Cascaded compression of the first and second Stokes pulses during forward transient stimulated Raman amplification

The results of numerical modelling of cascaded compression of the first and second Stokes pulses during regenerative regime of the forward transient stimulated Raman amplification are presented for the case when the walk-off length of the first Stokes pulse due to group velocity mismatch is shorter than the length of the nonlinear medium. The influence of the initial amplitudes of the seed first Stokes pulses, its durations and its time delay with respect to the pump pulse, the Kerr nonlinearity of the medium on the conversion efficiency, duration and propagation factor M² of the first and second Stokes pulse are studied. It is demonstrated that for the pump pulse duration of 1 ps the duration of the compressed second Stokes pulses in a KGW crystal near the beam axis may be approximately 14 times shorter than the pump pulse duration. It is shown that the propagation factor of the compressed pulses increases significantly because of complex spatial-temporal dynamics of compression and the influence of Kerr nonlinearity of Raman medium.     

Theoretical and experimental studies of combined self-phase modulation and stimulated Raman-scattering in single-mode fibres

A theoretical model of pulse propagation through single-mode fibres is presented taking into account the combined action of self-phase modulation, stimulated Raman-scattering and the group velocity mismatch between pump and Stokes pulses. Due to the walk-off of Stokes and laser light an asymmetric pump pulse depletion resulting in considerable reshaping of laser pulses and an asymmetric self-phase modulation spectrum can be calculated and experimentally verified. A maximum laser power is found to be transferable through the fibre.     

Coupled-cavity passively Q-switched two-Stokes microchip laser

Experimental and theoretical studies of the coupled-cavity diode-pumped Nd:YAG/Cr:YAG microchip lasers with intracavity Raman conversion of laser pulses in a Ba(NO₃)₂ crystal into two Stokes pulses have been made. Two lasers with a different cavity length have been investigated. The minimal pulse durations at the 2nd Stokes wavelength were ??100 ps in the short-cavity laser at pulse energy of 5???J, and the pulse repetition rate reached 20?C24?kHz. The laser and Stokes pulse dynamics, as well as the spatial intensity distribution of the laser and the 1st Stokes beams at the output mirror have been recorded. A model describing such coupled-cavity microchip Raman lasers has been developed. The numerically simulated laser and Stokes pulse dynamics, and the calculated pulse energy, duration, and repetition rate are in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Efficient compression of femtosecond pulses by stimulated Raman scattering

Femtosecond pulses at 496 nm were Raman-shifted in methane with 20% efficiency. The pulse duration could be reduced up to 6.5 times from 560 fs at the fundamental to 85 fs at the Stokes frequency (580nm), which is the shortest pulse duration generated in this way. It was shown experimentally that chirped-pulse Raman scattering avoids the limitations arising from self-phase modulation.     

Tunable light source for coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microspectroscopy based on the soliton self-frequency shift

We present a photonic crystal fiber (PCF)-based light source for generating tunable excitation pulses (pump and Stokes) that are applicable to coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microspectroscopy. The laser employed is an unamplified Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser oscillator. The CARS pump pulse is generated by spectral compression of a laser pulse in a PCF. The Stokes pulse is generated by redshifting a laser pulse in a PCF through the soliton self-frequency shift. This setup allows for probing up to 4000 cm(-1) with a spectral resolution of approximately 25 cm(-1). We characterize the stability and robustness of CARS microspectroscopy employing this light source.     

Generation of short light pulses under the stimulated Brillouin scattering in fibers with an optimal feedback

The generation of short light pulses (1 ns) in single mode fibers under pumping by wide laser pulses (of a microsecond duration) due to the backward stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) is numerically investigated. The influence of the acoustic diffraction is taken into account. The cases of acoustic waveguide and anti-waveguide fibers are considered. For an acoustic anti-waveguide fiber, a dependence of overlap integral S on the acoustic mode number n has a sharp peak in the region of n 100. Computer simulations have demonstrated the energy conversion of the pump wave into short pulses of the signal (Stokes) wave in the case of synchronous pumping. The optimal length of the fiber should be approximately equal to the half-length of the pump pulse. The bypass time of the Stokes pulse of the optimal circuit fiber and the feedback loop must be equal to the repetition period of the pump pulse. An importance of acoustic mode structure of the fiber for the process of forming pulse train in shown. We have found that the acoustic anti-waveguide fibers with a small core (a < 3 m) can be preferable for obtaining the stable train of compressed pulses.     

