Picosecond pulse shortening by travelling wave amplified spontaneous emission

A new scheme for travelling-wave excitation of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) employing transversal pumping is presented. ASE pulses emitted in the forward direction had a duration of 6 ps, corresponding to one half of the pump pulse duration. The spectrum was strongly structured, with individual components having a width of 0.1–1.0 Å. Essential characteristics of longitudinal and transversal excitation of travelling wave ASE are compared.     

Fully conductively cooled, diode-pumped Ho:Tm:LuLiF4 laser oscillator/amplifier

A fully conductively cooled and diode-pumped linear Ho:Tm:LuLiF laser oscillator can generate more than 1 J normal mode pulses at a 10 Hz pulse repetition rate where heat pipes are used for cooling pump diodes and laser crystal. As an amplifier, it can amplify the 80 mJ/180 ns pulses into 400 mJ pulses before the appearance of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). The ASE threshold is about 5.6 J with a 40 mm long and side-polished laser crystal. For a 5 mJ input pulse and 5.6 J pump pulse, the double-pass gain exceeds 22.5. If the lateral surface of the laser crystal is fine ground, the ASE threshold can rise to higher than 8 J, but the efficiency will be lower due to large pump diffusion.     

Travelling-wave amplified spontaneous emission excited in a prismatic geometry

A new experimental realisation of the travelling-wave amplified spontaneous emission (TWASE) is described utilising a prismatic arrangement to get the pulse front delay in the pump beam. Rhodamine dye solutions were pumped by the amplified 25 ps long 555 nm pulses of a distributed feedback dye laser. The pulse shortening in the TWASE resulted in 12 ps output pulses with 18% energy efficiency. The observed spectrum showed numerous lines, and it contained the amplified Raman line of the pump beam. Several spots were found in the far-field zone of the generated TWASE.     

Picosecond pulse amplification in a core-pumped large-mode-area erbium fiber

Amplification in a single-clad, large-mode-area erbium fiber as an alternative to double-clad Er-Yb amplifiers is presented. Both signal and pump are coupled through a mode-matched splice into the fundamental mode, which ensures preferential gain in the fundamental mode while minimizing the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). The 875 microm(2) effective area of the Er fiber enables amplification of 6 ps pulses at 1.55 microm wavelength by approximately 33 dB in a single stage to >25 kW peak power with low nonlinear pulse distortion and a diffraction-limited output beam with M(2)<1.1.     

Generation of sub-mJ terahertz pulses by optical rectification

Recent theoretical calculations predicted an order-of-magnitude increase in the efficiency of terahertz pulse generation by optical rectification in lithium niobate when 500 fs long pump pulses are used, rather than the commonly used ~100 fs pulses. Even by using longer than optimal pump pulses of 1.3 ps duration, 2.5× higher THz pulse energy (125 μJ) was measured with 2.5× higher pump-to-THz energy conversion efficiency (0.25%) than reported previously with shorter pulses. These results verify the advantage of longer pump pulses and support the expectation that mJ-level THz pulses will be available by cooling the crystal and using large pumped area.     

超短超强激光对比度的测量研究

 为了准确地确定飞秒激光对比度的信息，基于两束不同激光的互相关原理，利用非线性晶体对激光强度变化十分敏感的特性，研制了一台三阶相关仪，并用其对钛宝石激光放大系统输出的飞秒激光脉冲进行了测量，得到了有关该系统的强度对比度的信息。结果显示：该系统输出的激光对比度在10⁶左右，在脉冲的前沿和后沿有很强的ASE辐射，并且延续了很长的一段时间；种子脉冲的对比度在10⁵左右，而且在主脉冲前约2ps的位置上，有一个强度很低的小脉冲，在主脉冲的两翼各有一个非常小的台阶。     

氟化氪短脉冲激光的放大和组束研究

为充分利用氟化氪(KrF)准分子激光放大器的长泵浦时间,探索提高激光输出效率的方法,开展紫外超短脉冲在KrF准分子激光器中多脉冲放大和组束的实验研究。采用双脉冲放大方案研究激光脉冲时间间隔对输出能量的影响,确定延时时间,提高脉冲总能量并有效抑制自发辐射(ASE)。实现了单次放大4个紫外超短脉冲,获得了近4倍于单脉冲放大的输出能量。并探索紫外超短激光脉冲的组束技术,成功应用光学角多路的方法将两个亚皮秒的紫外激光脉冲进行精确组束。     

High-gain Tm-doped fluoride fiber amplifier

A diode-pumped Tm-doped fiber-optic amplifier that has a small-signal gain of >30 dB at 1870 nm is reported. Output pulses of up to 3-W peak power at a 1-60-kHz repetition rate can be generated by amplification of 20-40-ns laser diode pulses of up to 2-mW launched peak power. The output signal quality, i.e., the ratio of the output pulse energy and the total amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) output energy between two pulses, depends on the relative propagation direction of pump and signal and can be dramatically increased by choice of the correct propagation scheme. In the optimum pump geometry the pulse energy can be raised to as much as 20 times the ASE energy. This is the first report to the author's knowledge of fiber-optic amplification of short diode laser pulses near 1.9 microm with high repetition rates in Tm-doped fibers.     

