Two degrees-of-freedom Lloyd-mirror interferometer for superior pattern coverage area

In this study, we have developed a tunable Lloyd-mirror interferometer with two degrees of freedom, in contrast to a traditional system with one degree of freedom. This new Lloyd-mirror interferometer allows an angular rotation of the mirror independently from that of a sample stage, resulting in an increased pattern coverage area with tunable pattern periodicity. Both theoretical and experimental results verify that the tunable characteristic of the modified configuration enhances the nanopatterning capabilities of the Lloyd-mirror interference lithography system especially in achieving greater pattern coverage area for larger pattern periodicities.     

Stable 10 W Er:ZBLAN fiber laser operating at 2.71-2.88 μm

We have developed a diode-pumped tunable 3 μm fiber laser with a cw output power of the order of 10 W with the use of an erbium-doped ZBLAN fiber. A tunability range of 110 nm (2770 to 2880 nm) with an output power between 8 and 11 W was demonstrated. As the pump power was increased, the center of the wavelength range was shifted toward longer wavelengths, but the width of the wavelength range was largely unaffected. The total tunability range for various pump power levels was 170 nm (2710 to 2880 nm). To our knowledge, this is the highest performance (output power and tunability) obtained from a tunable 3 μm fiber laser.     

Ultrafast tunable filter in two-dimensional organic photonic crystal

A tunable filter made from a two-dimensional polystyrene photonic crystal is fabricated by focused ion-beam etching. The pump and probe scheme is adopted to measure tunability based on the picosecond optical Kerr effect. The response time of the tunable filter, approximately 10 ps, is within the measurement resolution. The maximum shift of optical channels is estimated to be 6 nm under excitation of 15.9 GW/cm2 pump intensity, which is in agreement with the theoretical prediction.     

Tunable third-harmonic generation in a solid-core tellurite glass fiber

A solid-core tellurite glass fiber with 1.8?dB/m loss at 1.55?μm was made by using the built-in casting preform fabrication method and rod-in-tube fiber drawing technique. Pumping a 10?cm fiber piece with picosecond pulses of 3-5×10(12)?W/cm(2), 0.1% of the fundamental power limited by the coherence length of 0.3-5?μm was converted into visible third-harmonic power tunable over a broad near-IR wavelength ranging from 1500 to 1680?nm. Frequency conversion from the mid-IR to near-IR was found to be even more efficient due to the longer coherence lengths of 12-20?μm in the wavelength range of 2200-2500?nm.     

Real-time detection of 13CH4 in ambient air by use of mid-infrared cavity leak-out spectroscopy

We report on spectroscopic real-time detection of (13)CH(4) in ambient air. Our measurements were carried out by means of cavity leak-out absorption spectroscopy employing a tunable cw laser in the mid-infrared spectral region near lambda = 3 mum. A CO laser in combination with tunable microwave sideband generation was used as the light source. Using a 50-cm-long ringdown cell with R = 99.98% mirrors, we achieved a detection limit of 290 parts in 10(12) (ppt) (13)CH(4) in ambient air (integration time, 100 s). The corresponding noise-equivalent absorption coefficient was 5 x 10(-9)/cm.     

All-optical tunable photonic bandgap microcavities with a femtosecond time response

An all-optical tunable photonic bandgap microcavity made from a two-dimensional polystyrene photonic crystal is fabricated by focused ion beam etching. The pump and probe scheme is adopted to measure tunability based on the femtosecond optical Kerr effect. An ultrafast response time of less than 120 fs is achieved for the tunable photonic bandgap microcavity. The microcavity resonant wavelength shifts 3.1 nm under excitation of 9.4 GW/cm2 pump intensity, which is in agreement with the theoretical prediction.     

Generation of tunable octave-spanning mid-infrared pulses by filamentation in gas media

The continued development of femtosecond mid-infrared (IR) sources with ultrabroad spectral width is critical for probing and controlling complex molecular structural dynamics on an ultrafast timescale. We report on a sub-20 fs, coherent mid-IR source with an octave-spanning spectral bandwidth (>2000 cm(-1)) tunable from 2-8 micrometers (37.5-150 THz), with energy >0.4 μJ/pulse at 1 kHz. The mid-IR pulses are generated by four-wave mixing during the filamentation of intense 800 nm and 400 nm pulses in various gas media. Spectral tunability is achieved by the choice of gas, pressure and input 800 nm pulse energy.     

