高功率二极管列阵泵浦固体激光泵浦耦合优化设计

 高功率二极管阵列泵浦固体激光系统的核心在于泵浦耦合技术,泵浦耦合直接决定了系统的成本、增益能力、增益均匀性、泵浦引发动态波前畸变和泵浦引发动态光束漂移等关键问题。通过对用于高功率二极管列阵泵浦固体激光系统泵浦耦合优化设计的3维光线追迹方法的研究,从二极管发光远场属性出发,建立其理论计算模型,对高功率激光二极管阵列端面泵浦大口径放大器的一种新型耦合方式——二极管列阵拟球面排列、空心镀银导管耦合进行了优化设计,并开展了泵浦耦合效率、泵浦场均匀性、泵浦场传输性等实验研究,实现了72%耦合效率、5 mm内80%传输效率的均匀平顶泵浦耦合场输出,理论计算与实验结果符合较好。     

Two field nonlinear Faraday rotation in rubidium vapor in a Doppler-free geometry

Nonlinear Faraday rotation with counter-propagating light beams was investigated in a rubidium vapor cell. Observations across all hyperfine and crossover resonances of the D₂ line of ⁸⁷Rb atoms were made. Additionally, rotation spectra as a function of pump and probe intensity, pump polarization and external magnetic field strength were studied.The investigations were performed in a regime where the pump beam power was sufficiently low relative to the probe power to avoid polarization rotation due to pump-induced anisotropy. Our results are analyzed in the context of Bennett structures and coherent optical processes.     

High-power diode-end-pumped CW Nd:GdVO4 laser

We report on a high-power diode-end-pumped CW Nd:GdVO₄ laser. Under the pump power of 39.5 W, a maximum output power of 19.8 W and a slope efficiency of 58.5% were obtained. The beam quality M² at maximum output power was measured to be around 2.62. The thermal focal length in Nd:GdVO₄ crystal under the pump power from 22 to 40.6 W was measured. The pump-induced damage threshold was estimated to be 28.6 kW/cm².     

Effects of an auxiliary pump on the performance of TDFA

An efficient fluoride-based thulium-doped fiber amplifier (TDFA) is theoretically demonstrated using a dual pumping scheme. Differential equations are solved directly in the theoretical analysis. An auxiliary pump at 1560 nm is used for ground-state absorption to enhance the excited-state absorption provided by the main pump of 1050 nm and, thus, to improve the gain and noise figure of the TDFA. A gain improvement of more than 10 dB is obtained at the 1470-nm region with the use of a 1560-nm pump at 20 mW. A small signal gain as high as 30 dB is obtained at this region with 100 mW of a 1050-nm pump and 20 mW of a 1560-nm pump using a 20-m of thulium-doped fiber. The corresponding noise figure is obtained at lower than 5 dB.     

Spatial switching of an optical signal in a defocusing photorefractive crystal

The method of spatial switching of the propagation direction of an optical signal, based on the effect of signal wave reflection upon interaction with a high-power pump beam in bulk photorefractive media with defocusing nonlinearity has been considered for the first time. Criteria of signal reflection from a pump-induced optical inhomogeneity in a material are determined. Trajectories of the signal wave center are obtained for characteristic reflection parameters.     

Narrow-band terahertz wave generation and detection in one periodically poled lithium niobate crystal

In this article, we present studies on therahertz (THz) wave generation and frequency up-conversion in a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal. A frequency at 1.37 THz was generated as femtosecond pump pulses passed through a PPLN crystal with grating periods of 30 μm. The pump-induced THz wave interacts with the probe wave in the crystal by frequency mixing. The frequency up-converted THz wave is easily detected by a normal photodiode. A new scheme for generation and detection of THz wave in one non-linear crystal was proposed.     

