduction in the pulse energy instability were observed. The experimental results were in good qualitative agreement with the predictions of a simple rate equation model.     

Modeling a distributed feedback dye laser pumped by a Nd-glass laser

A mathematical model has been developed to describe the dynamic emission of a distributed feedback dye laser (DFDL) pumped by a Nd-glass laser. The model is based on the coupled-wave theory. It allows the investigation of the temporal behavior of the Nd-glass pumping laser source and the DFDL pulses. The model allows studying the effect of the variation of the laser input parameters of the Nd-glass laser, such as maximum amplification coefficient, loss coefficient and pumping rate on the characteristics of DFDL pulses regarding the pulse width, delay time and separation time. The feedback process of the DFDL is provided either by changes of the refractive index or by optical gain or by both together. The model estimates the following: temporal behavior of the density of emitted radiation, energy densities of the first excited singlet and triplet states, DFDL output power, cavity decay time and the temperature of the produced grating. The numerical solution of the nonlinear coupled rate equation system predicts the generation of DFDL picosecond pulses. The calculated results are in good agreement with the available experimental data. The calculations were done using rhodamine 6G dissolved in ethanol as the investigated matrix.     

Pulse linewidth and lifetime broadening study of multi-pulse pumped distributed feedback dye lasers

Results on characterization of spectral width and lifetime broadening mechanism in picoseconds multiple-pulse pumped distributed feedback dye lasers (DFDL) is presented. An experimental study was carried out to investigate the impact of pump pulse energy, dynamic grating length and dye concentration on the spectral width and lifetime characteristics of single and multi-pulse pumped DFDL. To implement this study the solution of Rh6G in ethanol was pumped by 2nd harmonic of a passively q.switched and modelocked ND:YAG laser. Further to study the effect of grating chirp factor on spectral characteristics of the luminescence spectra of the DFDL, the dye cell was pumped by multiple time delayed pulses. Results show that pump power, grating length, dye concentrations and temperature effects cause spectral and life time broadening of simultaneously oscillating multiple lasing lines.     

Critical power for self-focussing of a femtosecond laser pulse in helium

The critical power for self-focussing of a femtosecond laser pulse in helium has been measured using the moving focus method. The experimental value is (1 atm) ∼268 GW. Using this value, the nonlinear refractive index is inferred to be  ∼ 3.6 × 10^-21 cm²/W. In addition, the plots of the electron densities versus energy and pressure have also been used to determine the critical power of helium, based on the intensity clamping of the filamentation process. The value agrees well with the one by the moving focus method.     

High power single-longitudinal-mode operation in a twisted-mode-cavity laser with a c-cut Nd:GdVO4 crystal

A twisted-mode-cavity laser was established by using a piece of c-cut Nd:GdVO₄ crystal as the lasers active material. Output spectra were scanned by a scanning Fabry–Perot interferometer, which demonstrated that the single-longitudinal-mode laser operation was realized in the twisted-mode-cavity laser configuration. A maximum single-longitudinal-mode laser output power of 2.1 W was obtained when the pump power was 11.5 W. The pump slope efficiency was about 20.0%. A passively Q-switched single-longitudinal-mode laser was also achieved in a twisted-mode cavity by inserting a piece of Cr⁴⁺:YAG as an intracavity saturable absorber. The Q-switched single-longitudinal-mode laser pulse duration was measured to be 100 ns and the single-pulse energy was about 40.0 J.     

Three-level operation of a diode-bar-pumped Yb:S-FAP laser

We present an all solid-state Yb:S-FAP laser system running on the three-level laser transition at 985 nm. The pump source was a high fill-factor laser diode bar, with the output reformatted using a two-mirror beamshaping system to produce a rectangular pump beam that focused to a square spot. A nearly on-axis multipassing system was used to obtain four pump passes through a 1.6 mm Yb:S-FAP laser crystal. Gain-switched three-level laser output was achieved with an efficiency of 4.3% with respect to incident pump power. Electro-optic Q-switching produced 0.12 mJ pulses for a pump pulse energy of 11 mJ. Intra-cavity second-harmonic generation yielded a maximum pulse energy at 492.5 nm of 12 μJ.     

Near-infrared diode laser spectroscopy of the HCSi radical

The , , and band spectra of HCSi radical were investigated by means of near-infrared diode laser spectroscopy to determine precise molecular constants for the and states. The detailed analysis of the rotationally resolved band spectra, studied for the first time in the present investigation, leads to the precise determination of molecular constants for the state associated with the Renner-Teller interaction. We obtained −0.15126663(53) and 495.00698(30) cm⁻¹ as the Renner-Teller parameter ε and the bending vibrational frequency ω₂, respectively. Based on the molecular constants for the and states, the rotational levels of the state were analyzed to obtain molecular constants and information on upper state perturbations. Using the available spectroscopic data, valence force fields for both the and states were estimated to aid in understanding the vibrational energy levels of the HCSi radical.