Grating-based wavelength control of single- and two-color vertical-external-cavity-surface-emitting lasers

Wide wavelength tunability of single- and two-color operating vertical-external-cavity-surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs) is demonstrated. Employing an external feedback based on a diffractive grating outside the cavity of a narrow-line single-color VECSEL allows for a continuous tuning of the emission wavelength over 10 nm. Employing a dual-feedback-configuration for tunable two-color emission, a tunability of the difference frequency between the two lasing wavelengths from 300 gigahertz to up to 3.5 terahertz is demonstrated.     

Broadly tunable femtosecond parametric oscillator using a photonic crystal fiber

Pulses as short as 460 fs and a tuning range as wide as 200 nm around 1 microm have been achieved from a photonic-crystal-fiber-based parametric oscillator. The ring cavity with only 65 cm of photonic crystal fiber is synchronously pumped with a tunable passively mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser. Widely extended tunability is achieved by using the modulation instability gain in normal dispersion as the result of high-order dispersion in the photonic crystal fiber.     

Generation of short-pulse VUV and XUV radiation

Starting from intense short-pulse KrF (248 nm, 25 mJ, 400 fs), ArF (193 nm, 10 mJ, 1 ps), and Ti:sapphire (810 nm, 100 mJ, 150 fs) laser systems, schemes for the generation of fixed-frequency and tunable VUV and XUV radiation by nonlinear optical techniques are investigated. With the KrF system, a four-wave mixing process in xenon yields tunable radiation in the range of 130–200 nm with output energies of, so far, 100 J in less than 1 ps. For the XUV spectral range below 100 nm, nonperturbative high-order harmonic generation and frequency mixing processes in noble gas jets are considered. To achieve tunability, the intense fixed-frequency pump laser radiation is mixed with less intense but broadly tunable radiation from short-pulse dye lasers or optical parametric generator-amplifier systems. In this way, tunability down to wavelengths of less than 40 nm has been demonstrated.     

Pump-enhanced optical parametric oscillator generating continuous wave tunable terahertz radiation

We demonstrate a tunable cw terahertz (THz) parametric oscillator based on periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate, directly converting the 1030 nm pump wave into the THz regime. The tunability ranges from 1.2 to 2.9 THz at output power levels between 0.3 and 3.9 μW. To overcome the high pump threshold caused by THz absorption in the nonlinear crystal, we employ an enhancement cavity with a finesse of 500 at the pump wavelength. The intracavity pump threshold at 1.4 THz is measured to be 350 W for a crystal length of 2.5 cm.     

Electronically tunable external-cavity laser diode

We present a new concept for an electronically tunable diode laser. It is based on an external-cavity configuration with simultaneous feedback and intracavity spatial separation of the laser's spectral components. The electronical tunability is achieved by insertion of a liquid-crystal array as an electronically controlled aperture into the region of spatial separation of the spectral components. Wavelength tunability without mechanical movement over a range of 10 nm and two-color operation are demonstrated with a 670-nm laser diode.     

Continuous-wave, single-frequency, solid-state blue source for the 425-489 nm spectral range

We report a new source of cw, single-frequency radiation in the blue, offering extended tunability and practical powers in a compact, all-solid-state design. The device is based on a green-pumped, cw, singly resonant optical parametric oscillator using MgO-doped stoichiometric lithium tantalate (MgO:sPPLT) as the nonlinear material. By internal second-harmonic generation of the resonant near-infrared signal radiation in a 5 mm BiB(3)O(6) crystal, we generate nearly 450 mW of cw, single-frequency blue power over a tunable range of 425-489 nm with a linewidth of 8.5 MHz and a Gaussian spatial beam profile. The demonstrated wavelength coverage can be further extended by using alternative gratings for the MgO:sPPLT crystal.     

