Continuous-wave broadly tunable Cr:ZnSe laser pumped by a thulium fiber laser

We describe a compact, broadly tunable, continuous-wave (cw) Cr²⁺:ZnSe laser pumped by a thulium fiber laser at 1800 nm. In the experiments, a polycrystalline ZnSe sample with a chromium concentration of 9.5 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ was used. Free-running laser output was around 2500 nm. Output couplers with transmissions of 3%, 6%, and 15% were used to characterize the power performance of the laser. Best power performance was obtained with a 15% transmitting output coupler. In this case, as high as 640 mW of output power was obtained with 2.5 W of pump power at a wavelength of 2480 nm. The stimulated emission cross-section values determined from laser threshold data and emission measurements were in good agreement. Finally, broad, continuous tuning of the laser was demonstrated between 2240 and 2900 nm by using an intracavity Brewster cut MgF₂ prism and a single set of optics.     

1 W tunable near diffraction limited light from a broad area laser diode in an external cavity with a line width of 1.7 MHz

A novel unstable external cavity for a broad area laser diode is presented. The cavity is based on a V-shaped setup that improves the slow axis beam quality by coupling the internal modes of a gain guided laser diode. The novelty here is the compact unstable resonator design without lenses in direction of the slow axis. For frequency stabilisation and to narrow the line width of the laser diode emission a diffraction grating in a Littrow configuration is used. With this setup up to 1 W of near diffraction limited light with a beam quality of M² ? 1.3 and a line width of 1.7 MHz could be achieved. The external cavity laser was tunable over a range of 35 nm (FWHM) around the center wavelength of 976 nm.     

Highly efficient third-harmonic generation with electro-optically Q-switched diode-end-pumped Nd:YVO4 slab laser

We have achieved efficient third-harmonic generation (THG) with an electro-optically Q-switched diode-end-pumped slab laser by cascading second-harmonic and sum-frequency generation in a lithium triborate (LBO) crystal. The high conversion efficiency, short pulse length and high pulse energy is the characteristic of the output 355 nm light. An average power of 11.1 W at a repetition rate of 10 kHz was achieved. The pulse energy is 1.1 mJ and the pulse length is 5 ns. The peak power of pulse is 0.22 MW. The conversion efficiency from 1064 nm to 355 nm reached 44.4% which is to our knowledge the highest conversion efficiency. Furthermore, the 355 nm light is near TEM₀₀ mode. The beam quality is M² < 1.5. In this paper, the experimental setup, results and the factors which can affect the conversion efficiency are discussed.     

One step towards the fabrication of a nanoscale Si-nc based laser cavity

In this paper, we report on the design of two major components of a laser architecture using Si-nc embedded in SiO₂ as the optical gain medium and sub-wavelength periodic structures to form the resonant cavity. Dimensions of the structures have been matched to near-infrared wavelengths (∼850 nm) of the maximum photoluminescent emission where optical gain has been observed from Si-nc. Both the front (FM) and rear (RM) mirrors have been fabricated by the implantation of Si ions (50 keV, 2×10¹⁷ Si⁺/cm²) through a mask, in order to produce a Bragg reflector by optical index contrast between the implanted and the non-implanted zones. Two closely spaced Bragg reflectors are used in the FM structure to allow a narrow bandpass (partial transmission) centered at 850 nm. The implanted structures have been annealed to produce Si-nc and passivation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that the design dimensions of the structure have been obtained. Characterization of the structures by laser excitation reveals an optical gap in both mirrors between 825 and 870 nm, as per the design parameters. A quality factor Q∼95 and a reflectivity R∼0.2 have been measured for the FM. These results support the concept that a complete Si-nc based laser cavity can be built to emit coherent light.     

Highly efficient Nd:GdVO4/BiBO laser at 456 nm under direct 880 nm diode laser pumping

The continuous-wave high-efficiency laser emission of Nd:GdVO₄ at the second-harmonic of 456 nm obtained by intracavity frequency doubling with an BiB₃O₆(BiBO) nonlinear crystal is investigated under pumping by diode laser at 880 nm into emitting level ⁴F_3/2. About 3.8 W at 456 nm with M² = 1.4 was obtained from a 5 mm-thick 0.4 at.% Nd:GdVO₄ laser medium and a 12 mm-long BiBO nonlinear crystal in a Z-type cavity for 13.9 W absorbed pump power. An optical-to-optical efficiency with respect to the absorbed pump power was 0.274. Comparative results obtained for the pump with diode laser at 808 nm, into the highly-absorbing ⁴F_5/2 level, are given in order to prove the advantages of the 880 nm wavelength pumping.     

