Optimization of optical parametric chirped pulse amplification with different pump wavelengths

Optical parametric chirped pulse amplification with different pump wavelengths was investigated using LBO crystal, at signal central wavelength of 800 nm. According to our theoretical simulation, when pump wavelength is 492.5 nm, there is a maximal gain bandwidth of 190 nm centered at 805 nm in optimal noncollinear angle using LBO. Presently, pump wavelength of 492.5 nm can be obtained from second harmonic generation of a Yb:Sr₅(PO₄)₃F laser. The broad gain bandwidth can completely support ∼6 fs with a spectral centre of seed pulse at 800 nm. The deviation from optimal noncollinear angle can be compensated by accurately tuning crystal angle for phase matching. The gain spectrum with pump wavelength of 492.5 nm is much better than those with pump wavelengths of 400, 526.5 and 532 nm, at signal centre of 800 nm.     

Efficient second-harmonic generation of ultrashort pulses with simultaneous quasi-phase matching and group velocity matching in periodic 90° domain structures of potassium niobate

Triple-line-shaped electrodes were devised to fabricate a periodically poled 90° domain structure of KNbO₃ (PP90KN) of 20.25 μm period with uniform periodicity and reproducibility. Using the fundamental pulse of 141 fs duration at 1619 nm wavelength, an efficient broadband type-I quasi-phase-matched second-harmonic generation was realized in an 8.3 mm long PP90KN by satisfying both phase matching and group-velocity-matching in the telecommunication L-band at room temperature. Second-harmonic pulses showed no significant temporal and spectral distortion and had a pulse duration of about 144 fs, which agreed well with the theoretical value of 142 fs. The conversion efficiency of the second-harmonic generation was 28.7% at the fundamental pulse energy of 0.92 nJ, which is about 60% of the theoretical value.     

Experimental generation of high-contrast Talbot images with an ultrashort laser pulse

A femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser oscillator emitting pulses with 800 nm central wavelength, 10.9 fs pulse width, and 75 MHz repetition rate, combined with a dispersion-compensated diffractive system, was used to implement a large-area, high-contrast, broadband optical interference technique based on the Talbot effect. Chromatic artifacts associated with the huge spectrum of the optical source (approximately 150 nm) are compensated for with an air-separated hybrid diffractive-refractive lens doublet. The spatial resolution of the chromatically compensated Talbot images under femtosecond illumination is nearly identical to that achieved under continuous wave monochromatic illumination. Furthermore, the temporal width of the signal at the Talbot planes is limited by the group-delay-dispersion coefficient which is shown to be small. High-contrast one-dimensional periodic structures of 96.1 μm spacing generated by Talbot diffractometry are experimentally demonstrated.     

Enhanced near field mediated nanohole fabrication on silicon substrate by femtosecond laser pulse

Investigation of the process of nanohole formation on silicon surface mediated with near electromagnetic field enhancement in vicinity of gold particles is described. Gold nanospheres with diameters of 40, 80 and 200 nm are used. Irradiation of the samples with laser pulse at fluences below the ablation threshold for native Si surface, results in a nanosized surface modification. The nanostructure formation is investigated for the fundamental (λ = 800 nm, 100 fs) and the second harmonic (λ = 400 nm, 250 fs) of the laser radiation generated by ultrashort Ti:sapphire laser system. The near electric field distribution is analyzed by an Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulation code. The properties of the produced morphological changes on the Si surface are found to depend strongly on the polarization and the wavelength of the laser irradiation. When the laser pulse is linearly polarized the produced nanohole shape is elongated in the E-direction of the polarization. The shape of the hole becomes symmetrical when the laser radiation is circularly polarized. The size of the ablated holes depends on the size of the gold particles, as the smallest holes are produced with the smallest particles. The variation of the laser fluence and the particle size gives possibility of fabricating structures with lateral dimensions ranging from 200 nm to below 40 nm. Explanation of the obtained results is given on the basis simulations of the near field properties using FDTD model and Mie's theory.     

