Grism compressor for carrier-envelope phase-stable millijoule-energy chirped pulse amplifier lasers featuring bulk material stretcher

We demonstrate compression of amplified carrier-envelope phase (CEP)-stable laser pulses using paired transmission gratings and high-index prisms, or grisms, with chromatic dispersion matching that of a bulk material pulse stretcher. Grisms enable the use of larger bulk stretching factors and thereby higher energy pulses with lower B-integral in a compact amplifier design suitable for long-term CEP control.     

Long-term carrier-envelope phase coherence

The carrier-envelope phase of the pulse train emitted by a 10-fs mode-locked laser has been stabilized such that carrier-envelope phase coherence is maintained for at least 150 s (measurement limited). The phase coherence time was measured independently of the feedback loop.     

Long-term passive stabilization of the carrier-envelope phase of an intense infrared few-cycle pulse source

We present long-term stability of the carrier-envelope phase of intense infrared few-cycle pulses at 1.6 μm, generated by optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification. The employed system is based on a passive stabilization scheme that obviates the need for active feedback loops, and requires only control of environmental parameters. The stabilization is demonstrated to last for up to 45 h, during which the carrier-envelope phase drift is measured to be less than \(250\,\text{mrad}\) . This marks, to the best of our knowledge, the longest demonstrated phase-stable operation of a passively stabilized, amplified few-cycle source to date.     

Compact high gain double-pass optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier

A novel double-pass noncollinear optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier based on an Yb³⁺-doped passively mode-locked fiber laser has been demonstrated in this paper. The signal was double-pass amplified in a single nonlinear crystal by a long pump pulse, and the signal and pump pulses of each pass were completely phase matched in the plane of the maximum effective nonlinearity. Net saturated gain of 2×10⁶ was achieved and the superfluorescence was suppressed by increasing the overlap time between the signal and pump pulses.     

Nonlinear compression of picosecond chirped pulse from thin-disk amplifier system through a gas-filled hollow-core fiber

We theoretically study the nonlinear compression of a 20-m J, 1030-nm picosecond chirped pulse from the thin-disk amplifier in a krypton gas-filled hollow-core fiber. The chirp from the thin-disk amplifier system has little influence on the initial pulse, however, it shows an effect on the nonlinear compression in hollow-core fiber. We use a large diameter hollow waveguide to restrict undesirable nonlinear effects such as ionization; on the other hand, we employ suitable gas pressure and fiber length to promise enough spectral broadening; with 600-μm, 6-bar(1 bar = 105Pa), 1.8-m hollow fiber,we obtain 31.5-fs pulse. Moreover, we calculate and discuss the optimal fiber lengths and gas pressures with different initial durations induced by different grating compression angles for reaching a given bandwidth. These results are meaningful for a compression scheme from picoseconds to femtoseconds.     

Diode-pumped Yb:SSO chirped pulse amplifier with 1 ps pulse duration

We demonstrate a diode-pumped picosecond Yb-doped silicate Yb3+:Sc2Si O5(Yb:SSO) chirped pulse amplifier. The seed source with a pulse width of 220 fs is a diode-pumped Yb:KGW femtosecond oscillator. A single chirped volume Bragg grating is employed both as a pulse stretcher and as a compressor to improve the compactness of the system. Stretched pulse is amplified using a diode-pumped Yb:SSO regenerative amplifier. The maximum amplified pulse energy obtained at a pump power of 13.5 W is 450 μJ. The amplified pulse is centered at 1033.3 nm before compression at a frequency of 1 k Hz. After compression, the pulse energy is 315 μJ with a pulse duration of approximately 1 ps.     

