Near- to mid-infrared picosecond optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled RbTiOAsO(4)

We describe a Ti:sapphire-pumped picosecond optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled RbTiOAsO(4) that is broadly tunable in the near to mid infrared. A 4.5-mm single-grating crystal at room temperature in combination with pump wavelength tuning provided access to a continuous-tuning range from 3.35 to 5microm , and a pump power threshold of 90 mW was measured. Average mid-infrared output powers in excess of 100 mW and total output powers of 400 mW in ~1-ps pulses were obtained at 33% extraction efficiency.     

Highly efficient 1.3-microm second-stokes PbWO4 Raman laser

A second-Stokes Raman laser based on PbWO4 with a 1.316-microm wavelength pumped by an approximately 120-ps Nd:YAG laser at 1.06415 microm scattered at 901 cm(-1) phonon was developed. High-reflection mirrors for the Stokes wavelength were used. The maximum output energy was 0.85 mJ. The conversion efficiency increased with crystal length of 40-100 mm up to 30%. The spatial beam profile was smooth, and the Raman laser emission lasted for approximately 18 ns. New stimulated Raman scattering lines from a phonon at 323 cm(-1) were observed.     

Short-pulse, all-fiber, Raman laser with dispersion compensation in a holey fiber

The use of Raman gain in conventional fiber followed by dispersion compensation in a holey fiber in a synchronously pumped laser configuration allowed compression by a factor of 8.5 of output pulses at a selected wavelength with respect to the pump pulses. We obtained 2-ps output pulses at 1.14 microm from a totally fiber-integrated laser pumped with 17-ps pulses at 1 microm. Higher pulse compression should be possible with nonlinear chirp compensation. Ultrashort-pulse, all-fiber Raman lasers at wavelengths shorter than 1.3 microm are feasible.     

Tunable fiber-optic parametric oscillator

We report operation of a tunable optical parametric oscillator that employs a nonlinear-fiber Sagnac interferometer as a parametric amplifier. The amplifier, which consists primarily of dispersion-shifted fiber that has zero dispersion at 1538 nm, is synchronously pumped with 7.7-ps pulses at 1539 nm. The wide bandwidth of the parametric gain permits tuning of the output signal pulses over a 40-nm range centered on the pump wavelength. The Sagnac interferometer decouples the pump wave from the oscillator cavity while a bandpass filter in the cavity transmits only the signal wave, thereby creating a singly resonant parametric oscillator that is phase insensitive. Whereas we demonstrate tuning over almost the entire bandwidth of Er-doped-fiber amplifiers, one could construct a similar device that operates near the 1310-nm zero-dispersion wavelength of standard telecommunication fiber.     

2.5-GHz repetition-rate singly resonant optical parametric oscillator synchronously pumped by a mode-locked diode oscillator amplifier system

We report on an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) that is synchronously pumped directly by a diode laser. This laser is an actively mode-locked master-oscillator power-amplifier system that produces 20-ps pulses at 927 nm with a repetition rate of 2.5 GHz and an average power of 0.9 W. The OPO, which is a singly resonant device based on periodically poled lithium niobate, generates 7.8-ps pulses. The OPO threshold is 300 mW of average pump power, and the maximum average idler output power is 78 mW at a wavelength of 2100 nm. By changing the crystal temperature we can wavelength tune the output in the ranges 1530-1737 nm (signal) and 1986-2348 nm (idler). Rapid wavelength tuning of the OPO over 46 nm (signal) and 74 nm (idler) is achieved through tuning the cavity length over 28 microm by use of a piezoelectric transducer.     

Actively mode-locked visible upconversion fiber laser

Active mode locking of a Pr(3+)/Yb (3+) -doped upconversion fluoride fiber laser with an all-fiber ZnO acousto-optic phase modulator is demonstrated for the first time to the authors' knowledge. Optical pulses of ~550-ps duration with a repetition rate of 239 MHz at a wavelength of 635 nm have been generated.     

Ultrashort pulse propagation in multiple-grating fiber structures

We propose a multiple-grating fiber structure that decomposes an ultrashort broadband optical pulse simultaneously in both wavelength and time. As an initial demonstration, we used a transform-limited 1-ps Gaussian pulse centered at 1.55 mu;m as the ultrashort broadband input into a three-grating fiber structure and generated three output pulses separated in wavelength and time with good correlation between experimental results and simulations. This device structure can be used to generate a multiwavelength train of pulses for use in wavelength-division-multiplexed systems or to implement frequency-domain encoding of coherent pulses for optical code-division multiple access.     