Saturable and reverse saturable absorption of a linear polymer in dimethylformamide

An all-optical tunable narrow-band filter with an ultrafast response time of 10 ps is realized in a two-dimensional nonlinear polystyrene photonic crystal. The pump and probe scheme is adopted to measure tunability based on the picosecond optical Kerr effect. The passband of the photonic crystal filter shifts about 4 nm under excitation of 14.7 GW/cm² pump intensity, which is in agreement with the theoretical prediction. PACS 42.70.Qs; 61.46.+w; 81.15.-z     

CO and CO2 spectroscopy using a 60 nm broadband tunable MEMS-VCSEL at approximately 1.55 microm

The spectroscopic application of a new broadband microelectromechanical-system-tunable vertical cavity surface-emitting laser with single-mode coverage of 60 nm (245 cm(-1)) in a single, continuous sweep is described. The operation of the device is illustrated with high-resolution spectra of CO and CO2 over 110 cm(-1) (27 nm) and 67 cm(-1) (17 nm), respectively, with the CO band shown for high-pressure scans between 1 and 3 bars (0.1-0.3 MPa). The achieved tuning range opens up new opportunities for tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy. The spectra were compared with HITRAN-derived model calculations. The benefits of a sensor based on this laser are greater speed, laser power, and tuning range.     

Laser-induced fluorescence imaging in a 100 kW natural gas flame

A tunable excimer laser at 248 nm (KrF) and 193 nm (ArF) has been used to monitor two-dimensional OH and NO distributions in the turbulent flame of a 100 kW natural gas burner. Spatially resolved fluorescence (spatial resolution better than 1.0 mm) from a 20 cm×20 cm area is collected under single shot conditions. We describe the problems encountered when laser-induced fluorescence imaging techniques are applied to large scale flames. Special experimental arrangements, imposed by the turbulent behavior of the flame we used, are also described.     

Single-shot spatial-coherence measurement of 13 nm high-order harmonic beam by a Young's double-slit measurement

The interference pattern produced by a single 13 nm high-order harmonic pulse is captured by an extreme-ultraviolet CCD camera. A beam divergence of 0.35 mrad and a high fringe visibility of 0.96 are obtained with an optimal phase-matching condition for the 13 nm harmonics. The spatial coherence length of the 13 nm harmonics selected by Mo/Si multilayer mirrors is larger than the beam diameter. This result shows that the 13 nm harmonic beam is useful for applications in interferometry, time-resolved studies of ultrafast dynamics.     

Ultrabroadband chirped mirrors for femtosecond lasers

We report on the performance of widely tunable femtosecond and continuous-wave Ti:sapphire lasers that use a newly developed ultrabroadband mirror set. The mirrors exhibit high reflectivity (R > 99%) and smooth variation of group delay versus frequency over a wavelength range from 660 to 1060 nm. Mode-locked operation with pulse durations of 85 fs was achieved from 693 to 978 nm with only one set of ultrabroadband mirrors.     

Tunable chromatic dispersion and dispersion slope compensator using a planar lightwave circuit lattice-form filter

A tunable chromatic dispersion and dispersion slope compensator is proposed that has a single lattice-form filter configuration. Wavelength dependence is intentionally added to its tunable couplers, which produces dispersion slope compensation in addition to the dispersion compensation. Dispersion tunability of +/- 500 ps/nm and a slope of -4.9 ps/nm(2) over 40 GHz are successfully demonstrated, thus meeting the requirement for 40 Gbits/s differential quadrature phase shift keying transmission with an 80 km long nonzero dispersion-shifted fiber.     

Tunable Yb:KYW laser using volume Bragg grating in <Emphasis Type="Italic">s</Emphasis>-polarization

We report on a volume-Bragg-grating tunable Yb:KYW laser. By using s-polarized light on the grating, we obtain an output power of 3 W in a single beam, doubled compared to earlier p-polarization results. The laser tunability was from 996 nm to 1048 nm. Detailed measurements of the laser spectrum revealed a bandwidth of 10 GHz. PACS 42.40.Eq; 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Fc