Shortening of travelling-wave-amplified spontaneous emission by a transversal pumping scheme

An experimental investigation on shortening of travelling-wave ASE employing a transversal pumping is presented. A N₂ laser with =337.1 nm, pulsewidth: 700 ps is used as a pump source. An ASE pulse with duration of 45, 55 and 45 ps from dye solution of Rh 6G, Rh B and C311, respectively, is obtained. Pulse shapes of output signals generated from these solutions in three different pumping schemes are compared.     

基于受激布里渊散射能量转移的冲击点火激光技术研究

提出一种新型的激光放大技术, 高效地实现冲击点火所需的10² ps级高功率激光脉冲. 该技术耦合了传统的激光驱动器放大技术和受激布里渊散射(SBS) 脉冲压缩技术, 在不改变现有激光装置主体结构的前提下, 使用长脉冲(数 ns) 充分提取主放大器储能, 然后在系统输出端通过SBS进行脉冲自抽运的能量转移, 将长脉冲能量转移给10² ps级的冲击脉冲, 实现高效放大的目的. 该技术在主动控制下实现能量转移, 将克服传统SBS压缩时间特性不可控的缺点, 输出满足冲击点火时域特性要求的精密控制激光脉冲.     

New single-pulse generation technique for distributed feedback dye lasers

The distributed feedback dye laser (DFDL) generates a train of picosecond pulses when pumped well above threshold. This DFDL emission can be quenched by injecting a laser pulse into DFDL. By proper timing of the quencher laser pulse, only the first DFDL pulse is generated while the successive pulses are suppressed. Operational characteristics and practical design considerations of such a quenched DFDL are given. With 2.5 ns long pump pulses from a N₂ laser, a shortest DFDL pulse of 17 ps was obtained at 380 nm.     

Simple generation of high-power,picosecond, tunable excimer laser pulses

A single excimer laser (a modified commercial oscillation-amplifier combination) is used to pump a dye laser generating a single ps pulse at twice the excimer wavelength and to amplify the frequency-doubled pulse to high peak powers. With XeCl at 308 nm an output pulse energy of 10 mJ with <5 ps pulse width was achieved with <5% ASE energy.     

Narrow-linewidth near-degenerate optical parametric generation achieved with quasi-group-velocity-matching in lithium niobate waveguides

We demonstrate narrow-linewidth near-degenerate optical parametric generation in reverse-proton-exchange lithium niobate waveguides with quasi-group-velocity-matching, which is realized by using wavelength-selective directional couplers and tight-radius bends. With appropriate designs for 1.6 ps long pump pulses at 785.1 nm we obtained near-degenerate signal (idler) pulses with a time-bandwidth product as low as 1.1, compared with 10.5 for conventional devices without quasi-group-velocity-matching. This improvement in the temporal property is a result of both a pulse compression effect and a filter effect coming from our scheme of quasi-group-velocity-matching.     

Dynamics of Yb-doped double clad pulsed fiber amplifier based on slow motion dynamic rate equations

A special slow motion dynamic equations are presented especially adapt to the fiber laser analyze in which a long working cycle simulation and acute state changing are both needed. It can greatly save the calculation time while keep the output result relatively accurate. Then the dynamics of nanosecond high energy low repetition rate pulsed fiber amplifier is analyzed which indicate that most energy is wasted by means of self emission between pulses and the amplified self emission (ASE) is no longer the main cause of energy depletion with proper pulsed pump. Hence, unless a relatively large input seed source is used, the light conversion efficiency of a low repetition rate pulsed laser is usually much lower than the quantum efficiency even with a pulsed pump.     

