12-fs pulses from a continuous-wave-pumped 200-nJ Ti:sapphire amplifier at a variable repetition rate as high as 4 MHz

We demonstrate a novel compact femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser system operating at repetition rates from 10 kHz to 4 MHz. The scheme is based on the combination of a broadband cavity-dumped oscillator and a double-pass Ti:sapphire amplifier pumped by a low-noise cw solid-state laser. Amplified pulses with an extremely smooth spectrum, a duration of only 12 fs, and less than 0.25% rms fluctuation are generated in a beam with M2 < 1.2. A maximum pulse energy of 210 nJ and an average output power of as much as 720 mW are achieved. This output energy is sufficient to generate a stable continuum in a sapphire disk.     

An 11-fs, 5-kHz optical parametric/Ti:sapphire hybrid chirped pulse amplification system

We developed a noncollinear optical parametric/Ti:sapphire hybrid chirped pulse amplification system, which consists of a two-pass optical parametric amplifier and multipass Ti:sapphire amplifiers with adaptive phase control. The use of the parametric amplifier instead of a regenerative amplifier broadened the final spectrum significantly, resulting in 11-fs pulses with a peak power of 18 GW at 5 kHz. PACS 42.55.-f; 42.65.Re; 42.65.Yj     

BBOⅠ类相位匹配非共线参量产生中的群速自匹配

利用重复频率为1kHz的钛宝石激光的倍频蓝光抽运Ⅰ类相位匹配的偏硼酸钡(BBO)晶体，获得了可见光区的非共线参量超荧光.给出了最强光强处参量超荧光的非共线角，波长随相位匹配角的变化.理论计算了在参量超荧光中三波的群速失配随非共线角和相位匹配角的变化规律.结果表明，Ⅰ类非共线相位匹配的参量超荧光关于抽运光中心对称.并且沿光强最强的参量超荧光方向三波的群速失配最小，有效互作用长度最大，即参量超荧光的强度角分布是三波的相速和群速自匹配的结果.该理论和实验研究为减小飞秒光参量放大中三波的群速失配提供了一个理想的几何模型，为获得高增益、窄脉冲宽度的参量光输出提供了理论依据和实验验证. 关键词： 群速自匹配 参量超荧光 非共线相位匹配 飞秒光参量放大     

高效连续波钛宝石激光器的优化设计及实验研究

运用ABCD律及自再现条件对钛宝石线性腔的折叠角进行了优化,从而大大提高了钛宝石晶体中光束束腰的耦合效率同时实验上对连续钛宝石激光器进行了研究,采用20mm长的钛宝石晶体和10%输出耦合镜,并运用优化后的折叠角,最终用全线氩离子激光器泵浦的连续波钛宝石激光器的斜率效率高达34.2%,在泵浦功率为7.7W下,连续钛宝石激光器输出功率达1.89W.     

Generation of 2.5 μJ vacuum ultraviolet pulses with sub-50 fs duration by noncollinear four-wave mixing in argon

Generation of sub-50fs vacuum UV pulses with more than 2.5μJ energy at a 1kHz repetition rate is reported. The pulses at 160nm are produced using noncollinear difference-frequency four-wave mixing between the fundamental and third harmonics of an amplified Ti:sapphire laser in argon. While the pulse duration is maintained by increasing the phase-matching pressure, noncollinear interaction improves the conversion efficiency by 1 order of magnitude in comparison with the previous results in collinear geometry.     

基于Ti∶sapphire振荡源的光参量啁啾脉冲放大器

以钛宝石飞秒振荡源作为种子源,在二级放大器中,采用种子光被同一束抽运光在有效非线性系数最大的平面内放大两次的双通光参量放大结构,实现高增益光参量啁啾脉冲放大.实验得到了3×107的总增益,信号光输出能量为3 mJ,能量晃动小于3%rms,此时参量荧光仅占输出总能量的1%.实验结果表明,采用这种放大系统,提高了信号光与抽运光在时域上的匹配,有效地抑制了参量放大过程中参量荧光的产生,同时提高了系统的稳定性.     

大口径掺钛蓝宝石晶体放大的实验研究

 分析了口径为80 mm的钛宝石晶体内的增益特性,对大口径钛宝石晶体中的泵浦光能量密度和泵浦光口径进行了优化设计。对于80 mm×17 mm的晶体,最佳工作光束口径为55 mm,泵浦能量为50 J;对于80 mm×30 mm的晶体,最佳工作光束口径为60 mm,泵浦能量为90 J,且其横向小信号增益远小于80 mm×17 mm晶体的。对影响大口径钛宝石晶体放大的横向放大自发辐射（ASE）和寄生振荡采用折射率匹配的包边技术进行了抑制。实验表明,该方法把允许横向增益从13提高到了2 100。实验系统为100 J绿光台面泵浦激光器,100 TW主放大器采用四程空间构型放大光路。80 mm×17 mm钛宝石晶体c轴水平放置,泵浦光和主激光均为水平偏振。当以泵浦光能量为49 J对主放大器进行双端泵浦,注入信号光能量为1.2 J,光束口径60 mm时,获得了14.2 J的放大光输出和286 TW的最高峰值功率。     