5-GHz repetition-rate dual-wavelength pulse-train generation from an intracavity frequency-modulated Er-Yb:glass laser

We report the experimental demonstration of nearly transform-limited dual-wavelength pulse trains at a 5-GHz repetition rate that were generated by spectral filtering of an intracavity 2.5-GHz frequency-modulated Er-Yb bulk-glass laser operating at the 1533-nm wavelength. Highly stable dual-wavelength pulse trains with ~165-GHz frequency separation, ~48-ps pulse duration, and ~1-mW average single-mode fiber-coupled power were obtained.     

Greater than 100% photon-conversion efficiency from an optical parametric oscillator with intracavity difference-frequency mixing

Using 100-ps Nd:YAG pump pulses, we synchronously pump an optical parametric oscillator with intracavity difference-frequency mixing (DFM) between the signal and the idler. The cavity is singly resonant at the signal frequency. The signal, idler, and difference wavelengths are near 1.5, 3.5, and 2.8microm , respectively. Periodically poled lithium niobate is used for both interactions. Results show an 80% enhancement in the idler power-conversion efficiency and an idler photon-conversion efficiency of 110% when the DFM interaction is phase matched. Backconversion of the pump is suppressed when the DFM interaction is phase matched, and pump depletion increases from 65% to 79% at full pump power.     

Modelocked quantum dot vertical external cavity surface emitting laser

We report the first successful modelocking of a vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL) with a quantum dot (QD) gain region. The VECSEL has a total of 35 QD-layers with an emission wavelength of about 1060 nm. In SESAM modelocked operation, we obtain an average output power of 27.4 mW with 18-ps pulses at a repetition rate of 2.57 GHz. This QD-VECSEL is used as-grown on a 450 μm thick substrate, which limits the average output power.     

High-average-power picosecond Yb-doped fiber amplifier

We report on a cladding-pumped, ytterbium-doped large-core-area fiber amplifier that is capable of generating 51.2 W of average power at a 1064-nm center wavelength, an 80-MHz repetition rate, and a 10-ps pulse duration. In an ytterbium-doped large-mode-area fiber these pulses could be amplified up to 43.2 W with diffraction-limited beam quality (M(2)~1.3) . Power scaling limitations that arise from nonlinear distortions such as self-phase modulation and stimulated Raman scattering are discussed.     

Compact,temperature-stable multi-gigahertz passively modelocked semiconductor disk laser

We present a compact passively mode-locked semiconductor disk laser at 1045 nm. The gain chip without any post processing consists of 16 compressively strained In Ga As symmetrical step quantum wells in the active region. 3-GHz repetition rate, 4.9-ps pulse duration, and 30-mW average output power are obtained with 1.4 W of 808-nm incident pump power. The temperature stability of the laser is demonstrated to have an ideal shift rate of 0.035 nm/K of the lasing wavelength.     

Tunable wavelength conversion between picosecond pulses using cascaded second-order nonlinearity in LiNbO3 waveguides

Tunable wavelength conversion between picosecond pulses is demonstrated by exploiting cascaded secondorder nonlinearity in periodically poled LiNbO₃ waveguides when the pump pulse with 40-GHz repetition rate and 7.5-ps pulse width is adopted. No external continuous-wave input is required in the proposed wavelength converter. The converted signal wavelength can be tuned from 1519 to 1562.6 nm as the lasing wavelength is changed from 1534.5 to 1572.1 nm.This revised version was published online in August 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Wave breaking in tapered holey fibers

We numerically study the propagation of 1-ps laser pulse in three tapered holey fibers (THFs).The curvature indices of the concave,linear,and convex tapers are 2.0,1.0,and 0.5,respectively.The central wavelength,located in the normal dispersion regime,is 800 nm.The nonlinear coefficient of the THFs increases from the initial 0.095 m-1· W-1 to the final 0.349 m-1·W-1.Wave breaking accompanied by oscillatory structures occurs near pulse edges,and sidelobes appear in the pulse spectrum.With the increase in propagation distance z,the pulse shape becomes broader and the pulse spectrum flattens.A concave THF is advantageous to the generation of wave breaking and enables easier achievement of super flat spectra at short lengths.     

