Optical phase locking among femtosecond subharmonic pulses

We stabilized the relative carrier-envelope phase slip among the pump pulse and its subharmonic signal and idler pulses in a femtosecond optical parametric oscillator, resulting in long-term phasecoherence among the pulses. The stabilized beat signal corresponding to the relative carrier-envelope phase slip among subharmonic pulses had an accumulated phase error of 0.24 rad in the 1-mHz-1-MHz region. The fluctuation of the beat frequency measured by a 1-s-averaged counter was less than 1 mHz in a 1480-s measurement.     

Transform-limited 100 microJ, 340 MW pulses from a nonlinear-fiber chirped-pulse amplifier using a mismatched grating stretcher-compressor

We report on a compact double-stage ytterbium-doped-fiber chirped-pulse amplifier system delivering high temporal quality 270 fs pulses of 100 microJ energy at a repetition rate of 300 kHz resulting in a peak power of 340 MW. The recompression down to 1.1 times the Fourier limit is based on the exploitation of nonlinear phase shifts associated with mismatched stretcher-compressor units. A 1-m-long ytterbium-doped 80 mum core diameter photonic crystal fiber is implemented as the power amplifier and allows the production of 143 microJ pulses before compression with an accumulated B integral of 17 rad throughout the amplification stages.     

Compensation of self-phase modulation in fiber-based chirped-pulse amplification systems

We demonstrate a simple, all-fiber technique for removing nonlinear phase due to self-phase modulation in fiber-based chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) systems. Using a LiNbO3 electro-optic phase modulator to emulate a negative nonlinear index of refraction, we are able to remove 1.0 pi rad of self-phase modulation acquired by pulses during amplification and eliminate nearly all pulse distortion. Our technique is high speed, removes nonlinear phase on a pulse-to-pulse basis, and can be readily integrated into existing CPA systems.     

Focal transformation and the Gouy phase shift of converging one-cycle surface acoustic waves excited by femtosecond laser pulses

We studied the changes of the pulse shape and the phase of the spectral components in converging-surface acoustic wave pulses. These pulses were excited with a femtosecond laser by a thermoelastic mechanism. To produce converging acoustic pulses, the laser beam was focused with an axicon in a circle on the surface of an aluminum sample. During propagation through the focus, the shape of the pulses of the normal surface velocity changed from two to three polar. The absolute value of the phase of the spectral components experienced a change close to pi/2 rad (Gouy phase shift) after passage of the focal region. These observations were confirmed by analytical and numerical calculations based on the two-dimensional wave equation for surface acoustic waves.     

High precision elimination of angular chirp in CPA laser systems with large stretching factors or high bandwidth

We present a novel and highly sensitive method to determine the residual angular dispersion of high-power laser pulses after stretching, amplification, and re-compression of the pulses in a chirped-pulse amplification laser system. This method is based on the intentional deflection of a part of the the spectrum within the compressor and aligning the centers of gravity of the two resulting and separated foci with largest possible spectral separation in the far field. Using this technique, we were able to reduce the residual angular dispersion on pulses to less than 0.05 μrad/nm in the vertical plane and less than 0.03 μrad/nm in the horizontal plane, respectively. With this method, it is possible to minimize the deviation of the actual peak intensity for the focused laser pulses to less than 2 % of its theoretical limit.     

Tunable phase-stabilized infrared parametric laser source

This paper reports that the tunable self-phase-stabilized infrared laser pulses have been generated from a two-stage optical parametric amplifier. With an 800 nm pump source, the output idler pulses are tunable from 1.3 μm to 2.3 μm, and the maximum output energy of the idler pulses is higher than 1 mJ at 1.6 μm by using 6 mJ pump laser. A carrier-envelope phase fluctuation of ～ 0.15 rad (rms) for the idler pulses is measured for longer than one hour by using a home build f-to-2f interferometer.     

BBO晶体中级联非线性效应的实验研究

采用800 nm和400 nm两束飞秒激光脉冲在BBO晶体中同时满足相位匹配条件,产生差频、和频及其级联效应.实验运用了中心波长800 nm、重复频率10 Hz、脉宽60 fs及光斑直径7 mm的钛蓝宝石再生放大飞秒激光,输出约为10 mJ的能量以7:3分束.其中7 mJ光脉冲用一块非线性晶体BBO倍频至400 nm获得1.45 mJ能量,然后与另一束800 nm的3 mJ基频激光以非共线方式注入到另一块BBO中,在兼顾和频与差频的相位匹配条件下,即晶体对于和频与差频相位匹配状态同时存在少量失谐时,会同时产生267 nm与800 nm的和频与差频效应,新产生光波与原入射激光脉冲又经过进一步非线性混频作用,最终得到多达10余束可见、紫外的一维列阵.分析了此级联非线性效应的产生机理并讨论了入射光强度,啁啾,延迟等因素对级联效果的影响.     