线性啁啾脉冲高斯光束载波相位漂移的近似解

利用复q参数法,研究了几周期线性啁啾脉冲高斯光束在自由空间中的传播,在振幅零阶和相位一阶近似的条件下,得到其载波相位的解析公式,该公式的显著特点是载波相位与线性啁啾系数无关。研究了载波相位在传播方向的分布,并与数值计算方法比较,结果表明,啁啾系数在－1～1的范围内,在光轴附近,其载波相位解析公式结果与数值结果符合很好。     

线性啁啾脉冲高斯光束载波相位漂移的近似解

 利用复q参数法,研究了几周期线性啁啾脉冲高斯光束在自由空间中的传播,在振幅零阶和相位一阶近似的条件下,得到其载波相位的解析公式,该公式的显著特点是载波相位与线性啁啾系数无关。研究了载波相位在传播方向的分布,并与数值计算方法比较,结果表明,啁啾系数在－1～1的范围内,在光轴附近,其载波相位解析公式结果与数值结果符合很好。     

Single-shot measurement of a carrier-envelope phase by use of a time-dependent polarization pulse

We propose a method for single-shot measurement of the carrier-envelope phase of high-intensity laser pulses. The method is based on observation of the electrons' spatial distribution ionized by a time-dependent polarization pulse generated by a combination of replicas of the measuring pulse. The dependence of the electrons' angular distribution on carrier-envelope phase, pulse width, delay between two combining components, and a peak intensity is calculated. Important experimental issues such as broadening of the angular distribution, Gouy phase, difference between the two replicas, and asymmetric pulse shape are also discussed.     

Octave-spanning carrier-envelope phase stabilized visible pulse with sub-3-fs pulse duration

The visible second harmonic of the idler output from a noncollinear optical parametric amplifier was compressed using adaptive dispersion control with a deformable mirror. The amplifier was pumped by and seeded in the signal path by a common 400 nm second-harmonic pulse from a Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier. Thus, both the idler output and the second harmonic of the idler were passively carrier-envelope phase stabilized. The shortest pulse duration achieved was below 3 fs.     

马丁内兹型啁啾脉冲放大系统高阶色散的混合补偿

采用光线追迹法对含有马丁内兹型展宽器的CPA系统的各阶色散进行了系统的理论研究，提出了引入适当负三阶色散量以补偿五阶色散的总体色散的混合补偿方法.该方法能够获得比采用仅补偿二、三阶色散的逐阶色散补偿法更接近傅里叶变换极限的超短脉冲. 关键词： 啁啾脉冲放大 马丁内兹型展宽器 色散补偿     

Effects of the carrier-envelope phase of chirped laser pulses in the multiphoton ionization regime

By solving the time-dependent Schr?dinger equation for the Cs atom, we find that, as long as the spectral bandwidth is sufficiently broad, the asymmetry of photoelectron ejection is strongly phase dependent and persists even when the chirped pulse duration becomes more than several cycles. The asymmetry survives even after the angle integration over the hemisphere, implying that the detection efficiency can be significantly improved. This counterintuitive and robust finding provides a simple way to measure the phase for both transform-limited and chirped pulses.     

Long-term stabilization of the carrier-envelope phase of few-cycle laser pulses

The temporal variation of the electromagnetic field of a few-cycle laser pulse depends on whether the maximum of the pulse amplitude coincides with that of the wave cycle or not, i.e., it depends on the phase of the field with respect to the pulse envelope. Fixation of this carrier-envelope phase has only very recently become possible for amplified laser pulses. This paved the way for a completely new class of experiments and for coherent control down to the attosecond time scale because it is the field and not the pulse envelope which governs laser-matter interactions. However, this novel technique still affords much potential for optimization. In this paper we demonstrate a novel stabilization scheme for the carrier-envelope phase that not only guarantees a stable phase for arbitrarily long measurements, but also makes it possible to restore any given phase for an application after a pause of any kind. This is achieved by combining a stereo-ATI phase meter with a feedback loop to correct phase drifts inside and outside the laser system. PACS 07.05.Dz; 32.80.Rm; 42.50.Hz     

Parasitic lasing in large aperture Ti:sapphire chirped pulse amplifier

We research some properties of parasitic lasing(PL) in the Ti:sapphire chirped pulse amplifier with the crystal diameter of 100 mm. The evolutionary process from the spontaneous emission to the PL and its influence on amplified output energy, spectrum, and beam profile are experimentally measured. The threshold of PL in the crystal is 22 J, and the output signal can still keep rising with the pump when the pump energy is below 38 J. The PL has no obvious impact on the output spectrum and beam profile besides the energy.     

