Femtosecond fiber-feedback optical parametric oscillator

We demonstrate what is to our knowledge the first synchronously pumped high-gain optical parametric oscillator (OPO) with feedback through a single-mode fiber. This device generates 2.3-2.7 W of signal power in 700-900-fs pulses tunable in a wavelength range from 1429 to 1473 nm. The necessary high gain was obtained from a periodically poled LiTaO(3) crystal pumped with as much as 8.2 W of power at 1030 nm from a passively mode-locked Yb:YAG laser with 600-fs pulse duration and a 35-MHz repetition rate. The fiber-feedback OPO setup is compact because most of the resonator feedback path consists of a standard telecom fiber. Because of the high parametric gain, the fiber-feedback OPO is highly insensitive to intracavity losses. For the same reason, the synchronization of the cavity with the pump laser is not critical, so active stabilization of the cavity length is not required.     

Generation of near-infrared frequency combs from a MgF₂ whispering gallery mode resonator

We report on generation of a 20 nm wide, 35 GHz repetition rate optical frequency comb in a magnesium fluoride whispering gallery mode resonator pumped with 2 mW of 1543 nm light. The high efficiency of comb generation is associated with the small anomalous group velocity dispersion of the resonator. Growth dynamics of the comb is studied and compared with earlier theoretical predictions.     

Harmonic repetition-rate femtosecond optical parametric oscillator

We report on a femtosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO) with a repetition rate of 1 GHz, which is 12 times that of the pump laser used. We also introduce a novel method for operating an OPO with a high harmonic repetition rate which is not determined by the cavity length of the OPO, but rather the cavity length difference between the OPO and its pump laser. Operation of an OPO at 4-times the harmonic repetition rate has been carried out to show the feasibility of this method. The new approach paves the way for constructing a femtosecond OPO working at repetition rates of 10 GHz, or higher, when the pump laser used has a relatively low repetition rate. Received: 26 October 2001 / Revised version: 11 Januar 2002 / Published online: 14 March 2002     

Intracavity terahertz-wave generation in a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator using quasi-phase-matched GaAs

We generated 1 mW of average output power at 2.8 THz (bandwidth of approximately 300 GHz) in a diffraction-limited beam by placing a 6-mm-long quasi-phase-matched GaAs crystal inside the cavity of a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The OPO used type-II-phase-matched periodically poled lithium niobate as a gain medium and was pumped by a mode-locked laser at 1064 nm, with a 7 ps pulse duration, 50 MHz repetition rate, and 10 W average output power. The terahertz radiation was generated by difference frequency mixing between the signal and idler waves of the near-degenerate doubly resonant OPO.     

Picosecond diode-pumped 1.5 μm Er,Yb:glass lasers operating at 10–100 GHz repetition rate

Stable ultrafast laser sources at multi-GHz repetition rates are important for various application areas, such as optical sampling, frequency comb metrology, or advanced high-speed return-to-zero telecom systems. We review SESAM-mode-locked Er,Yb:glass lasers operating in the 1.5 μm spectral region at multi-GHz repetition rates, discussing the key improvements that have enabled increasing the repetition rate up to 100 GHz. We also present further improved results with shorter pulse durations from a 100 GHz Er,Yb:glass laser. With an improved SESAM design we achieved 1.1 ps pulses with up to 30 mW average output power. Moreover, we discuss for the first time the importance of beam quality deteriorations arising from frequency-degenerate higher order spatial modes in such lasers.     

实现高重复率双脉冲激光器的新方法

本文分析了双脉冲运转的种子注入激光器及其存在的问题,在此基础上首次提出了用相位共轭主振荡器功率放大(MOPA)激光器组成高重复率n脉冲运转激光器系统的新方法,获得了重复率可达几千Hz且高相干度的脉冲输出,该系统具有相当好的性能,可望替代种子注入激光器而成为动态全息检测领域的一种新光源.     

