Influence of Self-Diffraction Effect on Femtosecond Time-Resolved Single-Shot Optical Kerr Measurements

Femtosecond time-resolved single-shot optical Kerr gating(OKG) measurements are performed by focusing the probe pulse and using a cylindrical lens to introduce a spatially encoded time delay with respect to the pump pulse.By measuring the pump power and polarization dependence of the OKG signals in CS_2,the contribution of self-diffraction effect which is independent of the nonlinear response time of the material is directly observed on the rising edge of the time-resolved OKG signals.The influence of the self-diffraction effect on the optical Kerr signal could be controlled effectively by varying the polarization angle between pump and probe pulses.     

用于超快束匀滑的动态波前调控新方案

提出了利用光克尔效应实现激光束波前动态调控,进而实现焦斑超快束匀滑(ps量级)的方案,其原理是利用抽运光动态改变光克尔介质的折射率分布,以对透射主激光束附加时空耦合的动态波前,进而使激光束在靶面的焦斑散斑产生更加快速、多样的变化,最终实现焦斑的超快束匀滑.当抽运光时间波形为高斯脉冲序列,且以小角度倾斜入射至光克尔介质时,由于抽运光和光克尔介质对主激光附加随时间横向移动的周期性球面相位,且球面相位的幅值随时间不断变化,因而可以同步实现激光束焦面散斑的横向和径向超快速扫动,从而更为有效地改善靶面辐照均匀性.     

基于光克尔效应的径向光束匀滑新方案

针对惯性约束聚变装置中提高靶面辐照均匀性的要求, 提出了一种基于光克尔效应的径向光束匀滑方案, 其基本原理是利用光克尔介质和周期性高斯脉冲光束相互作用实现对激光束透射波前附加周期性的球面位相调制, 以周期性地改变激光束远场焦斑尺寸, 进而引起远场焦斑内部散斑的快速径向扫动, 从而在积分时间内抹平靶面焦斑的强度调制, 实现径向方向的光束匀滑. 通过建立基于光克尔效应的径向光束匀滑的理论模型, 分析了焦斑形态及其径向匀滑特性, 并讨论了光克尔介质的选取和径向扫动特性. 结果表明, 基于光克尔效应的径向光束匀滑方案可以有效地实现远场焦斑内部散斑的周期性径向扫动, 从而在积分时间内快速改善靶面辐照均匀性.     

非局域克尔介质中空间光孤子的相互作用

研究了强非局域克尔介质中光束的演化规律，通过相位分析得到了空间孤子相互作用所满足 的非局域非线性薛定谔方程的简化近似模型，并获得了双光束传输的解析解.结果表明在传 输过程中相互作用的高斯光束的相位决定于它们的输入总功率.以振幅一强一弱共同传输的 高斯光束为例进行了具体研究，得到了强光和弱光的解析式，相位分析显示弱光在相当短的 传输距离之内能产生大的相移，可以通过对强光能量的调控来实现对弱光的相位调制. 关键词： 非局域克尔介质 空间光孤子 孤子相互作用 相位调制     

Theoretical and experimental investigations of nanosecond 177.3 nm deep-ultraviolet light by second harmonic generation in KBBF

We have presented theoretical and experimental investigations of nanosecond (ns) deep-ultraviolet (DUV) 177.3 nm radiation by means of second harmonic generation (SHG) from a frequency-tripled Nd:YAG laser (355 nm, 49 ns and 10 kHz) in KBe₂BO₃F₂ (KBBF) nonlinear crystal for the first time. A DUV KBBF-SHG numerical model, accounting for linear absorption, pump depletion, beam spatial birefringent walk-off and diffraction, is performed in the Gaussian approximation of spatial and temporal profiles. In the experiment, a maximum average output power of 14.1 mW at 177.3 nm was obtained. The dependence of 177.3 nm output power on the 355 nm pump power was simulated. The calculated results are in good agreement with the measured data. We used the model further to investigate the optical conversion efficiency, pulse width, beam spatial intensity profile and beam quality factor of the generated 177.3 nm light, in particular the effect of beam birefringent walk-off.     

Polarization dependence of optical Kerr effect in metallophthalocyanine-doped inorganic-organic hybrid materials

Ultrafast optical Kerr effect of metallophthalocyanine-doped inorganic-organic materials was investigated using a femtosecond optical Kerr shutter at wavelength of 800 nm. Experimental results showed that the dependence of the Kerr signals on the polarization angle between the pump beam and the probe beam could be controlled by changing the pump-probe intensity ratio. The pump-intensity dependence of the polarization characters of the Kerr signals probably arose from the contribution of light induced transient grating (LITG) to the Kerr signals.     

CS_2飞秒超快非线性特性的实验研究

采用中心波长800 nm、脉宽30 fs的超短激光脉冲,通过飞秒光开关技术对CS_2的飞秒超快非线性特性进行了实验研究.在探测光强与抽运光强比为1∶10时,得到了较理想的光克尔时间分辨曲线.通过实验测定的光克尔信号强度与激发光和探测光偏振方向夹角的依赖关系表明:30 fs的超短激光脉冲激发CS_2的克尔信号主要是源于光诱导双折射效应,而非用200 fs的超短激光脉冲时来自瞬态栅的自衍射效应.     

