All-normal-dispersion Yb-doped mode-locked fibre laser and its stability analysis

We experimentally demonstrate an all-normal-dispersion Yb-doped mode-locked fibre laser with no intentional spectral filter inserted.Pulses with 1.1 nJ pulse energy at a repetition rate of 20.4 MHz are achieved.A theoretical model of the fibre laser is derived,whose coefficients are explicitly dependent on the orientations of the wave plates and the polarizer.Based on the model,stability diagrams of both the mode-locking and the continuous wave regimes of the laser are presented.The influence of group-velocity dispersion (GVD) and cavity length on the stability of mode-locking is also discussed.     

Fluorescence molecular tomography system for in vivo tumor imaging in small animals

A fluorescence molecular tomography system for in vivo tumor imaging is developed using a 748-nm continuous wave diode laser as an excitation source.A high sensitivity cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) camera with excitation and emission filters is utilized to obtain the excitation and fluorescence images.The laser beam performs fast raster scanning using a dual-axis galvanometric scanner.The accuracy of the laser spot position at the source window is within ±200 μm.Based on the phantom experimental results,the spatial resolution is less than 1.7 mm,and the relative quantitation error is about 10%.In vivo imaging of a tumor-bearing nude mouse tagged with near-infrared dye demonstrates the feasibility of the system.     

All-Solid-State Near-Infrared and Blue Femtosecond Laser System

We investigate an all-solid-state continuous wave(cw) green (532nm),femtosecond near-infrared (823.1nm) and blue (402nm) laser system which is pumped by a diode-laser-pumped intracavity frequency-doubled and all-self-structuring cw Nd:YVO4/KTP 532nm green laser.The cavity parameters of the Nd:YVO4/KTP laser have been optimized and the maximum 5.6W TEM00 green laser is obtained at a 22W pump power with an optical-optical conversion efficiency of 25.5%.A Ti:Sapphire laser and nonlinear second-harmonic generation by a crystal BBO is used to obtain different wavelengths.A femtosecond laser with an average output power of 300mW at 823.1nm and 73mW at 402nm is obtained when the green pump power is 2.5W.The spectral full width at half maximum are 32.3 nm and 5.1 nm,which can sustain the pulses of 22 fs and 33.3 fs,respectively.     

Tunable CW Tm,Ho:YLF laser at 2μm

A tunable continuous wave (CW) low temperature operating Tm (6 at.-%),Ho (0.6 at.-%):YLF laser pumped by fiber-coupled diode laser is reported. The maximum output power is 4.16 W at 2073 nm by use of 30% output coupling, the slope efficiency is 33%. A tuning range from 2049 to 2081 nm is achieved with a birefringent filter (BF). The factors that contribute to the output power and tuning range are discussed.     

Fast lateral photovoltaic effect in ferroelectric LiNbO_3 single crystals

We report the fast lateral photovoltaic effect in pure congruent LiNbO3 crystal induced by pulsed laser and continuous wave laser with wavelengths of 355, 532, and 1064 nm. A typical ultrafast photovoltage can be observed on the surface perpendicular to the c axis, With the rise time of 1.5 ns and the full-width at half-maximum of 1-2 ns, when the laser pulse inhomogeneously irradiates on the crystal. The peak open-circuit photovoltages show a linear dependence on the incident laser intensities. The mechanism of the photovoltaic characteristics is proposed.     

High efficiency,high power QCW diode-side-pumped Nd：YAG ceramic laser at 1064 nm based on domestic ceramic

A high efficiency, high power diode-side-pumped quasi continuous wave （QCW） Nd：YAG ceramic rod laser at 1064 nm based on the domestic transparent ceramic is reported. The average output power of 961 W is achieved with double ceramic rods by means of a symmetrical convex-convex cavity. The optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 38.3% and the slope efficiency is 45.3%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest level of efficiency achieved for the domestic Nd：YAG ceramic rod laser.     

Tunable CW Tm,Ho:YLF laser at 2

A tunable continuous wave (CW) low temperature operating Tm (6 at.-%),Ho (0.6 at.-%):YLF laser pumped by fiber-coupled diode laser is reported. The maximum output power is 4.16 W at 2073 nm by use of 30% output coupling, the slope efficiency is 33%. A tuning range from 2049 to 2081 nm is achieved with a birefringent filter (BF). The factors that contribute to the output power and tuning range are discussed.     