Rapid infrared wavelength access with a picosecond PPLN OPO synchronously pumped by a mode-locked diode laser

We theoretically and experimentally investigate wavelength tuning of synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) on changing the cavity length or the pump-repetition rate. Conditions for rapid and wide-range wavelength access are derived. Using an OPO pumped directly by a mode-locked diode-laser master-oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) system, an all-electronically controlled access to near- and mid-infrared wavelengths is demonstrated. The singly (signal) resonant OPO is based on periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) and emits 8 ps idler pulses at a repetition rate of 2.5 GHz in the wavelength range 1986 to 2348 nm (signal: 1530 to 1737 nm). Wavelength tuning over 114 nm (signal) and 189 nm (idler) is achieved solely by electronically varying the repetition rate of the diode-laser oscillator over 720 kHz. By controlling the repetition rate with a programmable driver, an arbitrary emission sequence of the OPO on two wavelength channels is generated, with access times as short as 10 μs. 11 OPO wavelengths equally spaced in the range 1627–1689 nm (signal) or 2054–2154 nm (idler) could be addressed. Received: 6 September 2000 / Revised version: 16 March 2001 / Published online: 23 May 2001     

Optical parametric oscillator with a pulse repetition rate of 39 GHz and 2.1-W signal average output power in the spectral region near 1.5 microm

We present a singly resonant, synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator with a record-high repetition rate of 39 GHz. The transform-limited 2.2-ps pulses at 1570 nm have as much as 2.1-W average output power. The all-solid-state pump source is based on a diode-pumped passively mode-locked 39-GHz Nd:YVO4 laser and an efficient ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier.     

Ultra‐fast heralded single photon source based on telecom technology

The realization of an ultra‐fast source of heralded single photons emitted at the wavelength of 1540 nm is reported. The presented strategy is based on state‐of‐the‐art telecom technology, combined with off‐the‐shelf fiber components and waveguide non‐linear stages pumped by a 10 GHz repetition rate laser. The single photons are heralded at a rate as high as 2.1 MHz with a heralding efficiency of 42%. Single‐photon character of the source is inferred by measuring the second‐order autocorrelation function. For the highest heralding rate, a value as low as 0.023 is found. This not only proves negligible multi‐photon contributions but also represents one of the best measured values reported to date for heralding rates in the MHz regime. These performances, associated with a device‐like configuration, are key ingredients for both fast and secure quantum communication protocols.

     

Generation of Femtosecond Laser Pulse at 1.43 GHz from an Optical Parametric Oscillator Based on LBO Crystal

A femtosecond LBO optical parametric oscillator(OPO) with widely adjustable repetition rate by fractionally decrement of the cavity length is demonstrated. The repetition rate of 755 MHz to 1.43 GHz at an interval of 75.5 MHz is realized, which is 10 to 19 times that of the pump laser. The properties of output signal at 750 nm at different repetition rates are studied. The power of signal decreases with increasing the repetition rate. The maximum power of 194 mW at the repetition rate of 755 MHz and the minimum power of 22 mW at repetition rate of 1.43 GHz for the signal at 750 nm are obtained for the pump power of 3 W.     

Tunable, high-power, narrow-band picosecond IR radiation by optical parametric amplification in KTP

We report on an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) based on two potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) crystals in a walk-off compensating geometry. An Nd:YLF regenerative amplifier at a 1-kHz repetition rate serves as the pump source. The seed beam is delivered by a synchronously pumped frequency-stabilized optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN). At pump intensities of about 7 GW/cm² large amplification factors of more than 10⁴ were achieved, resulting in pulse energies of more than 450 μJ and 350 μJ for the signal and idler pulses, respectively, at a 1-kHz repetition rate. In the saturation regime the time–bandwidth product increases from two to three times the Fourier limit, with a pulse duration of 105 ps and a bandwidth of 12.7 GHz at the highest intensities employed. Received: 2 November 2001 / Published online: 14 March 2002     

Harmonically pump a femtosecond optical parametric oscillator to 1.13 GHz by a femtosecond 515 nm laser

We demonstrate a harmonically pumped femtosecond optical parametric oscillator(OPO)laser using a frequency-doubled mode-locked Yb:KGW laser at a repetition rate of 75.5 MHz as the pump laser.Based on a bismuth borate nonlinear crystal,repetition rates up to 1.13 GHz are realized,which is 15 times that of the pump laser.The signal wavelength is tunable from 700 nm to 887 nm.The maximum power of the signal is 207 m W at the central wavelength of 750 nm and the shortest pulse duration is 117 fs at 780 nm.The beam quality(M^2 factor)in the horizontal and vertical directions of the output beam are 1.077 and 1.141,respectively.     

Actively mode-locked fiber ring laser based on photonic crystal fiber

A wavelength tunable, high repetition rate mode-locked fiber ring laser was demonstrated. In the experiment, photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is used as an intracavity compression medium. The high nonlinearity and anomalous dispersion of PCF can cause intracavity compression and result in significant reduction in the pulse width. The pulses duration at the repetition rate of 9.99 GHz was less than 10 ps over the range of 1532-1565 nm.     