Tunable short-pulse beat-wave laser source operating at 1 microm

We have demonstrated a chirped-pulse-amplification system utilizing an air-spaced etalon inside a regenerative amplifier to produce two simultaneous 2.0-ps pulses, one centered at the gain peak of Nd:phosphate glass (1052 nm) and the other centered at the gain peak of Nd:silicate (1061 nm). Autocorrelations of the resulting beat wave demonstrate a beat frequency of 2.3 THz. We achieved wavelength tunability over a 10-nm range by electronically adjusting the etalon spacing and variable pulse width by changing the etalon rotation.     

Micro-bunch production with radio frequency photoinjectors

In this paper we discuss the generation of ultra-short electron bunches using laser-driven RF guns. The designs are tailored for future plasma accelerators. Second generation plasma accelerators are expected to be very demanding in terms of bunch length, since the accelerated beam is expected to be short with respect to the wavelength of the excited Langmuir space-charge plasma wave. Since the anticipated wavelength ranges from 100 to 300 μm, 10-50 μm-long bunches are required with a bunch population of the order of 10⁸ particles. The laser-driven RF gun is a promising candidate to attain such beams. The rationale for this choice as well as the main limitations in terms of minimum bunch length will be analyzed and discussed in the following. Two possible configurations are evaluated: the direct production at the photocathode surface of ultra-short electron bunches by illumination of the cathode with 160-fs-long laser pulses and the acceleration of a 1-ps electron bunch with further magnetic compression in a wiggler     

Single-to-Multiple Channel Wavelength Conversions and Tuning of Picosecond Pulses in Quasi-Phase-Matched Waveguides

We report the single-to-multiple channel wavelength conversions of 1.57-ps pulses based on cascaded secondharmonic generation and difference frequency generation in quasi-phase-matched periodically poled lithium hiebate waveguides. For single-to-single channel wavelength conversion, no external cavity laser is required with use of a fibre ring laser. The conversion efficiency is about -21.44 dB. The converted idler wavelength can be tuned from 1526.4nm to 1537.5nm as the lasing pump wavelength is varied from 1566.1 nm to 1555.0nm. By employing several input pumps, tunable single-to-dual and single-to-triple channel wavelength conversions are experimentally demonstrated.     

High-repetition-rate 300-ps pulsed ultraviolet source with a passively Q-switched microchip laser and a multipass amplifier

We demonstrate a new kind of picosecond laser source in the UV at a high repetition rate of -45 kHz , using only passive, compact, and simple elements. This system is based on a microchip laser and a very efficient multipass amplifier, both pumped with recently developed high-brightness laser diodes. The system has been optimized to deliver, at a high repetition rate, subnanosecond pulses at the wavelength 355 nm with an energy per pulse of close to 1 muJ (38-mW average power). This source is to our knowledge the first totally passive 300-ps UV laser source at this high repetition rate.     

Combined continuum-atomistic modeling of ultrashort-pulsed laser irradiation of silicon

Ultrafast thermomechanical responses of silicon thin films due to ultrashort-pulsed laser irradiation were investigated using an atomic-level hybrid method coupling the molecular dynamics and the ultrafast two-step energy transport model. The dynamic reflectivity and absorption were considered, and the effects of laser fluence and pulse duration on the thermomechanical response were studied. It was found that both the carrier temperature and number density rapidly increase to their maximum while the lattice temperature rises at a much slower rate. The ultrafast laser heating could induce a strong stress wave in the film, with the maximum compressive and tensile stress occurring near the front and back surfaces, respectively. For laser pulses of the same duration, the higher the laser fluence is, the higher the carrier temperature and density and lattice temperature are induced. For the same laser fluence, a longer pulse generally produces lower carrier density and temperatures and weaker stress shock strength. However, for the fluence of 0.2 J/cm², the lowest lattice temperature was simulated for a 100-fs pulse compared to the 1-ps and 5-ps pulses, due to the increase of reflectivity by high carrier density. It is also shown that the optical properties as functions of lattice temperature usually employed are not suited for modeling ultrafast laser interactions with silicon materials.     

Efficient subnanosecond diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 self-stimulated Raman laser

Generation of efficient subnanosecond self-stimulated Raman pulses by a diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4/Cr4+:YAG laser is demonstrated. Experimental results reveal that self-frequency Raman conversion can be achieved with a c-cut Nd:YVO4 crystal in a nearly hemispherical cavity. At 2.0 W of incident pump power, the self-stimulated Raman laser produces stable 710-ps pulses at a Stokes wavelength of 1178.6 nm with 7.2 microJ of pulse energy at a 17-kHz repetition rate.