Generation of radially polarized Ti:sapphire laser beam using a c-cut crystal

First, it is demonstrated that with a c-cut Ti:sapphire crystal the generation of a nonpolarized laser beam is possible, in contrast to the conventional a-cut Ti:sapphire crystal, which produces a linearly polarized beam. Second, the generation of a radially polarized Ti:sapphire laser beam is demonstrated in combination with a c-cut YVO(4) crystal used as a selector of radial polarization.     

Wavefront evolution of the signal beam in Ti:sapphire chirped pulse amplifier

We studied the evolution of wavefront aberration(WFA) of a signal beam during amplification in a Ti:sapphire chirped pulse amplification(CPA) system. The results verified that the WFA of the amplified laser beam has little relation with the change of the pump beam energies. Transverse parasitic lasing that might occur in CPA hardly affects the wavefront of the signal beam. Thermal effects were also considered in this study, and the results show that the thermal effect cumulated in multiple amplification processes also has no obvious influence on the wavefront of the signal beam for a single-shot frequency. The results presented in this paper confirmed experimentally that the amplification in a Ti:sapphire CPA system has little impact on the WFA of the signal beam and it is very helpful for wavefront correction of single-shot PW and multi-PW laser systems based on Ti:sapphire.     

Spatial chirp in Ti:sapphire multipass amplifier

The spatial chirp generated in the Ti:sapphire multipass amplifier is numerically investigated based on the onedimensional(1D) and two-dimensional(2D) Frantz–Nodvik equations. The simulation indicates that the spatial chirp is induced by the spatially inhomogeneous gain, and it can be almost eliminated by utilization of proper beam profiles and spot sizes of the signal and pump pulses, for example, the pump pulse has a top-hatted beam profile and the signal pulse has a super-Gaussian beam profile with a relatively larger spot size. In this way, a clear understanding of spatial chirp mechanisms in the Ti:sapphire multipass amplifier is proposed, therefore we can effectively almost eliminate the spatial chirp and improve the beam quality of a high-power Ti:sapphire chirped pulse amplifier system.     

RILIS applications at CERN/ISOLDE

Since 2011 the ISOLDE Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source (RILIS) has comprised a dual system of three dye and three Ti:sapphire lasers capable of gap-free wavelength tuning from 210 to 950 nm. Temporal synchronization of the lasers has enabled several operating modes to be established which make optimal use of the complementary characteristics of each laser type. This flexibility of the system has presented several opportunities for additional atomic spectroscopy studies and ionization scheme development, whilst also enabling an increase in the number of operating hours for standard ion beam production. The extended capabilities of the dual-RILIS system are exemplified by the recent operational highlights. These include on-line ionization scheme development (At, Ca), measurements of ionization energies (At, Po), in-source resonance ionization spectroscopy of exotic isotopes (At, Au, Po), and the provision of a fibre-coupled narrow-linewidth Ti:sapphire beam for the on-line commissioning of the CRIS experiment (Fr).     

飞秒BBO光参量放大中闲频光二次谐波的产生

由于相位匹配条件和非线性晶体透光范围的限制，400nm蓝光抽运的飞秒β-BaB₂O₄（BBO）光参量放大（OPA）输出的参量光调谐范围有限，很难得到波长小于460nm的蓝光和近紫外光.实验采用1kHz钛宝石九通啁啾脉冲放大器的倍频蓝光作抽运光，超连续白光 作种子光，在Ⅰ类非共线相位匹配条件下，利用宽带的飞秒BBO OPA，在一定的实验参数下 获得了530—810nm放大的信号光，以及810nm—17μm波段范围的闲频光.与此同时 ，还获得了410—700nm连续可调的闲频光的二次谐波，其与闲频光层叠分布，单脉冲能量 为26μJ，转换效率大于5%.仅利用单块晶体的飞秒BBO OPA就可以获得410—810nm连 续可调的飞秒脉冲输出，从而为更多研究和应用的需要提供了重要的光源.对飞秒光参量放 大中闲频光二次谐波产生的条件也进行了理论分析. 关键词： 二次谐波 闲频光 非共线相位匹配 飞秒光参量放大     

Sub-8-fs pulses from an ultrabroadband optical parametric amplifier in the visible

Pulses with 180-THz bandwidth and 2-microJ energy were generated by a noncollinear optical parametric amplifier in the visible, pumped by the second harmonic of a Ti:sapphire laser. A portion of the amplified pulse spectrum was compressed to 7.2 fs by use of a thin prism sequence.     