Improvement of the operation parameters for a Cr:LiSAF ultrashort-pulsed laser

The optimization of the pumping power that is focused on a gain medium inside an optical cavity is fundamental for increasing the efficiency of the power transferred inside a crystal, in this way increasing the output power of the laser. Nevertheless, in the case of pumping with a highly astigmatic laser diode, an undesirable form of the beam is focused on the cavity and the process to improve the cross section and sizes of the beam produce a notable reduction in the effective pump power ultimately focused in the crystal. The cavity design improvements for a Cr:LiSAF laser pumped with a 200 um × 1 um laser diode emission is presented for three different configurations, Z, V, and ring. The pump power is introduced in the cavity through a simple optical array, coupling more than 83% of the laser-diode power. The design requirements for the resonant cavity are reviewed in order to improve the coupling between the fundamental mode of the cavity and the cross-section form of the pumping beam. The stability limits of the cavities and Kerr sensitivity region are presented.     

Kerr非线性介质中聚焦像散高斯光束的传输特性

当高功率激光通过Kerr非线性介质传输时,Kerr效应会严重影响激光的传输特性.实际应用中常遇到像散光束.迄今为止,像散光束传输特性的研究大都局限于在线性介质中的传输,而在非线性介质中传输的研究较少,且还未涉及像散激光束通过含光学系统的Kerr非线性介质传输变换的研究.本文主要研究Kerr效应对聚焦光束像散特性和焦移特性的影响,以及聚焦像散高斯光束的自聚焦焦距和光束焦点调控.在光束扩展情况下,推导出了聚焦像散高斯光束在Kerr非线性介质中传输的束宽、束腰位置和焦移的解析公式,研究表明:在自聚焦介质中,随着自聚焦作用增强(如光束功率增强),光束像散越强,但焦移越小;在自散焦介质中,随着自散焦作用增强(如光束功率增强),光束像散越弱,但焦移越大.另一方面,在光束自聚焦情况下,推导出了自聚焦焦距的解析公式,研究表明利用光束像散可以调控光束焦点个数.     

Output power and intracavity intensity profiles of a quasi-continuous end-pumped Nd:YVO4 self-Raman mini laser

The paper presents experimental investigation and modeling of an end-pumped quasi-continuous-wave YVO₄/Nd:YVO₄ mini self-Raman laser. The dependence of the Stokes output power on the pump power in the range from 3 to 17.5 W has been measured. As much as 1.76 W of an average Stokes power, corresponding to a total optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of about 10%, has been obtained. The transverse profiles of the laser (at the fundamental wavelength) and the Stokes beam intensity have been recorded at the output mirror and in the vicinity of the boundary between the pure and Nd-doped parts of the Raman crystal. These distributions have been approximated by the sum of Gaussian and super-Gaussian distributions with corresponding weights. We propose a model of such lasers that takes into account the features of intracavity self-frequency Raman conversion in lasers with highly inhomogeneous non-Gaussian spatial distributions of the pump, laser, and Stokes beam intensity in the cavity. The results of modeling are in good agreement with the experimental data.     

不同能量下环形高斯强激光光束在空气中的非线性传输

以线性传输模型为对比研究了不同初始能量的环形光束在空气中的非线性传输。结果显示,在传输初始阶段,非线性克尔效应减弱了线性空间啁啾导致的聚焦作用。线性聚焦使能量向光轴方向流动导致强光强核心,在光轴附近生成类高斯脉冲结构,增强了非线性自聚焦效应,导致光强急剧增加形成光丝。环形光束的初始能量的大小能够影响自聚焦焦距、光丝长度和光强通量。自聚焦焦距随着初始脉冲能量的增加而减小,但自聚焦焦距与初始功率的开方不成反比（这点与高斯光束不同）。光丝长度随着初始脉冲能量的增加而增加。轴上光强通量随初始脉冲能量的增加而增加。     

Controlling high harmonics generation by spatial shaping of high-energy femtosecond beam

We demonstrate controlled high-order harmonic generation in gas using high-energy femtosecond pulses (50 fs-50 mJ on target) by performing spatial shaping of the terrawatt fundamental laser beam. We have developed a two optical paths mirror that can withstand high power and shape the pump beam into a quasi-flat-top profile (super Gaussian) near focus. We observe clear signatures of the spatial shaping on the harmonic beam in terms of profile, divergence, level of signal, and spectrum. The harmonic generation in neon with a quasi-flat-top beam results in a broadband extreme UV beam with extremely low divergence (~340 μrad).     