Terahertz Quantum Cascade Laser Operating at 2.94THz

The development of quantum cascade laser at 2.94 THz is reported. The laser structure is based on a bound-to-continuum active region and a semi-insulating surface-plasmon waveguide. Lasing is observed up to a heat-sink temperature of 70 K in pulsed mode with light power of 4.75 mW at 10 K and 1 mW at 70 K. A threshold current density of 296.5 A/cm2 and an internal quantum efficiency of 1.57 × 10-2 per cascade period are also observed at 10 K. The characteristic temperature of this laser is extracted to be T0 = 57.5 K.     

A 4.8-W M^2 = 4.6 Continuous-Wave Intracavity Sum-Frequency Diode-Pumped Solid-State Yellow Laser

A yellow continuous wave with beam quality M^2= 4.6 and output power of 4.8 W at 589nm is generated by intracavity sum-frequency mixing of 1064 nm and 1319 nm radiations of a Nd：YAG laser. To achieve high beam quality at high power, thermally near-unstable flat-flat resonators with two-rod birefringence compensation are designed to obtain the large fundamental mode size inside the Nd：YAG rods and the same beam width inside the KTP crystal. The optimal intracavity power ratio of both 1064nm and 1319nm beams is also considered. The output power fluctuation of the yellow laser remains less than 5% in four hours.     

Efficient Diode-Pumped Tm：YALO3 Laser with a Pump Recycling Scheme

By using a pump recycling configuration, the maximum power of 8.1 W in the wavelength range 1.935-1.938 μm is generated by a 5-ram long Tm：YAIOa （4 at.%） laser operating at 18℃ with a pump power of 24 W. The highest slope efficiency of 42% is attained, and the pump quantum efficiency is up to 100%. The Tm：YAlO3 laser is employed as a pumping source of singly-doped Ho（1%）：GdV04 laser operating at room temperature, in which continuous wave output power of greater than 0.2 W at 2.05/μm is achieved with a slope efficiency of 9%.     

Beat note analysis and spectral modulation of terahertz quantum cascade lasers with radio frequency injection

We demonstrate the electrical beat note analysis and radio frequency(RF) injection locking of a continuous wave(cw) terahertz quantum cascade laser(QCL) emitting around 3 THz(~100 μm). In free running the beat note frequency of the QCL shows a shift of ~180 MHz with increasing drive current. The beat note, modulation response, injection pulling, and terahertz emission spectral characteristics in the different current regimes I, II,and III are investigated. The results show that in the current regime I close to the laser threshold we obtain a narrower beat note and flat response to the RF modulation at the cavity round trip frequency. The pulling effect and spectral modulation measurements verify that in the current regime I the RF injection locking is more efficient and a robust tool to modulate the mode number and mode frequency of terahertz QCLs.     

Study on CW Nd:YAG infrared laser at 1319 nm

A continuous wave (CW) Nd:YAG infrared laser at 1319 nm is reported in this paper. The energy level of 1319-nm wave was analyzed. The repression of 1064-nm lasing and enhancement of 1319-nm output power were discussed. Mirror coating and cavity structure were studied and a maximum CW output power of 43 W at 1319 nm was achieved in experiments.     

Experimental study on high power all-fiber laser

<正>A high power all-fiber laser is experimentally studied.A monolithic fiber laser system with only one stage of resonator cavity is constructed and 404-W continuous wave(CW) output power is obtained.Its opticalto -optical conversion efficiency is up to 64%.The laser central wavelength is at 1081 nm with the spectral full-width at half-maximum(FWHM) of 2 nm.The laser setup can work with excellent stability;in the long time of high power operation,no thermal distortions or damages are observed.     

Room-Temperature Operation of 2.4 μm InGaAsSb/A1GaAsSb Quantum-Well Laser Diodes with Low-Threshold Current Density

GaSb-based 2.4μm InGaAsSb/AIGaAsSb type-I quantum-well laser diode is fabricated. The laser is designed consisting of three In0.35 Ga0.65As0.1Sb0.9/Al0.35 Ga0.65 As0.02Sb0.98 quantum wells with 1% compressive strain located in the central part of an undoped Al0.35Ga0.65As0.02Sb0.98 waveguide layer. The output power of the laser with a 50-μm-wide i-ram-long cavity is 28roW, and the threshold current density is 400A/cm2 under continuous wave operation mode at room temperature.     