Nanostructures on SiC surface created by laser microablation

Silicon carbide (SiC), as it is well-known, is inaccessible to usual methods of technological processing. Consequently, it is important to search for alternative technologies of processing SiC, including laser processing, and to study the accompanying physical processes. The work deals with the investigation of pulsed laser radiation influence on the surface of 6H-SiC crystal. The calculated temperature profile of SiC under laser irradiation is shown. Structural changes in surface and near-surface layers of SiC were studied by atomic force microscopy images, photoluminescence, Raman spectra and field emission current-voltage characteristics of initial and irradiated surfaces. It is shown that the cone-shaped nanostructures with typical dimension of 100-200 nm height and 5-10 nm width at the edge are formed on SiC surface under nitrogen laser exposure (λ = 0.337 μm, t_p = 7 ns, E_p = 1.5 mJ). The average values of threshold energy density 〈W_thn〉 at which formation of nanostructures starts on the 0 0 0 1 and surfaces of n-type 6H-SiC(N), nitrogen concentration n_N ≅ 2 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³, are determined to be 3.5 J/cm² and 3.0 J/cm², respectively. The field emission appeared only after laser irradiation of the surface at threshold voltage of 1000 V at currents from 0.7 μA to 0.7 mA. The main role of the thermogradient effect in the processes of mass transfer in prior to ablation stages of nanostructure formation under UV laser irradiation (LI) was determined. We ascertained that the residual tensile stresses appear on SiC surface as a result of laser microablation. The nanostructures obtained could be applied in the field of sensor and emitting extreme electronic devices.     

Pulsed Nd:YAP laser at 1432 nm pumped with high power laser diode

LD end pumped Nd:YAP laser operation in the eye safe spectrum region at 1432 nm is reported. With pump energy of 256 mJ, maximum linearly polarized output of 26 mJ is obtained. The optical-to-optical overall efficiency is around 10%, and the slope efficiency is around 18%. The laser beam operates with spiking mode with a total emission period of less than 300 µs at 10 Hz. The stimulated emission cross section is estimated at around 0.85 × 10^− 20 cm².     

43 W picosecond laser and second-harmonic generation experiment

Combining the advantages of diode-end-pumped Nd: YVO₄ and diode-side-pumped Nd: YAG amplifiers, a high average power and high beam quality picosecond laser is designed. The system delivers a picosecond laser with average power of 43.4 W and good beam quality of M² < 1.7. By focusing the high power picosecond laser in LBO crystal, 532 nm green laser with maximal power of 20.8 W is generated and the conversion efficiency of second-harmonic generation reaches 56.4% when 17.7 W green laser obtained from the fundamental frequency laser with power of 31.4 W and beam quality of M² < 1.25.     

Pulsed laser photodeposition of a-Se nanofilms by ArF laser

Pulsed laser photodeposition from amorphous selenium aqueous colloid solutions using ArF laser radiation at a wavelength of λ = 193 nm has been investigated. Nanometer thick layers were obtained on UV transparent silica substrates in contact with the solution for various photodeposition parameters. Amorphous Se layers, 20 nm thick, were obtained typically by 40 laser pulses of 30 ns duration with a fluence of 50 mJ/cm². Deposition thresholds for depositing 1 nm thick layers were as low as 5 pulses. The deposited nanometer thin surface morphology was analyzed by Evanescent Field Optical Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. The nanometer thicknesses were evaluated by utilizing the differential evanescent light pattern emanating from the substrates.     

An 8.1 W diode pumped solid-state quasi-continuous-wave yellow laser at 589 nm by intracavity sum-frequency mixing generation

We report an L-shaped symmetrical co-folding-arm plane-plane diode pumped solid-state yellow laser at 589 nm by using intracavity sum-frequency mixing. By carefully designing the cavity and employing various techniques to optimize the laser’s specifications, a quasi-continuous-wave (QCW) free-oscillation yellow laser source, which has an average output power of 8.1 W, a beam quality factor of M² = 2.3, and a repetition rate of 1.1 kHz, is developed. The generation of yellow laser at 589 nm is achieved by intracavity sum-frequency mixing between the laser lines at 1319 nm and 1064 nm of an Nd:YAG laser in a KTP crystal. To the best of our knowledge, the 8.1 W output at 589 nm is higher than any other diode pumped solid-state yellow laser generated by intracavity sum-frequency generation so far.     