Multimillijoule chirped parametric amplification of few-cycle pulses

The concept of optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification is applied to attain pulses with energies up to 8 mJ and a bandwidth of more than 100 THz. Stretched broadband seed pulses from a Ti:sapphire oscillator are amplified in a multistage noncollinear type I phase-matched beta-barium borate parametric amplifier by use of an independent picosecond laser with lock-to-clock repetition rate synchronization. Partial compression of amplified pulses is demonstrated down to a 10-fs duration with a down-chirped pulse stretcher and a nearly lossless compressor comprising bulk material and positive-dispersion chirped mirrors.     

Broadband noncollinear optical parametric amplification without angularly dispersed idler

We report a new scheme for direct generation of broadband angular-dispersion-free mid-IR idler pulses via noncollinear optical parametric amplification when group-velocity matched wavelengths cannot be found and the traditional noncollinear geometry fails to increase the phase-matching bandwidth. The scheme does not require any post-amplification idler angular dispersion compensation. We derive and interpret the condition for broadband amplification and absence of idler angular dispersion. A broadband angular-dispersion-free 2.15 μm idler pulse is generated as an experimental demonstration. We identify the potential of the scheme to generate a broadband 3.5 μm idler, with a bandwidth supporting a sub-two-cycle pulse.     

Beam overlapping in a multipass Ti:sapphire amplifier based on a parabolic mirror

According to laser beam transporting in a multipass Ti:sapphire amplifier based on a parabolic mirror, the influential factors to induce astigmatism are analyzed. The beam waists of the laser beam transporting in the multipass amplifier are calculated by ABCD law in sagittal and tangential planes, respectively, and are compared with each other. Our analyses of these influential factors provide valuable data to optimize this design of multipass Ti:sapphire amplifier, and our experimental results of getting Gaussian beam from such a kind of amplifier confirmed our theoretical analyses.     

Efficient noncollinear parametric amplification of weak femtosecond pulses in the visible and near-infrared spectral range

We report measurement of efficient amplification of weak femtosecond supercontinuum seed pulses by use of a noncollinear optical parametric process in BBO crystal pumped with 150-fs pulses from a frequency-doubled regenerative-amplified Ti:sapphire laser at 390nm . The highest amplification factor, 10(8) , was achieved for 3x10(-16)J energy seed pulses at wavelength of 560nm.     

采用飞秒光纤激光同步泵浦的自启动锁模钛宝石激光研究

针对常规连续激光泵浦钛宝石激光振荡器不能自启动锁模的缺点,采用倍频飞秒光纤激光同步泵浦,通过调节振荡器腔长与泵浦腔长匹配,实现了飞秒钛宝石激光的自启动锁模。实验中采用3.4 W的倍频掺镱光纤激光同步泵浦钛宝石激光振荡器,获得了平均功率大于130 mW、重复频率75 MHz、光谱宽度大于47 nm、脉冲宽度17 fs的锁模脉冲输出,不仅能够稳定可靠地实现自启动锁模,解决了常规钛宝石激光振荡器锁模启动的困难,而且还具有同步输出1040,800,520 nm三束飞秒激光的特点,为进一步开展飞秒激光相干合成以及光参量放大等研究提供了优势基础。     

An optical resilient packet ring node with SOA-based loadable and erasable storage buffer

A Ti:sapphire multipass amplifier producing 2.4 mJ, 26 fs pulses at a repetition rate of 1 kHz and 17 W pump power is described. An aperture mask is essential for a good performance of the multipass amplifier. Diffraction by the apertures is identified as one intrinsic source for pre- and post-pulses. A two-row beam path reduces these parasitic pulses effectively and improves the pulse contrast ratio by about one order of magnitude without reduction in power. The depolarization due to the oblique beam path through the Ti:sapphire crystal is proven to be negligible by measurements and calculations. PACS 42.60.Da; 42.55.Rz; 42.60.Lh     

Broadband difference frequency mixing between visible and near-infrared pulses for few-cycle pulse generation with stable carrier-envelope phase

Difference frequency generation between broadband visible noncollinear optical parametric amplifier (NOPA) pulses and the fundamental pump laser pulses allows the generation of ultrashort infrared pulses with passively stabilized carrier-envelope phase. A simple prism compressor for the visible NOPA pulses is sufficient to generate few-cycle pulses in the infrared and no additional compression is needed. We theoretically investigate the concept, explain the principles, and demonstrate it for high repetition rate, long pulse durations, and various wavelengths by applying it to a Ti:sapphire and an Yb:KYW-based laser systems. For the latter sub-15 fs phase stable pulses around 1.8 μm with an energy of 100 nJ are obtained at 100 kHz repetition rate.