BiB3O6 femtosecond optical parametric oscillator

We report a femtosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on the nonlinear material BiB3O6. The OPO is synchronously pumped in the blue by the second harmonic of a Kerr-lens-mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser. It can provide wide and continuous tuning across the entire green-yellow-orange-red spectral range with a single crystal and a single set of mirrors. Using a 500 microm BiB3O6 crystal and collinear type I (e+e->o) phase matching in the optical yz plane, a signal wavelength range of 480-710 nm is demonstrated with angle tuning at room temperature at average output powers of 270 mW. With 220 fs blue pump pulses, near-transform-limited signal pulses of 120 fs duration have been obtained at 76 MHz repetition rate.     

Harmonic generation in bismuth triborate (BiB3O6)

We report a study of second- and third-harmonic generation in BiB₃O₆ (BiBO). The effective nonlinearity, phase-matching angle, acceptance bandwidth, and walk-off are calculated and analyzed within the principal planes of the optical indicatrix. In the experiment, the phase-matched harmonic generation is investigated within the xz and yz planes. Also, the temperature dependence of the noncritical phase matching for laser radiation propagating along the z axis is measured for second-harmonic generation (SHG) at crystal temperatures of 25–265^∘C. The corresponding wavelengths of the laser radiation are in the range of 1.16 to 1.34μm. In addition, SHG of 1342-nm radiation of a q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser system is investigated for noncritical and critical phase matching. The achieved conversion efficiencies are 59% and 20%, respectively. Besides SHG, third-harmonic generation (THG) of 1064-nm, ns laser pulses is investigated. The measured conversion efficiency is as high as 34%. For THG the properties of BiBO are compared with those of BBO and LBO.     

990 mW average power, 52% efficient, high-repetition-rate picosecond-pulse generation in the blue with BiB3O6

Efficient single-pass second-harmonic generation (SHG) of tunable high-repetition-rate picosecond pulses into the blue is reported in the nonlinear crystal BiB3O6. Using 2.4 ps fundamental pulses from a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser at 76 MHz and a 10 mm crystal cut for type I (e + e --> o) phase matching in the optical yz plane, second-harmonic average powers as high as 990 mW with excellent stability have been generated at 52% conversion efficiency, and a tunable range of 370-450 nm is demonstrated. From measurements of single-pass SHG in the continuous-wave regime an effective nonlinear coefficient of 3.7 pm/V has been verified for BiB3O6, and direct comparison with beta-BaB2O4 confirms a SHG power enhancement of approximately 23% for the same crystal length. Autocorrelation measurements in a 200 microm crystal of beta-BaB2O4 result in durations of 2.8 ps for the second-harmonic blue pulses.     

A 515-nm laser-pumped idler-resonant femtosecond BiB3O6 optical parametric oscillator

We report on an idler-resonant femtosecond optical parametrical oscillator(OPO)based on BiB₃O₆(BiBO)crystal,synchronously pumped by a frequency-doubled,mode-locked Yb:KGW laser at 515 nm.The idler wavelengths of OPO can be tuned from 1100 nm to 1540 nm.At a repetition rate of 75.5 MHz,the OPO generates as much as 400 mW of idler power with 3.1 W of pump power,the corresponding pulse duration is 80 fs,which is 1.04 times of Fourier transform-limited(FTL)pulse duration at 1305 nm.In addition,the OPO exhibits excellent beam quality with M²<1.8 at 1150 nm.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first idler-resonant femtosecond OPO pumped by 515 nm.     