Robustness of phase coherence against amplification in a flashlamp-pumped multi-pass femtosecond laser

We show that the phase of an ultra-short laser pulse undergoing the process of chirped-pulse amplification in a flashlamp-pumped multi-pass configuration is surprisingly well locked to the phase of the original pulse emitted by a mode-locked oscillator. We demonstrate that the relative phase jitter introduced in the amplification remains small (<0.1 rad r.m.s.) and does not spoil the visibility of fringes obtained in an interferometric experiment. These results indicate that, using a carrier-phase-stabilized seed laser, the generation of phase-controlled, high-intensity laser pulses is possible and relatively straightforward even with the commonly available flashlamp-pumped amplification systems. PACS 42.65.Re; 42.62.Eh; 42.25.Kb     

Spatial light modulator with an over-two-octave bandwidth from ultraviolet to near infrared

We developed a 1-pixel ultraviolet-to-near-infrared (UV-to-NIR) liquid-crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM) and clarified its phase modulation properties in detail, for the first time to our knowledge. The employed liquid crystal is transparent over 260-1100 nm. A phase modulation capability of 55.8 rad at 305 nm and 14.0 rad at 1000 nm is enough to compensate for UV-to-NIR nonlinear chirped pulses. The LC-SLM driving parameters of a period T=13 ms and an applied voltage V(DD)=7.0 V were determined. The 648-pixel extension of this new device will permit us to realize the high-power generation of single subcycle optical pulses and the direct UV-to-NIR pulse shaping.     

Phase stabilization of an octave-spanning Ti:sapphire laser

We obtain direct stabilization of the carrier-envelope phase for a standard x-folded geometry, octave-spanning, Ti:sapphire laser. The in-loop accumulated carrier-envelope phase error is 0.175 rad (1.65 mHz to 102 kHz). Intracavity continuum generation, which is responsible for the octave bandwidth, is characterized through measurement of the beam parameters.     

Single-beam homodyne SPIDER for multiphoton microscopy

We report a new version of spectral phase interferometry for direct electric field reconstruction (SPIDER) requiring only a single phase-shaped laser beam. A narrowband probe pulse is selected out of a broadband ultrafast laser pulse by a phase pulse-shaping technique and mixed with the original broadband pulse to generate a second-harmonic generation (SHG) signal. Using another SHG signal solely generated by the broadband pulse as a local oscillator, the spectral phase of the broadband laser pulse can be analytically retrieved by a combination of double-quadrature spectral interferometry and homodyne optical technique for SPIDER (HOT SPIDER). An arbitrary spectral phase at the sample position of a microscope can be compensated with a precision of 0.05 rad over the FWHM of the laser spectrum. It is readily applicable to a nonlinear microscopy technique with a phase-controlled broadband laser pulse.     

Self-induced nonlinear polarization change of femtosecond laser pulse propagation in an optically isotropic glass

The self-induced polarization change of femtosecond laser pulses passing through an isotropic optical glass is investigated. It is shown that supercontinuum generations from femtosecond lasers tend to be identical for the incident beam with different polarizations ranging from a large-ellipticity to a linear state when the incident laser power increases. Theoretical analysis reveals that a transient intensity-dependent birefringence is induced in the glass sample by the laser pulse itself, and the accumulated nonlinear phase shift leads to a change in polarization ellipticity. Simulation results are consistent with the experimental observations. PACS 42.50.Md; 42.65.Jx; 42.81.Gs; 77.22.Ej     

Intracavity phase interferometry: frequency combs sensor inside a laser cavity

In traditional interferometric measurements, a physical quantity that changes the phase of a resonator is monitored through a change of its transmission. Interferometry inside a laser exploits the ultimate Q‐factor of that resonator, and converts the phase to be measured into a frequency. A mode‐locked laser with two intracavity pulses emits two frequency combs of the same repetition rate. The quantity to be measured (a sub‐nano displacement, a nonlinear index, an acceleration or rotation, a magnetic or electric field) produces a minute phase change ( rad) in one of the two intracavity pulses, which is converted into a frequency, measured by beating the two pulse trains emitted by the laser. This paper presents methods of operating mode‐locked lasers in which two independent pulses circulate, producing two frequency combs of the same repetition rate. Various examples of physical quantities that can be measured through this technique are presented.     