Electron gyroharmonic effects in ionization and electron acceleration during high-frequency pumping in the ionosphere

Optical emissions and incoherent scatter radar data obtained during high-frequency electromagnetic pumping of the ionospheric plasma from the ground give data on electron energization in an energy range from 2 to 100 eV. Optical emissions at 4278 A from N2+ that require electrons with energies above the 18 eV ionization energy give the first images ever of pump-induced ionization of the thermosphere. The intensity at 4278 A is asymmetric around the ionospheric electron gyroharmonic, being stronger above the gyroresonance. This contrasts with emissions at 6300 A from O(1D) and of electron temperature enhancements, which have minima at the gyroharmonic but have no apparent asymmetry. This direct evidence of pump-induced ionization contradicts previous indirect evidence, which indicated that ionization is most efficiently produced when the pump frequency was below the gyroharmonic.     

Theoretical analysis of thermal effects in fiber laser from the moment when pump is turned on to steady-state

A theoretical analysis of the pump-induced temperature change and associated thermal phase shift occurring in a fiber laser is presented. The temperature rise and thermal phase shift from the moment when pump is turned on to steady-state in fiber lasers, such as Yb-doped fiber laser, are numerical calculated.With the same parameters, the numerical solution is in good agreement with the finite-element (ANSYS software) simulation.     

Yb‐fiber‐based,high‐average‐power,high‐repetition‐rate,picosecond source at 2.1 µm

We report a high‐repetition‐rate picosecond fiber‐based source at 2.1 µm offering exceptional performance capabilities over existing lasers near this wavelength, providing high average power and efficiency together with excellent spectral, power and beam pointing stability, in high spatial beam quality. This new source is based on a near‐degenerate MgO:PPLN optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by an Yb‐fiber laser at 1064 nm, and incorporating a diffraction grating for spectral control. The device provides as much as 7.1 W of average power at 2.1 µm for a pump power of 18 W at an extraction efficiency of 39.4% in pulses of 20 ps at 79.3 MHz. The output exhibits passive power stability better than 1% rms over 15 hours, and a beam pointing stability ∼40 µrad over 1 hour, in high spatial quality with M² ∼ 3.5. The output beam is linearly polarized and the pulse train has an amplitude stability better than 3.4% rms over 2 µsec. Radio‐frequency measurements of the output pulse train also confirm high temporal stability and low timing jitter, indicating that the source is ideal for variety of applications including pumping long‐wavelength mid‐infrared OPOs. Photograph shows the temperature‐controlled, 50‐mm‐long MgO:PPLN crystal inside the cavity, used as nonlinear gain medium in the picosecond source operating at 2.1 µm. The visible light is the result of non‐phase‐matched second harmonic generation of the pump beam in the MgO:PPLN crystal.

     

Efficient single-mode Brillouin fiber laser for low-noise optical carrier reduction of microwave signals

We experimentally demonstrate efficient optical carrier reduction of microwave signals with a single-mode 1.5-microm wavelength Brillouin all-fiber ring laser. Because of the tunable optical coupling, the lasing threshold of the short-length (20-m) fiber cavity is lower than 5 mW, and high conversion efficiencies (up to 60%) are obtained at any pump power up to approximately 200 mW. Using the single-mode Stokes beam as a seed for the stimulated Brillouin scattering process allows up to 40-dB optical carrier depletion with almost no added noise for an optically carried microwave signal at 6 GHz. In addition, using this resonator, we provide evidence of generation of high-spectral-purity beatnotes.     

Determination of the optimum absorption coefficient in Cr(4+):forsterite lasers under thermal loading

We present the results of a novel experimental and numerical investigation aimed at minimizing thermal loading effects in room-temperature Cr(4+): forsterite lasers. In the model we numerically calculated the incident pump power required for oscillation threshold to be attained by taking into account pump absorption saturation, pump-induced thermal gradients inside the crystal, and the temperature dependence of the upper-state fluorescence lifetime. Excellent agreement was obtained between model predictions and experimental threshold data. We then used the model to calculate the optimum absorption coefficient that minimizes the incident threshold pump power. At a crystal boundary temperature of 15 degrees C the optimum value of the absorption coefficient was numerically determined to be 0.64 cm(-1) . Such optimization studies, which are readily applicable to other laser systems, should make a significant contribution to the improvement of the power performance of Cr(4+): forsterite lasers at room temperature.     