用于产生亚12fs脉冲的脉冲波前匹配的超宽带光学参量啁啾脉冲放大器

研究和建议了一种用于产生亚12fs脉冲的基于脉冲波前匹配的LBO超宽带光学参量啁啾脉冲放大器。实验结果表明LBO超宽带光学参量啁啾脉冲放大器可以输出大于60nm(FWHM)的增益光谱带宽，为了利用这种放大器产生转换限制的脉冲输出，给出了一种将超宽带光学参量啁啾脉冲放大器与脉冲波前匹配相结合的方法，这种方法等价于信号光脉冲波前无斜置的放大，克服了超宽带参量啁啾脉冲放大器中由于信号光的脉冲波前斜置而导致很难获得最短压缩脉冲输出的缺陷，从而允许产生转换限制的亚12fs脉冲。     

Hollow-fiber compression of 6 mJ pulses from a continuous-wave diode-pumped single-stage Yb,Na:CaF2 chirped pulse amplifier

Here, 200 fs 6 mJ pulses from a cw diode-pumped Yb,Na:CaF(2) amplifier are spectrally broadened in an Ar- or Ne-filled hollow-core fiber and recompressed to 20 fs (Ar) and 35 fs (Ne) using a prism pair. The results of spectral broadening and phase measurement are in excellent agreement with numerical modeling based on the generalized nonlinear Schr?dinger equation. The longer laser wavelength of 1030 nm permits favorable energy scaling for the hollow-fiber technique compared to ultrafast amplifiers operating at 800 nm.     

Adaptive control of pulse phase in a chirped-pulse amplifier

Using experimental feedback, we demonstrate that a chirped-pulse amplifier can adaptively learn to compensate for the higher-order phase dispersion that is inherent in the amplification process. A genetic algorithm-based search routine is used to repetitively update the pulse phase in a programmable pulse stretcher during a plasma breakdown experiment to maximize the magnitude of spectral blueshift. Reductions in pulse duration from 37 to 30 fs and substantially better wing structure are typically obtained as a result of the optimization.     

Self-stabilization of the carrier-envelope phase of an optical parametric amplifier verified with a photonic crystal fiber

Experimental verification is given for self-stabilization of the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of idler pulses from a noncollinear optical parametric amplifier. The verification is performed by spectral interference (SI) between an octave-broadened supercontinuum (SC) and its second harmonic. This SC is generated by nonlinear propagation of the second harmonic of the idler through a photonic crystal fiber (PCF). Although the modulational instability causes the intensity and CEP fluctuation and the amplified spontaneous emission noise in PCF degrades the visibility of SI, the CEP is verified to be stabilized.     

Minimization of dispersion in an ultrafast chirped pulse amplifier using adaptive learning

Minimizing residual frequency dispersion that accompanies pulse stretching, amplification, and recompression is an important consideration in ultrashort chirped-pulse amplifiers. Here we show how an adaptive learning algorithm can be used in conjunction with a pulse shaper to compensate for higher-order and nonlinear dispersion in a chirped-pulse amplifier. Using spectral blueshifting as a sensitive diagnostic for pulse shape, we implement a 'learning loop' comprised of the pulse shaper, strong field laser ionization, and a genetic algorithm to minimize dispersion through the amplifier. We verify our optimization results using frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) measurements and also show theoretically and experimentally that spectral blueshifting is indeed a sensitive diagnostic for pulse shape, and specifically, for higher-order dispersion.     

Wavefront evolution of the signal beam in Ti:sapphire chirped pulse amplifier

We studied the evolution of wavefront aberration(WFA) of a signal beam during amplification in a Ti:sapphire chirped pulse amplification(CPA) system. The results verified that the WFA of the amplified laser beam has little relation with the change of the pump beam energies. Transverse parasitic lasing that might occur in CPA hardly affects the wavefront of the signal beam. Thermal effects were also considered in this study, and the results show that the thermal effect cumulated in multiple amplification processes also has no obvious influence on the wavefront of the signal beam for a single-shot frequency. The results presented in this paper confirmed experimentally that the amplification in a Ti:sapphire CPA system has little impact on the WFA of the signal beam and it is very helpful for wavefront correction of single-shot PW and multi-PW laser systems based on Ti:sapphire.