Impact of spectral phase mismatch on femtosecond coherent beam combining systems

We experimentally investigate the impact of spectral phase mismatch on the coherent beam combining of two femtosecond fiber chirped-pulse amplifiers. By measuring the differential spectral phase, both linear and nonlinear contributions are identified. An accumulated nonlinear phase as high as 6 rad has been measured, for which a combination efficiency of 91% can be obtained by symmetrizing the pump and injection powers. This also allows us to quantitatively separate the spatial and temporal contributions of the nonperfect combining efficiency.     

钕玻璃的热致断裂及泵浦极限

以激光介质的第一主应力为评判标准,依据Griffith微裂纹理论作为断裂临界应力,基于已报道的断裂实验数据和3维、瞬态的有限元计算,建立了预测一定泵浦参数下钕玻璃断裂可能性的Weibull统计模型,同时分析了影响介质泵浦极限的其它因素。结果表明:材料的抛光工艺决定了介质的断裂应力;对于短脉冲大能量方式工作的钕玻璃介质,基于美国20世纪90年代的抛光水平,1 Hz以下低重频时应优先考虑18 kWcm-2的泵浦饱和极限,10 Hz以上高重频时应优先考虑介质的断裂极限。     

Comparison of Solutions of the General Nonlinear Amplitude Equation and a Modified Schrӧdinger Equation

We review the dynamics of narrow and broad-band optical pulses in nonlinear dispersive media. A major problem that arises during the development of theoretical models, which describe accurately and correctly the behavior of these pulses, is the limited application of the nonlinear Schr?dinger equation. It describes very well the evolution of nanosecond and picosecond laser pulses. However, when we investigate the propagation of femtosecond and attosecond light pulses, it is necessary to use the more general nonlinear amplitude equation. We show that in this equation two additional terms are included and they have a significant impact on the phase of the pulse. We perform numerical simulations and show the temporal shift of the position of fundamental solitons. This effect depends on the initial duration of the laser pulses. To clarify the influence of the additional terms on the parameters of the optical pulses, we consider the nonlinear amplitude equation, which is a modified nonlinear Schr?dinger equation.     

A Self-Diffraction Temporal Filter for Contrast Enhancement in Femtosecond Ultra-High Intensity Laser

We demonstrated a nonlinear temporal filter based on the self-diffraction(SD) process. Temporal contrast enhancement, angular dispersion and spectrum broadening properties of the SD process are investigated in experiment and simulation. Driven by spectral phase well compensated laser pulses with bandwidth of 28 nm,the filter produced clean pulses with a temporal contrast higher than 1010 and excellent spatial profile, the spectrum of which was smoothed and broadened to 64 nm. After implementing this filter into a home-made30 TW Ti:sapphire amplifier, temporal contrast of the amplified pulses was enhanced to 1010 within the time scale of-400 ps.     

Optical phase locking with a large and tunable frequency difference based on a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

We present a novel method to phase lock two lasers with a controllable frequency difference. A microwave frequency-modulated vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser is used to phase connect two diode lasers by a two-step injection locking. The phase fluctuations of the two lasers are measured to be 6.4 x 10(-4) rad2, corresponding to 99.94% phase coherence. The frequency difference of the two lasers is tunable up to tens of gigahertz. The sideband suppression of the slave laser is more than 30 dB at 30 microW seed power. A narrow linewidth spectrum of coherent population trapping in rubidium is achieved using such beams.     

非真空传输的高效交叉偏振滤波设计与产生

采用常规透镜设计了适用于非真空环境中交叉偏振波(XPW)产生的双透镜聚焦系统,在相对较短的距离实现了长焦透镜聚焦的效果,并测量了聚焦后的激光脉冲,发现其没有显著的非线性相位积累,保证了激光光束质量.在非真空中采用双BaF_2晶体得到了XPW系统转换效率22%,光谱1.78倍展宽的净化脉冲输出,双透镜组合聚焦形式使得双BaF_2晶体间距在13—22 cm内可保证20%以上的XPW转换效率,双晶体间距的调节冗余度提高了两个量级,极大地降低了双晶转换效率对晶体间距的依赖.这种正负透镜组合聚焦的光路设计在非真空中实现了高效稳定的XPW输出,为后续的放大应用提供了高对比度、宽光谱的高质量种子源.     

Photon kinetics for laser-plasma interactions

A photon kinetic formalism is employed to describe the propagation of short laser pulses in tenuous plasmas. The photon kinetic theory contains all of the ingredients necessary to describe the relativistic nonlinear optics of short laser pulses in plasmas, and the shortest time scale is determined by the local evolution of the index of refraction. We use this feature to implement a photon in cell code, in which the typical time step is much bigger than is the laser field time scale. Additional information provided by the photon kinetic framework is illustrated by one-dimensional (1-D) and two-dimensional (2-D) simulations