UV laser irradiation of IR laser generated particles ablated from nitrobenzyl alcohol

Particles generated by 2.94 μm pulsed IR laser ablation of liquid 3-nitrobenzyl alcohol were irradiated with a 351 nm UV laser 3.5 mm above and parallel to the sample target. The size and concentration of the ablated particles were measured with a light scattering particle sizer. The application of the UV laser resulted in a reduction in the average particle size by one-half and an increase in the total particle concentration by a factor of nine. The optimum delay between the IR and UV lasers was between 16 and 26 μs and was dependent on the fluence of the IR laser: higher fluence led to a more rapid appearance of particulate. The ejection velocity of the particle plume, as determined by the delay time corresponding to the maximum two-laser particle concentration signal, was 130 m/s at 1600 J/m² IR laser fluence and increased to 220 m/s at 2700 J/m². The emission of particles extended for several ms. The observations are consistent with a rapid phase change and emission of particulate, followed by an extended emission of particles ablated from the target surface.     

ZnO nanoparticles produced by reactive laser ablation

The paper presents the results of theoretical and experimental researches of the analysis of nanopowder ZnO and ZnO-based structures formation mechanisms by means of pulse laser reactive technology (λ = 1.06 μm, τ = 10⁻⁷ to 10⁻⁵ s). The developed 2D model combines non-stationary heat transfer and fluid motion along with the calculated profile of surface deformation. The characteristics of the dispersive and chemical compositions and structural parameters of the synthesized nanopowder together with the influence of the energy of laser impulse evaporation, its duration and gas pressure in the reaction chamber have been studied using X-ray diffractrometry (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Particle size distribution analysis of ZnO has shown that the majority of them range from 5 to 60 nm in size. The photoluminescence emission spectra of the initial ZnO nanopowder at room temperature have been identified.     

Continuous-wave operation of a room-temperature Ho:YAP laser pumped by a Tm:YAP laser

We reported the Ho:YAP laser pumped by the Tm:YAP laser. The Ho:YAP laser maximum output power was 4.91 W when the incident power was 10.1 W with the threshold of 2.63 W. The slope efficiency was 63.7%, corresponding to an optical-to-optical efficiency of 48.6%. The Ho:YAP output wavelength was centered at 2118.2 nm with bandwidth of about 1 nm. We estimate the beam quality to be M² = 1.29.     

Femtosecond pulsed laser deposition of diamond-like carbon films: The effect of double laser pulses

The bonding structure of carbon films prepared by pulsed laser deposition is determined by the plasma properties especially the change of the kinetic energy. Using double laser pulses the ablation process and the characteristics of the generated plasma can be controlled by the setting of the delay between the pulses. In our experiments, amorphous carbon films have been deposited in vacuum onto Si substrates by double pulses from a Ti:sapphire laser (180 fs, λ = 800 nm, at 1 kHz) and a KrF laser system (500 fs, λ = 248 nm, at 5 Hz). The intensities have been varied in the range of 3.4 × 10¹² to 2 × 10¹³ W/cm². The morphology and the main properties of the thin layers were investigated as a function of the time delay between the two ablating pulses (0-116.8 ps) and as a function of the irradiated area on the target surface. Atomic force microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry and Raman-spectroscopy were used to characterize the films. It was demonstrated that the change of the delay and the spot size results in the modification of the thickness distribution of the layers, and the carbon sp²/sp³ bonding ratio.     

High-efficiency direct-pumped Nd:YVO4-LBO laser operating at 671 nm

The continuous-wave high-efficiency laser emission from Nd:YVO₄ at the fundamental wavelength of 1342 nm and its 671 nm second harmonic obtained by intra-cavity frequency doubling in an LBO nonlinear crystal are investigated under pumping by diode laser at 880 nm (on the ⁴F_3/2→⁴I_13/2 transition). The end-pumped Nd:YVO₄ crystal yielded a continuous-wave output power of 9.6 W at 1342 nm for 18.9 W of absorbed pump power. The slope efficiency measured with respect to the absorbed pump power is 60%. An output of 5.5 W at 671 nm was obtained by frequency doubling, resulting in an optical-to-optical efficiency with respect to the absorbed pump power of 29%. Comparative results obtained for the pump with a diode laser at 808 nm (on the ⁴F_5/2→⁴I_13/2 transition) are given in order to prove the advantages of the 880 nm wavelength pumping.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched 912 nm Nd:GdVO4 laser and pulsed deep-blue laser by intracavity frequency-doubling