Self-starting mode-locked picosecond Ti：sapphire laser by using of a fast SESAM

A stable continuous wave mode-locked picosecond Ti:sapphire laser by using a fast semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) is demonstrated. The laser delivers pulse width of 20 ps at a central wavelength of 813 nm and a repetition rate of 100 MHz. The maximum output power is 1.34 W with pump power of 7 W which corresponds to an optical--optical conversion efficiency of 19.1%.     

A narrow-linewidth continuous wave Ho:YALO3 laser with Fabry–Perot etalons

A narrow linewidth continuous wave Ho:YAP laser with two Fabry–Perot etalons pumped by a Tm:YLF laser is reported. The maximum output power reaches 8.3 W when the incident pump power is 15.8 W, with 52.5% optical-tooptical conversion efficiency and 62.6% slope efficiency. A stable laser output at 2118.1 nm is achieved, with a linewidth less than 0.4 nm(full width at half maximum). The beam quality factor is M2～ 1.25, measured by the traveling knife-edge method.     

A narrow-linewidth continuous wave Ho：YAL03 laser with Fabry-Perot etalons

A narrow linewidth continuous wave Ho：YAP laser with two Fabry-Perot etalons pumped by a Tm：YLF laser is reported. The maximum output power reaches 8.3 W when the incident pump power is 15.8 W, with 52.5% optical-to- optical conversion efficiency and 62.6% slope efficiency. A stable laser output at 2118.1 nm is achieved, with a linewidth less than 0.4 nm （full width at half maximum）. The beam quality factor is M2- 1.25, measured by the traveling knife-edge method.     

A Single Mode Hybrid Ⅲ-Ⅴ/Silicon On-Chip Laser Based on Flip-Chip Bonding Technology for Optical Interconnection

A single mode hybrid Ⅲ-Ⅴ/silicon on-chip laser based on the flip-chip bonding technology for on-chip optical interconnection is demonstrated.A single mode Fabry-Perot laser structure with micro-structures on an InP ridge waveguide is designed and fabricated on an InP/AlGaInAs multiple quantum well epitaxial layer structure wafer by using i-line lithography.Then,a silicon waveguide platform including a laser mounting stage is designed and fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator substrate.The single mode laser is flip-chip bonded on the laser mounting stage.The lasing light is butt-coupling to the silicon waveguide.The laser power output from a silicon waveguide is 1.3mW,and the threshold is 37 mA at room temperature and continuous wave operation.     

Intracavity configuration for tuning and obtaining simultaneous dual-wavelength operation from CW Nd:YAG laser

In this letter, a thin slab of glass is used as Fabry–Perot etalon inside a cavity of a continuous wave (CW) Nd:YAG laser to change the behavior of its output longitudinal modes. The slab etalon is used as tuning element when it turns around the laser cavity axis. Two simultaneous longitudinal modes with a relatively wide tuning range from 5.83 MHz to 0.02 THz are obtained when the Nd:YAG laser is operated at moderate output power of about 120 mW. The mode structure of this configuration is modeled and simulated. Computer-generated diagrams are also presented schematically and compared with the experimental results.     

Reduce of Threshold of Laser Inducing Breakdown in Atmosphere by Introducing an Electric Spark

We report laser-generated plasmas in atmosphere with electrical spark generated by a synchronization circuit. The breakdown thresholds under the conditions that the electrical spark is used and not used are compared. The breakdown threshold has a distinct decrease after the electrical spark is used. Breakdown thresholds as a function of atmosphere pressure have also been measured at laser wavelengths 532nm and 1064 nm for the laser pulse width of 15ns. We also discuss the principle and performances of the ionized atmosphere by Nd：YAG laser under the condition of electrical spark introduction. Multiphoton ionization and cascade ionization play important roles in the whole process of atmosphere ionization. The free electron induced by electrical spark can supply the initialization free electron number for multiphoton ionization and cascade ionization. A model for breakdown in atmosphere, which is in good agreement with the experimental results, is described.