Beam divergence effects on high power optical parametric oscillation

The beam divergence effects of the input pump laser on a high power nanosecond optical parametric oscillator （OPO） have been numerically simulated. The OPO conversion efficiency is affected due to the angular deviation of real laser beams from ideal phase matching conditions. Our theoretical model is based on the decomposition of the Gaussian beam and assumes each component has a single deviation angle and thus a particular wave vector mismatch. We take into account the variable intensity profile in the spatial and temporal domains of the Gaussian beam, the pump depletion effects for large-signal processes as well as the oscillatory effects of the three waves. Two nonlinear crystals β-BaB2O4 （BBO） and LiB305 （LBO） have been investigated in detail. The results indicate that the degree of beam divergence strongly influences the maximum pump intensity, optimum crystal length and OPO conversion efficiency. The impact of beam divergence is much more severe in the case of critical phase-matching for BBO than in the case of non-critical phase-matching for LBO. The results provide a way to choose the optimum parameters for a high power ns OPO such as the nonlinear material, the crystal length and the pump intensity, etc. Good agreement is obtained with our experimental results.     

Induced focusing and conversion of a Gaussian beam into an elliptic Gaussian beam

We have presented an investigation of the induced focusing in Kerr media of two laser beams, the pump beam and the probe beam, which could be either Gaussian or elliptic Gaussian or a combination of the two. We have used variational formalism to derive relevant beam-width equations. Among several important findings, the finding that a very week probe beam can be guided and focused when power of both beams are well below their individual threshold for self-focusing, is a noteworthy one. It has been found that induced focusing is not possible for laser beams of any wavelength and beam radius. In case both beams are elliptic Gaussian, we have shown that when power of both beams is above a certain threshold value then the effective radius of both beams collapses and collapse distance depends on power. Moreover, it has been found that induced focusing can be employed to convert a circular Gaussian beam into an elliptic Gaussian beam.     

Statistical modeling of excitation transfer processes in the case of an inhomogeneous dopant distribution

A computer program based on the Monte Carlo method was used to simulate upconversion processes and the migration of excitation in an ensemble of optical centers. The dependence of the upconversion coefficient C _up on the pump power and the concentration of centers are determined for inhomogeneous materials with clusters. It is shown that the nonmonotonic character of the upconversion coefficient dependence on the pump power in inhomogeneous materials is caused by a spatial inhomogeneities of excited centers distribution.     

Polarization beam splitting in media with light-induced anisotropy

The problem of light beam reflection from a refractive-index inhomogeneity induced by a high-power polarized Gaussian pump beam in a resonant medium has been simulated. A nonlinear optical method of spatial splitting of polarization components of a probe pump beam is proposed.     

Second-harmonic generation in the interior of an isotropic medium with quadratic nonlinearity by a focused inhomogeneously polarized pump beam

This paper presents a theoretical study of second-harmonic generation (SHG) by a focused pump beam in the interior of an isotropic medium, experimentally observed earlier. It shows that the spatial dispersion of the quadratic optical response of the substance can be responsible for this nonlinear process even when a macroscopic inversion center is present in the medium. It is established that this effect, which is impossible in the plane-wave approximation, also does not occur when a Gaussian pump beam with uniform distribution of the polarization state of the wave field over the cross section is used, but that the presence in the pump beam of higher transverse modes with polarization different from the fundamental mode can cause an SHG signal to appear. The conditions for a wave to appear at the doubled frequency are found, analytical dependences for its electric field and total power on the propagation coordinate, the degree of focusing, and the other parameters of the problem are obtained, and the requirements on the optimum experimental geometry are formulated. The dependence of the signal-beam power on the wavevector detuning is studied, and it is shown that interference effects can cause the wave at the second harmonic to disappear when a normal dispersion law is obeyed in the region between the fundamental and doubled frequencies. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 1261–1276 (April 1998)     

Optically tunable superprism effect in nonlinear photonic crystals

An analysis of the tunable superprism effect in a two-dimensional nonlinear photonic crystal is presented. We show that, by shifting the photonic bands of the crystal through the Kerr effect induced by a pump beam, one can tune the refraction angle of a transmitted signal beam over tens of degrees. We also demonstrate that the optical power required to tune the refracted angle is dramatically reduced if the frequency of the pump beam is close to a bandgap edge.     

Pump power dependence of the electron-hole plasma luminescence in Ga-doped ZnO film

Time resolved two-photon absorption induced electron-hole plasma (EHP) luminescence of Ga-doped ZnO thin film was measured by an ultrafast optical Kerr gate (OKG) in femtosecond time regime. Experimental results showed that the buildup time of the EHP luminescence was strongly dependent on the excitation fluence. The dependence of the buildup time of EHP on excitation fluence probably arose mainly from the relaxation of the hot carriers due to the carrier-carrier interaction, which increased with the increase of excitation fluence.     

A neat semi-Gaussian laser beam with no diffraction fringes: Theoretical analysis

We propose a simple optical device to convert a Gaussian laser beam into a neat semi-Gaussian laser beam without any diffraction fringe by using a spatial light modulator and a thin, sharp blade, and numerically calculate the diffracted, relative intensity distributions of both the semi-Gaussian laser field and the semi-Gaussian, pseudo-thermal light. We also study the dependence of the border width of the semi-Gaussian beam on the waist of the Gaussian beam. Our study shows that the proposed scheme can be used to cancel all diffraction fringes from both the straight edge of the blade and a finite lens aperture in all the planes vertical to the z axis and obtain a neat semi-Gaussian beam without any diffraction fringe, and find that the border width w_B of the generated semi-Gaussian beam is not dependent on the waist of the incident Gaussian beam.