Coherence Time Measurement of Picosecond Pulses Using Reverse Saturable Absorption in Lead Phthalocyanine

ＣｏｈｅｒｅｎｃｅＴｉｍｅＭｅａｓｕｒｅｍｅｎｔｏｆＰｉｃｏｓｅｃｏｎｄＰｕｌｓｅｓＵｓｉｎｇＲｅｖｅｒｓｅＳａｔｕｒａｂｌｅＡｂｓｏｒｐｔｉｏｎｉｎＬｅａｄＰｈｔｈａｌｏｃｙａｎｉｎｅＬＩＦｅｎｇＳＯＮＧＹｉｎｇｌｉｎＹＡＮＧＫｕｎＬＵＩＳｈｕｔｉ...     

脉冲泵浦的掺镱光纤放大器中放大自发辐射动态变化模拟

在低重复率、高能量脉冲的应用场合,光纤放大器中采用脉冲泵浦的方式具有重要意义.本文模拟了脉冲泵浦方式下掺镱双包层增益光纤中放大自发辐射功率的动态变化,为优化脉冲泵浦方式提供了参考.通过有限元分析方法求解光纤中镱离子的速率方程和各光场的功率传输方程,模拟了正向泵浦条件下,泵浦脉冲开始后0~740 μs时间内光纤内部正向、反向放大自发辐射功率分布情况的动态变化以及光纤两端放大自发辐射输出功率随泵浦时间的变化.模拟结果发现了光纤两端正向、反向放大自发辐射功率增长速度的差异之处,以及光纤内部两种放大自发辐射功率分布动态演变的一些特征.     

Picosecond near- to mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator using KTiOAsO4

The operation and characterization of a high-repetition-rate singly-resonant picosecond optical parametric oscillator based on the non-linear material KTiOAsO4 and synchronously pumped by a Kerr-lens-mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser at 81 MHz is described. By utilizing non-critical type II phase-matching in a 10 mm crystal, average near-infrared output powers of 403 mW have been generated at 31% extraction efficiency. The oscillator exhibits a pump power threshold of 230 mW and with the available mirror set can provide signal tuning over 1.116–1.281 μm and idler tuning over 2.260–3.160 μm by tuning the pump wavelength over 770–896 nm. Without dispersion compensation, near-transform-limited signal pulses with durations of 1.01–1.03 ps and idler pulses with 1.61–2.91 ps duration have been obtained for 1.2 ps input pump pulses. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Experimental study of parabolic bound pulses from an Er-doped fiber ring laser

We have experimentally observed various bound states of parabolic pulses in a passively mode-locked Erbium-doped fiber ring laser. Beyond the mode-locking threshold, stable single parabolic pulse with the duration of 3.29 ps has been obtained and compressed outside the cavity to 253 fs assuming a sech² profile. By increasing the pump power and rotating the polarization controllers, stable bound states of two parabolic pulses with a fixed separation of 6.5 ps has been obtained. Further increasing the pump power and carefully adjusting the intracavity PCs, multiple bound pulses have also been observed in the same cavity with the same pulse separation.     

High-repetition-rate grazing-incidence pumped x-ray laser operating at 18.9 nm

We have demonstrated a 10 Hz Ni-like Mo x-ray laser operating at 18.9 nm with 150 mJ total pump energy by employing a novel pumping scheme. The grazing-incidence scheme is described, where a picosecond pulse is incident at a grazing angle to a Mo plasma column produced by a slab target irradiated by a 200 ps laser pulse. This scheme uses refraction of the short pulse at a predetermined electron density to increase absorption to pump a specific gain region. The higher coupling efficiency inherent to this scheme allows a reduction in the pump energy where 70 mJ long pulse energy and 80 mJ short pulse energy are sufficient to produce lasing at a 10 Hz repetition rate. Under these conditions and by optimizing the delay between the pulses, we achieve strong amplification and close to saturation for 4 mm long targets.     

Stable mode-locked fiber laser using 49 cm long bismuth oxide based erbium doped fiber and slow saturable absorber

A stable mode-locked fiber laser employing a 49 cm long bismuth oxide based erbium doped fiber (Bi-EDF) by using a slow saturable absorber is demonstrated. Near transform limited short pulses with a repetition rate of 8.27 MHz are obtained at a wavelength of 1560 nm with a maximum spectral width of 15 nm. Results indicate that pulse characteristics are strongly dependent on pump power rather than spectral width. Moreover the Time-Bandwidth products (TBWP), pulse duration, the energy fluctuation and timing jitter decrease with increasing pump power. The pulse width is continuously varied from 1.2 ps to less than 300 fs. It produces stable mode locking with a maximum spectral width of 15 nm, minimum timing jitter of 4 ps and energy fluctuations of 2.5%. The pulse train was amplified using a two-stage amplifier up to 447 mW average power corresponding to peak powers of 177.3 kW.