10 GHz可调谐主动锁模光纤环形激光器研究

采用主动锁模技术 ,在光纤环形激光器中实现了脉冲重复率为 10GHz、脉冲宽度为 10ps、线宽为 0 171nm的激光输出 ,波长调谐范围达 37 8nm。实验结果表明 ,主动锁模光纤激光器由于其输出脉冲窄、脉冲啁啾小、波长调谐方便及与光纤系统兼容等优点 ,有望成为未来超高速光通信系统中的理想光源。     

大功率LD抽运的Cr^4＋：YAG被动调Q Nd：YVO4激光器

在LD端面抽运的Nd：YVO4激光器中插入Cr^4＋：YAG晶体,获得了稳定的1．06μm波长的高重复率被动调Q脉冲激光输出。实验研究了抽运功率、腔长、输出镜透过率对输出功率的影响,以及不同抽运功率下脉冲重复频率和脉冲宽度的变化,并对结果进行了理论分析。当腔长为8cm,抽运功率为27W时,得到重复率37．8kHz、平均功率3．5W的调Q脉冲序列;单个脉冲能量为93μJ、脉宽为24ns、峰值功率为3．9kW。     

脉冲幅度均匀化的有理谐波锁模光纤激光器

提出并实现了一种脉冲幅度可均匀化的有理谐波锁模光纤激光器。该激光器采用主动有理谐波锁模机制,可获得重复频率为整数倍调制频率的锁模脉冲信号。通过在光纤激光器谐振腔中添加非线性光纤放大环镜,并利用其反射率对输入信号强度的开关特性,实现对锁模脉冲信号的整幅。在1 GHz的调制频率下,分别获得了4 GHz和5 GHz重复频率的锁模脉冲信号输出,并且在一定的980 nm抽运功率下,可通过调节电光调制器的直流偏置电压大小以及调制信号的调制深度,使得脉冲幅度具有较好的均匀性。     

Blue 489-nm picosecond pulses generated by intracavity frequency doubling in a passively mode-locked optically pumped semiconductor disk laser

We report the generation of blue 489-nm picosecond laser pulses by intracavity second-harmonic generation in a mode-locked optically pumped InGaAs vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser. Mode locking achieved by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror generated 5.8-ps-long sech²-shaped pulses at an emission wavelength of 978 nm and a repetition rate of 1.88 GHz. Intracavity frequency doubling in a 5-mm-long lithium triborate crystal generated blue picosecond pulses with a spectral width of 0.15 nm and an average output power of up to 6 mW.     

All-fiber integrated 10 GHz repetition rate femtosecond laser source based on Raman compression of pulses generated through spectral masking of a phase-modulated diode

We report the development of a 10?GHz repetition rate all-fiber integrated femtosecond source tunable around 1.55?μm. A phase modulator and sharp spectral filter are used to convert the output of a tunable CW diode to a 10?GHz pulse train. These pulses are compressed using Raman soliton adiabatic compression in a 21?km long length of fiber to generate sub-300-fs duration pulses at a 10?GHz repetition rate. By tuning the wavelength of the diode and appropriate filtering, similar performance was achieved over a 20?nm bandwidth.     

High-efficiency near-degenerate PPMgLN optical parametric oscillator with a volume Bragg grating

We demonstrate a high-efficiency near-degenerate periodically poled MgO:LiNbO(3) (PPMgLN) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) using a volume Bragg grating (VBG) output coupler (OC) pumped by a multilongitudinal Q-switched Nd:YVO(4) laser at 20 kHz repetition rate. A total parametric power of 4.3 W with a conversion efficiency of 60% is achieved in a double-pass pump configuration. The output power improvement over the case of a single-pass pump is nearly 60%. Both the signal and the idler bandwidths are less than 40 GHz and are confined within 170 GHz bandwidth at 2128.8 nm. Such efficiency is, to our knowledge, the highest ever achieved from a degenerate OPO using a VBG OC.     

Demonstration of highly efficient broadband amplification in a optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier system

We have demonstrated highly efficient broadband amplification by an optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier (OPCPA) system that uses high energy seed pulses. The OPCPA consists of three type I B-barium borate (BBO) crystals pumped by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. We successfully amplified the microjoule level seed pulses to 78 mJ with a pump-to-signal optical conversion efficiency of 26% at a 10 Hz repetition rate. To our knowledge these results represent the most optically efficient OPCPA to date pumped by a typical Q-switched laser.