对受激布里渊散射激光进行组束的数值模拟及方案设计

 提出了时间上串行的多路激光脉冲通过受激布里渊散射(SBS)池进行组束的方法,并对其进行了数值模拟研究。利用6束每束能量为45J的KrF激光进行组束, 可获得能量为141.89J,脉宽为670ps的Stokes输出光。根据模拟结果设计出了时间上串行的SBS激光组束的两个方案, 对其进行了讨论。数值模拟还发现在介质的增益系数更大、声子寿命更短的情况下,输出激光脉冲的脉宽可以压缩得更窄。     

对受激布里渊散射激光进行组束的数值模拟及方案设计

提出了时间上串行的多路激光脉冲通过受激布里渊散射(SBS)池进行组束的方法,并对其进行了数值模拟研究。利用6束每束能量为45J的KrF激光进行组束, 可获得能量为141.89J,脉宽为670ps的Stokes输出光。根据模拟结果设计出了时间上串行的SBS激光组束的两个方案, 对其进行了讨论。数值模拟还发现在介质的增益系数更大、声子寿命更短的情况下,输出激光脉冲的脉宽可以压缩得更窄。     

Programmable shaping of a subterawatt, femtosecond laser pulse by modulating the spectral phase of the preamplified pulse

Shaping the temporal profile of subterawatt optical pulses with a femtosecond duration is demonstrated with the help of a programmable pulse shaper, which is based on a liquid–crystal spatial light modulator. For safe operation, we place the pulse shaper between regenerative and multipass amplifiers. We generate double pulses, whose respective component pulses have 0.27-TW peak power and 74-fs duration. The possibility of variously-shaped multiterawatt pulses is also discussed.     

Pulse-shape distortion in transmission experiments with incoherent phonons in isotropic solids due to elastic scattering

Assuming homogeneously distributed elastic scattering centers in an isotropic dielectric plate, the transmission and distortion of phonon pulses, that are transmitted from a radiator element to a centered detector element at the opposite face, are investigated theoretically. Analytic expressions are derived for the singlescattered phonon signal due to three different phenomenological scattering characteristics: isotropic scattering, preferential forward scattering, and preferential forward/backward scattering. In particular, we find that the asymptotic decay of the scattered phonon signal depends on the associated scattering characteristic. Numerical results are given for the excitation by a delta pulse using all three scattering characteristics. As a special case, the pulse-shape distortion of a rectangular pulse of 100 ns duration is treated in more detail. Parameter is the ratio of phonon mean free path to plate thickness.     

Chirped-pulse stimulated Raman scattering in barium nitrate with subsequent recompression

We report a 30% internal conversion efficiency for the first Stokes pulse in stimulated Raman scattering of femtosecond pulses that are dispersively stretched to 250 ps, obtained by use of an all-solid-state laser system. A transfer of the linear chirp is observed, leading to a Raman pulse duration of 190 fs after recompression. Compressed pulse energies of 80 muJ at a repetition rate of 1 kHz are obtained, with a potential for an easy increase to more than 150 muJ. The temporal and spectral characteristics of the Raman and pump pulses are calculated, and the results explain the observed transient features in the presence of chirp.     

Limitations and guidelines for measuring the spectral width of ultrashort light pulses with a scanning Fabry–Pérot interferometer

The measurement of the spectral width of ultrashort light pulses using a Fabry–Pérot interferometer (FPI) is investigated. It is shown, numerically and experimentally, that the measured width critically depends on the pulse properties (such as pulse shape, pulse duration, frequency chirp and wavelength) and on the properties of the FPI (such as the mirror spacing and the mirror reflectivities). The obtained results are of particular importance if the spatial length of the short light pulses is comparable or even shorter than the distance between the FPI mirrors. The derived guideline indicate that the actual spectral width of the ultrashort light pulses is measured with good accuracy only if the finesse F≥40 and the round trip time of the light pulses inside the Fabry–Pérot interferometer is approximately one to three times the pulse duration. Received: 17 December 1999 / Revised version: 14 April 2000 / Published online: 5 July 2000     

Multiplex coherent anti-Stokes Raman microspectroscopy with tailored Stokes spectrum

We combined the ultrabroadband supercontinuum of a photonic crystal fiber with a pulse shaper, resulting in a highly flexible light source for multiplex coherent anti-Stokes Raman microscopy. Implemented as the Stokes pulse, it provides tailored selection of the relevant Raman transitions, resulting in a reduced photon load and partial suppression of the nonresonant background. This experiment exploits the advantages of multiplex excitation with the increased acquisition speed of single-channel detection. The molecule-specific Stokes pulses are demonstrated for chemical mapping of a polymer blend.     

Zur Theorie der nichtstationären stimulierten Raman-Streuung

The theory of transient stimulated Raman scattering is developed taking into account the deplation of the pump pulse. Two coupled differential equations describing the conversion of a laser pulse in a Stokes wave are derived with the aid of a semiclassical nonstationary perturbation calculation without the phonon concept. The equations are solved both analytically by a successive approximation and by computer calculations. Estimations are given of the delay of the Stokes pulse, the gain and a characteristic length concerning the conversion.     