Ultra-short pulse compression at 1065 nm in nonlinear photonic crystal fiber

A pulse compressor has been designed using a 13 mm highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber to compress pulses centered at 1065 nm from 28 fs to 1.8 fs with a compression factor of 16.2. This compression is achieved by using a high level of energy and generating different orders of solitons without resorting to large values of fiber's dispersion.     

Surface texturing of the carbon steel AISI 1045 using femtosecond laser in single pulse and scanning regime

Surface texturing of the metals, including steels, gained a new dimension with the appearance of femtosecond lasers. These laser systems enable highly precise modifications, which are very important for numerous applications of metals. The effects of a Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser with the pulse duration of 160 fs, operating at 775 nm wavelength and in two operational regimes - single pulse (SP) and scanning regime, on a high quality AISI 1045 carbon steel were studied. The estimated surface damage threshold was 0.22 J/cm² (SP). Surface modification was studied for the laser fluences of 0.66, 1.48 and 2.37 J/cm². The fluence of 0.66 J/cm², in both working regimes, induced texturing of the material, i.e. formation of periodic surface structures (PSS). Their periodicity was in accordance with the used laser wavelength. Finally, changes in the surface oxygen content caused by ultrashort laser pulses were recorded.     

Parametric study on femtosecond laser pulse ablation of Au films

Ablation process of 1 kHz rate femtosecond lasers (pulse duration 148 fs, wavelength 775 nm) with Au films on silica substrates has been systemically studied. The single-pulse threshold can be obtained directly. For the multiple pulses the ablation threshold varies with the number of pulses applied to the surface due to the incubation effect. From the plot of accumulated laser fluence N × ?_th(N) and the number of laser pulses N, incubation coefficient of Au film can be obtained (s = 0.765). As the pulse energy is increased, the single pulse ablation rate is increasing following two ablation logarithmic regimes, which can be explained by previous research.     

Two-color two-photon excitation of indole using a femtosecond laser regenerative amplifier

The fluorescence emission from indole resulting from two-color two-photon (2C2P) excitation with 400 and 800 nm wavelengths is observed, using the second harmonic and fundamental wavelength of a 800 nm 40 fs pulsed Ti:Sapphire femtosecond (fs) regenerative amplifier operating at a repetition rate of 1 kHz. By delaying one fs laser pulse relative to the other, the cross correlation of fluorescence is observed, which indicates the generation of 2C2P fluorescence signal in the experiment. The strongest 2C2P fluorescence emission characterized by the peak of cross correlation curve suggests optimal temporal overlap of the two fs laser pulses. The 2C2P fluorescence signal is linearly dependent on the total excitation intensity. The fluorescence signals with 400 nm and 800 nm irradiation alone are also demonstrated and discussed in this paper.     

Ytterbium femtosecond fiber laser without dispersion compensation tunable from 1015 nm to 1050 nm

We report on a widely tunable ytterbium fs-fiber laser without dispersion compensation. The all-normal dispersion laser contains a spectral filter for wavelength tuning and for generating additional amplitude modulation to support the nonlinear polarization evolution as mode-locking mechanism. By tilting the interference filter the center wavelength of the laser can be tuned from 1015 nm to 1050 nm with a pulse energy up to 2.0 nJ. The pulses can be dechirped externally to 108 fs.     

Dispersion and compensation of temporal pulse width for femtosecond pulse laser ranging

We built an atmosphere dispersion model of femtosecond laser pulses that can calculate temporal pulse width travelling in air. The initial pulse duration of 100 fs can be broadened to 60 ps when propagating 200 km in the atmosphere. An experimental system has been established to compensate the large dispersion propagating 200 km in the atmosphere. The single model fiber (SMF) and the prism pairs were, respectively, used for coarse and fine compensation in the system. The pulse duration was consistently regulated 150 fs by moving the distance of prism pairs. This method can reach submicron resolution for a long distance by means of time of flight measurement.     