Self‐phase‐locked degenerate femtosecond optical parametric oscillator based on BiB3O6

A self‐phase‐locked degenerate femtosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on the birefringent nonlinear material, bismuth triborate, BiB₃O₆, synchronously‐pumped by a Kerr‐lens‐mode‐locked Ti:sapphire laser at 800 nm is described. By exploiting versatile phase‐matching properties of BiB₃O₆, including large spectral and angular acceptance for parametric generation and low group velocity dispersion in the optical xz plane, stable self‐phase‐locked degenerate OPO operation centered at 1600 nm is demonstrated using collinear type I (e → oo) interaction in a 1.5‐mm crystal at room temperature. The degenerate OPO output spectrum extends over 46 nm (∼5.4 THz) with 190 fs pulse duration for input pump pulses of 155 fs with a bandwidth of 7 nm. Phase coherence between the pump and degenerate output is verified using f‐2f interferometry, and discrete frequency beats caused by different carrier‐envelope‐offset frequencies are measured using radio frequency measurements. Photo shows a 1.5‐mm BiB₃O₆ crystal used as a nonlinear gain medium in a degenerate self‐phase‐locked femtosecond OPO operating at room temperature. The green beam is the result of non‐phase‐matched sum‐frequency mixing between the pump light and the sub‐harmonic OPO field at degeneracy.     

Bismuth triborate (BiB3O6) optical parametric oscillators

We report the phase matching of parametric frequency conversion in the nonlinear material BiB₃O₆ (BiBO) and on an investigation of optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) of this new crystal. Based on the calculation of collinear type I and type II phase matching within the refractive-index planes, the most favorable directions for phase matching are identified for OPOs pumped by the fundamental or the harmonics of 1064-nm Nd-doped lasers. Based on these results, pulsed 532-nm-pumped ns OPOs are realized. The pump source is either a Q-switched high repetition rate (10 kHz) Nd:YVO₄ laser (with a pulse energy of 24 J) or a low repetition rate (10 Hz), high pulse energy (120 mJ) Nd:YAG laser system. The BiBO OPO pumped by the Nd:YVO₄ laser showed a very low threshold of 0.047 J/cm². At an average pump power of 2.4 W the total OPO output power was 630 mW. By changing the phase-matching angle within the yz plane from 0 to 11.6° the signal wavelength was tuned from 735 nm to 970 nm, while the spectral width changed from 0.2 nm to 1.4 nm. By pumping the OPO with the Nd:YAG laser, the OPO had a threshold of 0.12 J/cm², a steep slope (59%) and a high total efficiency (of up to 48%). Due to divergence broadening the spectral width changes from 8.5 nm at 800 nm to 70 nm near degeneracy. The properties of BiBO determined from the experimental results are compared with those of well-known nonlinear materials such as BBO, LBO and KTP. PACS 42.65.-k; 42.65.Yj; 42.70.-a; 42.70.Mp     

基于BiB3O6晶体的飞秒光参量变换特性

对基于新型非线性晶体BiB₃O₆(BIBO)的飞秒光参量变换过程的参量特性进行了研究. 计算了BIBO晶体三个光学主平面内的相位匹配条件和有效非线性系数,确定了克尔透镜锁模钛宝石激光器的基频光与倍频光抽运时最佳的光学主平面和相位匹配方式,并分析了三波的时间走离和空间走离,以及信号光的参量增益和带宽. 为利用基于BIBO晶体的飞秒光参量技术获得高能量、宽调谐、窄脉宽的光源提供理论依据和实验指导. 关键词： 3O₆')" href="#">BiB₃O₆ 光参量变换 共线相位匹配 光学主平面     

Ultrabroadband continuum amplification in the near infrared using BiB3O6 nonlinear crystals pumped at 800 nm

Ultrabroadband parametric amplification of a white-light continuum in the near IR (approximately 100 THz, 1.2-2.4 microm) is demonstrated in BiB3O6 pumped by 45 fs long pulses at 800 nm at a repetition rate of 1 kHz. The energy obtained with a 5 mm thick crystal reached 50 microJ, corresponding to external conversion efficiency of 20%.     

