Influences of SiO2 laser-induced protective layers and damage threshold of annealing on the Ta2O5 films

Ta2O5 films are prepared on BK7 substrates with conventional electron beam evaporation deposition. The effects of SiO2 protective layers and annealing on the laser-induced damage threshold （LIDT） of the films are investigated. The results show that SiO2 protective layers exert little influence on the electric field intensity （EFI） distribution, microstructure and microdefect density but increase the absorption slightly. Annealing is effective on decreasing the microdefect density and the absorption of the films. Both SiO2 protective layers and annealing are beneficial to the damage resistance of the films and the latter is more effective to improve the LIDT. Moreover, the maximal LIDT of Ta2O5 films is achieved by the combination of SiO2 protective layers and annealing.     

Coaxial combination of coherent laser beams

Based on polarization state conversion, a technique for coaxially coherent combination of laser beams is introduced. Laser beams can be coaxially coupled into one beam with high combination efficiency and perfect beam quality. A polarized laser beam combination system based on master oscillator power amplifier （MOPA） configuration is developed and the efficiencies of both unit combination and the whole system are investigated. In the experiment of combining four beams with single longitudinal mode, a combination efficiency of 85.3% is achieved. It can be further enhanced by improving the stability of experimental environment and the quality of optical and mechanical components.     

高斯光束的合成特性分析

 建立了矩形阵列高斯光束合成模型,采用数值模拟方法计算了光束间距、单元光束特性以及阵列结构等参数对非相干合成和同相位相干合成的远场峰值强度及光束质量的影响,描述了非同相位相干合成可能产生的结果,讨论了同轴与非同轴合成,相干与非相干合成的特点。结果表明：非相干和同相位相干合成时的光束质量随着单元光束的增多而变差,并且随着光束间距与单元光束束腰之比的增大而下降;而非同相位相干合成的结果较为复杂,可能产生完全相消干涉,合成光束“重心”离轴及束腰位置偏移等现象。分析认为：同轴合成可以获得最佳的光束质量,是值得采用的合成方式。此外,同轴相干合成优于非相干合成的充分条件是将单元光束之间的相位差控制在(-π/4,π/4)以内。     

钛宝石激光器9.5 fs脉冲输出中的啁啾镜色散补偿

根据钛宝石激光器的要求,实验设计了中心波长800 nm带宽200 nm的啁啾镜,在700—900 nm波长范围内提供约-60 fs²群延迟色散(group delay dispersion,GDD).采用双射频离子束溅射方法进行制备,用实验室搭建的白光干涉仪进行色散性能测试,从测试结果可以看出,制备的啁啾镜的性能和设计值符合得比较好.制备得到的非成对啁啾镜在钛宝石激光谐振腔中进行色散补偿,锁模后分别获得了12 fs和9.5 fs的激光脉冲输出.这是目前报道的使用国产啁啾镜获得的最短的 关键词： 啁啾镜 群延迟色散 色散补偿 钛宝石激光器     

Laser Induced Damage Threshold at 355 and 1064nm of Ta2O5 Films of Different Phases

Ta2O5 films axe deposited on fused silica substrates by conventional electron beam evaporation method. By annealing at different temperatures, Ta2 O5 films of amorphous, hexagonal and orthorhombic phases are obtained and confirmed by x-ray diffractometer （XRD） results. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） analysis shows that chemical composition of all the films is stoichiometry. It is found that the amorphous Ta2 O5 film achieves the highest laser induced damage threshold （LIDT） either at 355 or 1064nm, followed by hexagonal phase and finally orthorhombic phase. The damage morphologies at 355 and 1064nm are different as the former shows a uniform fused area while the latter is centred on one or more defect points, which is induced by different damage mechanisms. The decrease of the LIDT at 1064nm is attributed to the increasing structural defect, while at 355nm is due to the combination effect of the increasing structural defect and decreasing band gap energy.     

Design and Fabrication of Chirped Mirror

Chirped mirrors （CMs） are designed and manufactured. The optimized CM provides a group delay dispersion （ODD） of around -60fs^2 and average reflectivity of 99.4% with bandwidth 200 nm at a central wavelength of 800nm. The CM structure consists of 52 layers of alternating high refractive index Ta2O5 and low refractive index SiO2. Measurement results show that the control of CM manufacturing accuracy can meet our requirement through time control with ion beam sputtering. Because the ODD of CMs is highly sensitive to small discrepancies between the layer thickness of calculated design and those of the manufactured mirror, we analyze the error sources which result in thickness errors and refractive index inhomogeneities in film manufacture.     

高色散镜的设计和制备

设计和制备了两种高色散镜,分别在780-870 nm波长范围内提供约-800 fs² 群延迟色散补偿(group-delay dispersion,GDD)和在1030-1050 nm的波长范围内提供约-2500 fs²的群延迟色散补偿.设计的高色散镜用双离子束溅射方法进行制备.从白光干涉仪的测试结果可以看出,得到的-800 fs² GDD高色散镜和设计符合得比较好;-2500 fs² GDD的高色散镜用在掺Yb光纤激光器中很好的抑制了脉冲展宽.这是制备得到的国产高色散镜及在光纤激光器中应用的首次报道. 关键词： 高色散镜 群延迟色散 色散补偿 Yb光纤激光器