An extremely narrow UV pulse generation using a micro- and nano-ring system for pico-lithographic resolution

We propose a new technique of an extremely narrow ultraviolet (UV) pulse width generation for pico-lithography technology using a nonlinear ring resonator system. A system consists of three micro- and a nano-optical ring resonators, which can be used to generate the 50 pm (10⁻¹² m) optical spectral width at the ultraviolet wavelength. By using a soliton pulse with a pulse width of 50 ns, 1 W peak power, center wavelength at 1550 nm, after the soliton pulse is launched into a first ring device, the chaotic pulses are generated within the first ring. The chaotic filtering behaviors are performed by using the second and third ring devices, whereas the extremely short pulse, i.e. narrow spectral width, can be generated by using the extended nano-ring device. The broad spectrum of the harmonic waves is generated and filtered, especially the generation of third harmonic wave, which is known as the ultraviolet wavelength, is achieved, which is capable of forming pico-lithographic resolution. Results obtained have shown that the generation of the spectral width of 50 pm at a wavelength of 511.125 nm, with peak power at 35 mW is achieved.     

SOA-based actively mode-locked fiber ring laser by forward injecting an external pulse train

An actively mode-locked fiber ring laser based on cross-gain modulation (XGM) in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is demonstrated to operate stably with a simple configuration. By forward injecting an easily-generated external pulse train, the mode-locked fiber laser can generate an optical-pulse sequence with pulsewidth about 6 ps and average output power about 7.9 mW. The output pulses show an ultra-low RMS jitter about 70.7 fs measured by a RF spectrum analyzer. The use of the proposed forward-injection configuration can realize the repetition-rate tunability from 1 to 15 GHz for the generated optical-pulse sequences. By employing a wavelength-tunable optical band-pass filter in the laser cavity, the operation wavelength of the designed SOA-based actively mode-locked fiber laser can be tuned continuously in a wide span between 1528 and 1565 nm. The parameters of external-injection optical pulses are studied experimentally to optimize the mode-locked fiber laser.     

Property improvement of pulsed laser deposited boron carbide films by pulse shortening

Growth characteristics and surface morphology of boron carbide films fabricated by ablating a B₄C target in high vacuum with a traditional KrF excimer laser and a high brightness hybrid dye/excimer laser system emitting at the same wavelength while delivering 700 fs pulses are compared. The ultrashort pulse processing is highly effective. Energy densities between 0.25 and 2 J cm⁻² result in apparent growth rates ranging from 0.017 to 0.085 nm/pulse. Ablation with nanosecond pulses of one order of magnitude higher energy densities yields smaller growth rates, the figures increase from 0.002 to 0.016 nm/pulse within the 2-14.3 J cm⁻² fluence window. 2D thickness maps derived from variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry reveal that, when ablating with sub-ps pulses, the spot size rather than the energy density determines both the deposition rate and the angular distribution of film material. Pulse shortening leads to significant improvement in surface morphology, as well. While droplets with number densities ranging from 1 × 10⁴ to 7 × 10⁴ mm⁻² deteriorate the surface of the films deposited by the KrF excimer laser, sub-ps pulses produce practically droplet-free films. The absence of droplets has also a beneficial effect on the stoichiometry and homogeneity of the films fabricated by ultrashort pulses.     

Surface-emitted THz generation using a compact ultrashort pulse fiber amplifier at 1060 nm

Generation of InAs-surface-emitted terahertz radiation by application of an ultrashort pulse 1060 nm parabolic fiber amplifier source is reported for the first time. The fiber amplifier delivers 100 fs pulses at a repetition rate of 75 MHz and an average power of maximum 12 W. This new excitation laser for surface-emitters generates high brightness broadband THz radiation ranging from 100 GHz to over 2.5 THz. THz detection is demonstrated based on two-photon absorption at low-temperature-grown GaAs dipole receivers.     