Optical properties of BiB3O6 with different phase matching orientations

Basic optical properties of the new nonlinear crystal BiB₃O₆ (BIBO) are measured for second harmonic generation (SHG) of 1064 nm radiation. These properties include the effective nonlinearities for different phase matching orientations, the corresponding acceptance bandwidths and the optical losses. Effective nonlinearities of up to 3.2 pm/V (ϕ=90°, θ=-11°) and losses of less than 0.1 %/cm at 1064 nm indicate that BIBO is a promising new nonlinear crystal for SHG of 1064 nm radiation. A two-dimensional measurement with high spatial resolution of the SHG efficiency and the optical homogeneity, clearly demonstrate the high optical quality of BIBO crystals now available. PACS 42.65.Ky; 42.70.Mp     

Flexible and rapidly configurable femtosecond pulse generation in the mid-IR

We demonstrate a new experimental approach for flexible femtosecond pulse generation in the mid-IR by use of difference-frequency generation from two tightly synchronized Ti:sapphire lasers. The resultant mid-IR pulse train can be easily tuned, with an adjustable repetition frequency up to 100 MHz, a pulse energy of approximately 1.5 x 10(-13) J, and an intensity noise similar to that of the Ti:sapphire. Rapid switching of the mid-IR wavelength and programmable amplitude modulation are achieved by precision setting of the time delay between two original pulses.     

Tunable, high-repetition-rate, femtosecond pulse generation in the ultraviolet

We report efficient generation of tunable femtosecond pulses in the ultraviolet (UV) by intracavity doubling of a visible femtosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The OPO, based on a 400 microm BiB3O6 crystal and pumped at 415 nm in the blue, can provide visible femtosecond signal pulses across 500-710 nm. Using a 500 microm crystal of beta-BaB2O4 internal to the OPO cavity, efficient frequency doubling of the signal pulses into the UV is achieved, providing tunable femtosecond pulses across 250-355 nm with up to 225 mW of average power at 76 MHz. Cross-correlation measurements result in UV pulses with durations down to 132 fs for 180 fs blue pump pulses.     

High repetition rate femtosecond WDM pulse generation using direct space-to-time pulse shapers and arrayed waveguide gratings

For the application of high repetition rate wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) pulse train generation from a femtosecond modelocked fiber laser, the direct space-to-time pulse shaper and a properly designed arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) are equivalent. The analogy between the bulk optics and integrated configuration is explored for this application. The critical design parameters of the AWG are the free spectral range and the pathlength difference between adjacent guides in the array.     

Strain field manipulation in ultrafast laser inscribed BiB3O6 optical waveguides for nonlinear applications

A novel technique was used to control the spatial overlap of the orthogonal linearly polarized waveguide modes in ultrafast laser inscribed BiB(3)O(6) waveguides. We report that the strain fields induced by the expansion of material in the laser focus can be considered independently in the design of "type II" waveguides guiding orthogonal linearly polarized light. The waveguide with the optimal mode overlap was used for type I birefringently phase-matched second-harmonic generation of a continuous wave laser source at 1047 nm.     

Piezoelectric and elastic properties of the nonlinear optical material bismuth triborate, BiB3O6

Piezoelectric, pyroelectric, dielectric, elastic and thermoelastic properties of BiB₃O₆, point group symmetry 2, are reported. The eight independent components of the piezoelectric tensor could be derived from first-order longitudinal and transverse electrostrictive effects, employing a Michelson interferometer. For the determination of the elasticity tensor ultrasonic resonances of plane-parallel plates of different orientations and, in addition, the resonant ultrasound spectra (RUS) of rectangular parallelepipeda were measured. For the evaluation of the elasticity tensor from these resonant frequencies the piezoelectric coupling had to be taken into account. BiB₃O₆ exhibits a maximum longitudinal piezoelectric effect of 39.5×10^-12 mV^-1 along the twofold axis, a value about 17 timeslarger than that of α-quartz. The longitudinal elastic stiffness attains a minimum of about 5×10¹⁰ N m^-2 along the same direction and a maximum perpendicular to the twofold axis of about 33×10¹⁰ N m^-2, one of the largest elastic anisotropies observed in ionic crystals. This behaviour corresponds to the earlier observed extreme anisotropy of thermal expansion. The phenomena can be qualitatively interpreted by structural details, especially the preferential orientation of the lone electron pair of Bi³⁺. PACS 62.20.Dc; 77.65.Bn; 77.70.+a     