Optically tunable fiber grating transmission filters

We propose and demonstrate single- and multiple-passband fiber grating transmission filters that are remotely tunable by exploitation of the optical pump-induced thermal effects in Er/Yb-codoped fiber sections. A repeatable, wavelength-independent induced phase shift of 0.1 pi/mW is obtained without hysteresis and anisotropic effects. A transmission extinction ratio of >23 dB with a 3-mW change in pump power is achieved.     

Anomalous behaviours of terahertz reflected waves transmitted from GaAs induced by optical pumping

Femtosecond pump-terahertz probe studies of carrier dynamics in semi-insulating GaAs have been investigated in detail for various pump powers. It is observed that, at high pump powers, the reflection peaks flip to the opposite polarity and dramatically enhance as the pump arrival time approaches the reflected wave of the terahertz pulse. The abnormal polarity-flip and enhancement can be interpreted by the pump-induced enhancement in the photoconductivity of GaAs and half-wave loss. Moreover, the carrier relaxation processes and surface states filling in GaAs are also studied in these measurements.     

All-optical switchings of 3-hydroxyflavone in different solvents

3-hydroxyflavone （3-HF） is an organic molecule with an excited-stated intramolecular proton transfer （ESIPT） effect. All-optical switchings and beam deflections of 3-HF in three kinds of solvents （cyclohexane, ethanol and dimethyl sulfoxide） have been investigated by using the third-harmonic generation （355 nm） of a mode-locked Nd：YAG laser as a pump beam and a continuous-wave （cw） He-Ne laser （632.8 nm） as a probe beam. The nonlinear refractive indices of 3-HF in the three different solvents are determined by using the Z-scan technique under an ultraviolet （UV） pump beam at a wavelength of 355 nm. It has been found that the optical switching and beam deflection effects result from the change in refractive index of 3-HF under the irradiation of the pump beam. On the basis of the analyses of absorption spectra and fluorescence spectra, we conclude that the change in refractive index of 3-HF is due to not the thermal effect but the ESIPT effect of 3-HF under the pump beam. As the ESIPT is exceedingly fast, 3-HF might be an excellent candidate for high-speed optical switching.     

Diamond‐based concept for combining beams at very high average powers

Ever since the laser's invention, there has been great interest in increasing beam output power without detriment to its coherence. Despite great advances having been obtained through the use of a diverse range of approaches, steady‐state beam powers above ten kilowatts remain a significant challenge for solid‐state lasers due to the heightened impact of detrimental nonlinear effects such as thermal lensing. Multiplexing several lasers using beam combination represents a method for surpassing the power barriers of single lasers. Here we propose and demonstrate a novel approach to beam combination and power scaling based on Raman conversion in diamond. Power from multiple non‐collinear pump beams is efficiently transferred onto a single Stokes beam in a single‐pass amplifier. Using three mutually‐independent nanosecond pulsed beams from a free‐running‐linewidth 1064 nm laser, 69% of the total peak pump power of 6.7 kW was transferred onto a TEM₀₀ Stokes seed pulse at 1240 nm in a 9.5 mm long diamond crystal. Compared to other beam combination techniques, diamond beam combination has advantages of relaxed constraints on pump beam mutual coherence, while enabling narrowband output. Thermal considerations for extending from low duty‐cycle to continuous wave operation and higher power levels are discussed.