Femtosecond laser-induced dynamic alignment in Coulomb explosion of CO: Roles of laser wavelength, intensity and pulse duration

Dependences of dynamic alignment of CO molecules induced by intense femtosecond laser fields on laser wavelength, intensity and pulse duration are investigated by numerical simulations. A counting approach and a fourth-order Runge-Kutta algorithm are used to calculate the angular distribution and the time evolution of molecules. A two-step Coulomb explosion model of diatomic molecules in intense laser fields is used to determine the instant that CO molecular dynamic alignment is over. Our calculating results show that the linear polarizability and the damping force play an important role in the angular rotation of CO molecule in conditions of 800 nm laser wavelength and 10¹⁵ W/cm² laser intensity. The contributions of the second-order field-induced dipole moment and the higher-order correction term to molecular rotation acceleration comparing to the linear polarizability and damping force are negligible. The extent of dynamic alignment of CO molecules reduces with the increasing of laser intensity. The dynamic alignment time of CO molecules is tightly connected to the laser pulse duration. The angular distributions of CO molecules as the laser pulse length varied from 50 to 250 fs at laser intensity of 3×10¹⁴ W/cm² are shown and discussed.     

Ultrafast laser pulses generated from the chromium-doped cunyite laser

Femtosecond pulses were generated from a Cr⁴⁺: Cunyite laser using a combination of a broadband semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM), chirped mirrors, and passive mode locking. The astigmatically compensated asymmetric X-cavity with a 4.5-mm-long Cr⁴⁺:Ca₂GeO₄ sample was operated with a 2.5% output coupler. Dispersion compensation was achieved using chirped mirrors. During self-starting mode-locked operation, pulses as short as 365 fs were generated at a pulse repetition rate of 100 MHz with output power of 70 mW and a spectral bandwidth of 5.2 nm at the center wavelength of 1432 nm.     

Ultraviolet laser microstructuring of silicon and the effect of laser pulse duration on the surface morphology

The study of the laser pulse duration effect on the silicon micro-spikes morphology is presented. The microcones were produced by ultraviolet (248 nm) laser irradiation of doped Si wafers in SF₆ environment. The laser pulse duration was adjusted at 450 fs, 5 ps and 15 ns. We have analyzed the statistical nature of the spikes’ morphological characteristics, such as periodicity and apex angle by exploiting image processing techniques, on SEM images of the irradiated samples. The correlation of the quantitative morphological characteristics with the laser parameters (pulse duration, laser fluence and number of pulses) provides new insight on the physical mechanisms, which are involved on the formation of Si microcones.     

Generation of dual wavelength ultrashort pulse outputs from a passive mode locked fiber ring laser

By incorporating two sections of polarization maintaining fibers in the passive mode locked fiber ring laser cavity, dual wavelength ultrashort pulse outputs, around 1558 nm and 1570 nm, having the same direction of polarization and pulse widths of 2.4 ps and 2.1 ps, respectively, were observed simultaneously.     

Fabrication of complex nanostructures on ZnO crystals by the interference of three femtosecond laser beams

By adjusting the laser polarization combinations, fluences and pulse numbers, we fabricated several types of two-dimensional (2D) complex nanostructures on the surface of c-cut ZnO single crystal by the interference of three femtosecond laser beams with central wavelength of 800 nm, pulse duration of 50 fs and pulse repetition frequency of 1 kHz. The hexagonal 2D nanostructures with a period of 600 nm are very regular and uniform, in which nanoparticles, nanorings and nanoripples with sizes of 200 nm are embedded. Excited by 800 nm femtosecond laser pulses, the photoluminescence (PL) micrographs reveal that the 2D nanostructures can emit purer and brighter blue light compared with the plane surface. These nanostructures have potential applications in blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs), high density optical storage and other optoelectronic devices.     

New WDM bands using a Gaussian pulse within a nano-waveguide

The new optical communication bandwidths (wavelength bands) using a Gaussian pulse propagating within a nonlinear microring resonator system is proposed. The Gaussian input pulses, for instance, when the input pulses of the common lasers with center wavelengths from 400 to 1500 nm are used, the required output wavelength bands can be obtained by controlling the coupling coefficients of the add/drop filter. Results obtained have shown that more available wavelength bands from the different center wavelengths can be generated, which can be used to form new dense wavelength division multiplexing bands. The novelty of the work is that the expansion of communication bands, especially, when the center wavelength is at 1300 nm can be obtained by using a common laser pulse, whereas the amplified and non-dispersive light source can be formed.