Intracavity Raman conversion for 16-μm Stokes pulse generation in para-hydrogen

16-μm Stokes pulses were directly generated for the first time to our knowledge by an intracavity configuration for the para-hydrogen Raman laser. We have analyzed Stokes field growth using a focused gain model and designed a pump/Stokes cavity to satisfy CO₂ pump power and pulse duration requirements for Raman oscillation. The CO₂ laser oscillation with circular polarization was realized by seeding externally circularly polarized CO₂ radiation. An output energy of 2.4 mJ was obtained with the output coupler of 0.5% transmittance, which indicated that 420 mJ of Stokes pulse energy was stored inside the cavity. This suggests that a much higher energy can be extracted by the optimization of cavity parameters. Received: 18 November 1998 / Published online: 26 May 1999     

Four-wave mixing of quasi-monochromatic waves and few-cycle pulses

Four-wave coherent mixing models for two quasi-monochromatic pumping fields and pulses of a two-component Stokes field with an elliptic polarization and a duration on the order of the period of oscillations have been derived for a two-level medium with a forbidden dipole transition. It is shown that, under the unidirectional wave propagation conditions and in the absence of depletion of pumping, the system of Maxwell-Bloch equations can be reduced to a new completely integrable system of equations. Nonsoliton radiation dynamics of generation of Stokes field pulses is studied in the framework of the integrable reduction of this model. The apparatus for the inverse problem algorithm corresponding to the solvable problem is developed. An approximate asymptotic expression for the leading front of the pulse packet being generated is obtained for various initial and boundary conditions. The application of these results for describing parametric processes involving various types of waves is discussed.     

On the possibility of the emission of attosecond pulses owing to the interaction of counterpropagating relativistically intense laser pulses with a thin layer of a diluted plasma

A numerical experiment in which two relativistically intense laser pulses are normally incident on a layer of a diluted plasma from two opposite sides is described. The period of Langmuir plasma oscillations is much larger than the pulse duration and the product of this period by the speed of light is much larger than the thickness of the layer. A pulse propagating to the right is incident on the layer earlier than the counter pulse and carries a significant fraction of electrons or all of the electrons from the plasma. Under certain conditions, electrons form a bunch, which contains most of the electrons and has a thickness much smaller than the wavelength of light. The counter pulse perturbs the motion of the bunch and initiates the emission of a short few-cycle pulse, which propagates in the positive direction (to the right), significantly differs in structure from the counter pulse, and has a duration much smaller than the field period in laser pulses.     

Characterization of the Brillouin-loss spectrum of single-mode fibers by use of very short (<10-ns) pulses

The characterization of the Brillouin-loss spectrum of single-mode fibers with very short (<10-ns) pulses has been studied. It was found that the Brillouin-loss signal intensity is linearly related to the duration of the pump pulse used to obtain the spectrum. In contrast with the uniform trend of the signal, three distinct behaviors were observed in the spectral linewidth. At long pulse durations the linewidth was constant at approximately 40 MHz. Pulse durations of the order of the phonon lifetime resulted in a broader spectrum, reaching a maximum width of ~100 MHz at 5 ns. Reducing the pulse duration further resulted in a sudden narrowing of the Brillouin line.     

Effect of water temperature on pulse duration and energy of stimulated Brillouin scattering

The water temperature has a strong effect on the kinematic viscosity, which is inversely proportional to the phonon lifetime and the gain coefficient. The higher the temperature is, the smaller the kinematic viscosity is, and the larger the phonon lifetime is. At a low pump power and a short focal length, we can derive a single-peak stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) pulse. The duration of this single-peak SBS pulse depends mainly on the phonon lifetime of water. With the increase of the water temperature, the duration of such a single-peak SBS pulse will become longer, and the SBS energy will become higher for the gain coefficient, which is related to the phonon lifetime. Therefore, varying the medium temperature can lead to the changes of SBS pulse duration and SBS energy.     

受激布里渊散射相位共轭激光组束规律的研究

 提出了一种新的SBS激光组束的方法。此方法中，一束按时间分布的激光脉冲序列作为泵浦光从SBS放大池的一端入射，另一束Stokes频移种子光从SBS池的另一端入射，Stokes种子光在SBS池的相互作用区提取泵浦光能量。研究了组束效率和输出脉宽随脉冲串个数、间隔和泵浦功率密度等的变化规律。研究结果表明种子注入型泵浦脉冲串的受激布里渊散射相位共轭组束是一种高效的组束方法。