A diode-end-pumped passively Q-switched 912 nm Nd:GdVO₄/Cr⁴⁺:YAG laser and its efficient intracavity frequency-doubling to 456 nm deep-blue laser were demonstrated in this paper. Using a simple V-type laser cavity, pulsed 912 nm laser characteristics were investigated with two kinds of Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal as the saturable absorbers, which have the different initial transmissivity (T_U) of 95% and 90% at 912 nm. When the T_U = 95% Cr⁴⁺:YAG was used, as much as an average output power of 2.8 W 912 nm laser was achieved at an absorbed pump power of 34.0 W, and the pulse width and the repetition rate were ∼ 40.5 ns and ∼ 76.6 kHz, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest average output power of diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd³⁺-doped quasi-three-level laser. Employing a BiBO as the frequency-doubling crystal, 456 nm pulsed deep-blue laser was obtained with a maximum average output power of 1.2 W at a repetition rate ∼ 42.7 kHz.     

Room temperature growth and properties of ZnO films by pulsed laser deposition

ZnO thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature on glass substrates with oxygen pressures of 10-30 Pa. The structural, electrical, and optical properties of ZnO films were studied in detail. ZnO films had an acceptable crystal quality with high c-axis orientation and smooth surface. The resistivity was in the 10² Ω cm order for ZnO films, with the electron concentration of 10¹⁶-10¹⁷ cm⁻³. All the films showed a high visible transmittance ∼90% and a high UV absorption about 90-100%. The UV emission ∼390 nm was observed in the photoluminescence spectra. The oxygen pressures in the 10-30 Pa range were suitable for room temperature growth of high-quality ZnO films.     

Femtosecond laser embedded grating micromachining of flexible PDMS plates

We report on the femtosecond laser micromachining of photo-induced embedded diffraction grating in flexible Poly (Dimethly Siloxane) (PDMS) plates using a high-intensity femtosecond (130 fs) Ti: sapphire laser (λ_p = 800 nm). The refractive index modifications with diameters ranging from 2 μm to 5 μm were photo-induced after the irradiation with peak intensities of more than 1 × 10¹¹ W/cm². The graded refractive index profile was fabricated to be a symmetric around from the center of the point at which femtosecond laser was focused. The maximum refractive index change (Δn) was estimated to be 2 × 10⁻³. By the X-Y-Z scanning of sample, the embedded diffraction grating in PDMS plate was fabricated successfully using a femtosecond laser.     

Simultaneous dual-wavelength laser operation at 1342 and 946 nm in two laser crystals and their sum-frequency mixing

A sum-frequency yellow-green laser at 554.9 nm is reported by this paper, 946 nm wavelength is obtained from ⁴F_3/2-⁴I_9/2 transition in Nd:YAG and 1342 nm wavelength is obtained from ⁴F_3/2-⁴I_13/2 transition in Nd:YVO₄. Using a doubly folded-cavity type-II critical phase matching KTP crystal intra cavity to make 946 nm laser from Nd:YAG and 1342 nm laser from Nd:YVO₄ frequency summed, with incident pumped power of 30 W in Nd:YAG and 20 W in Nd:YVO₄, TEM₀₀ mode yellow-green laser at 554.9 nm at 1.15 W is obtained and its M² factor is less than 1.22. The experimental results show that the Nd:YAG and Nd:YVO₄ crystals intra-cavity sum-frequency mixing is an effective method for yellow-green laser and it can be applied to other two laser crystals to obtain more all-solid-state lasers with different wavelengths.     

Effects of electron relaxation on multiple harmonic generation from metal surfaces with femtosecond laser pulses

Calculations are presented for the first four (odd and even) harmonics of an 800 nm laser from a gold surface, with pulse widths ranging from 100 down to 14 fs. For peak laser intensities above 1 GW/cm² the harmonics are enhanced because of a partial depletion of the initial electron states. At 10¹¹ W/cm² of peak laser intensity the calculated conversion efficiency for 2nd-harmonic generation is 3 × 10⁻⁹, while for the 5th-harmonic it is 10⁻¹⁰. The generated harmonic pulses are broadened and delayed relative to the laser pulse because of the finite relaxation times of the excited electronic states. The finite electron relaxation times cause also the broadening of the autocorrelations of the laser pulses obtained from surface harmonic generation by two time-delayed identical pulses. Comparison with recent experimental results shows that the response time of an autocorrelator using nonlinear optical processes in a gold surface is shorter than the electron relaxation times. This seems to indicate that for laser pulses shorter than ∼30 fs, the fast nonresonant channel for multiphoton excitation via continuum-continuum transitions in metals becomes important as the resonant channel becomes slow (relative to the laser pulse) and less efficient.