     

High-throughput, high-damage-threshold broadband beam splitter for high-order harmonics in the extreme-ultraviolet region

We demonstrate a high-throughput and high-damage-threshold beam splitter for high-order harmonics in the soft-x-ray region that uses Si and (or) SiC plates set at Brewster's angle with respect to the pump wavelength. The beam splitters are guaranteed to have a damage threshold of at least 0.8 TW/cm2 (average power density, 0.25 W/cm2) and an attenuation rate of 10(-4)-10(-5) for a 30-fs pump pulse. The measured reflection efficiency at the 27th harmonic (29.6 nm) was 0.56 for Si and 0.45 for SiC. These beam splitters are useful not only for high harmonics but also for longitudinally pumped x-ray lasers.     

Optical switching of 2-(2<Superscript>′</Superscript>-hydroxyphenyl) benzoxazole in different solvents

All-optical switching and beam deflection of 2-(2^′-hydroxyphenyl) benzoxazole (HBO) in three species of solvent (cyclohexane, ethanol and dimethyl sulfoxide) have been investigated by using third-harmonic generation (355 nm) of a mode-locked Nd:YAG laser as a pump beam and a continuous-wave He-Ne laser (632.8 nm) as a probe beam. The nonlinear refractive indices of HBO in different solvents are determined by using the Z-scan technique. The optical switching and beam-deflection effects are due to the change of the refractive index of HBO under the pump beam. Through the study of the absorption spectra and the fluorescence spectra of HBO in different solvents, we conclude that the principal reason for the change of the refractive index of HBO is not the thermal effect because of absorption of the pump beam, but the excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer (ESIPT) effect of HBO under the pump beam. As the ESIPT process is very fast, HBO might be an excellent material for high-speed optical switching. Received: 28 October 2002 / Revised version: 18 March 2003 / Published online: 2 June 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +86-22/2350-1242, E-mail: zhanggl@nankai.edu.cn     

Photocarriers dynamics in silicon wafer studied with optical-pump terahertz-probe spectroscopy

Optical pump-terahertz probe spectroscopy is employed to investigate the optical characteristics of silicon wafer. The wafer surface undergoes a phase transition from insulator to metal for terahertz wave with increasing pump fluence. The real part of the pump-induced conductivity shows strong frequency dependence, which can be well described with Drude–Smith model. Our results also demonstrate that the photoexcited Si layer acts as a broadband terahertz pulse antireflection coating with proper pump fluence. In addition, it is observed that the terahertz pulse apparently arrives at the detector earlier when silicon is optically excited.     

Loop-mirror filters based on saturable-gain or-absorber gratings

We present a novel all-fiber narrow-band filter based on pump-induced saturable-gain or-absorber gratings in a loop mirror. Our design provides built-in interferometric phase alignment of the signal to the grating for optimal filtering. Notch or bandpass functionality is determined by the choice of gain or absorption and the input ports selected for the pump and signal. The loop-mirror filter has potential bandwidths from the submegahertz to beyond the gigahertz regimes, and one can tune it optically by changing the wavelength of the pump light that establishes the grating. Such filters have potential applications to wavelength-division-multiplexed optical networks and optical rf signal processing.     

Efficient Raman frequency conversion of high‐power fiber lasers in diamond

We report high‐power frequency conversion of a Yb‐doped fiber laser using a double‐pass pumped external‐cavity diamond Raman oscillator. Pumping with circular polarization is shown to be efficient while facilitating high‐power optical isolation between the pump and Raman laser. We achieved continuous‐wave average power of 154 W with a conversion efficiency of 50.5% limited by backward‐amplified light in the fiber laser. In order to prove further scalability, we achieved a maximum steady‐state Raman‐shifted output of 381 W with 61% conversion efficiency and excellent beam quality using 10 ms pump pulses, approximately a thousand times longer than the transient thermal time‐constant. No power saturation or degradation in beam quality is observed. The results challenge the present understanding of heat deposition in Raman crystals and foreshadow prospects for reduced thermal effects in diamond than originally anticipated. We also report the first experimental evidence for stimulated Brillouin scattering in diamond.