差频产生中红外飞秒激光脉冲的研究进展

中红外飞秒激光脉冲在科研、民用及军事等方面都有重要的应用,文章回顾了产生中红外飞秒激光脉冲的几种方法,结合差频法产生中红外飞秒脉冲的优点,详细介绍了差频产生中红外飞秒激光脉冲的研究进展,最后进行了总结和展望.     

差频产生中红外飞秒激光脉冲的研究进展

中红外飞秒激光脉冲在科研、民用及军事等方面都有重要的应用,文章回顾了产生中红外飞秒激光脉冲的几种方法,结合差频法产生中红外飞秒脉冲的优点,详细介绍了差频产生中红外飞秒激光脉冲的研究进展,最后进行了总结和展望.     

Continuum generation of the third-harmonic pulse generated by an intense femtosecond IR laser pulse in air

The continuum generation by intense femtosecond IR laser pulses focused in air including the effect of third-harmonic generation is investigated. We have used a theoretical model that includes the full spatio-temporal dynamics of both the fundamental and the third-harmonic pulses. Results of our numerical calculations show that a two-color filamentation effect occurs, in which the third-harmonic conversion efficiency remains almost constant over the whole filament length. It is found that this effect is rather independent of the wavelength of the input beam and the focal geometry. During the filamentation process the third-harmonic pulse itself generates a broad continuum, which can even overlap with the continuum of the fundamental pulse for the longer pump wavelengths. In consequence, the continuum generation generated by intense IR laser pulses is further extended into the UV. PACS 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Ky; 52.35.Mw     

低对称性非线性光学晶体硼酸铋(BIBO)的1064nm三倍频性质

采用高温溶液法成功生长出高光学质量的硼酸铋 (BIBO)晶体 ,尺寸达到 2 4mm× 19mm× 35mm ,质量为4 8g。对BIBO晶体进行了定向 ,并测量了该晶体的主轴折射率。讨论了BIBO晶体的 10 6 4nm三倍频性质 ,包括相位匹配角、有效非线性光学系数deff、容限角、走离角等。结果表明 ,BIBO晶体的最佳三倍频方向为 (137.7°,130°) ,其有效非线性光学系数值达到 3.6 0 pm/V ,属I类相位匹配。就主平面内的相位匹配方向而言 ,(14 6 .4°,90°)具有最大的有效非线性光学系数值 ,为 3.16pm/V。在 10 6 4nm的腔外三倍频实验中 ,(14 6 .4° ,90°)BIBO晶体的转换效率达到 39.5 % ,角度容限半宽为 0 .2 2mrad·cm ,该数值与 0 .175mrad·cm的计算值基本符合。由于(33.6°,90°)BIBO晶体的有效非线性光学系数较小 (0 .31pm/V) ,其三倍频转换效率小于 5 %。     

Improvement of the fiber raman soliton laser for femtosecond optical pulse generation

Femtosecond optical pulses generated from a synchronously pumped fiber Raman soliton laser (FRASL) have been shown to have large excess noise and high background light (i.e., the pedestal) levels. In this paper, to improve the FRASL, the operation characteristics of the FRASL are investigated both theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that real femtosecond soliton oscillation in the FRASL can be obtained only when the soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) effect in the fibers is suppressed and proper choices of both the Stokes oscillation wavelength and the pump power level are required for the SSFS suppression in the FRASL. By using a tunable all-fiber Raman ring laser, optical pulses as short as 400 fs with a low white AM noise level of -120 dBc / Hz have been generated from the compact FRASL with SSFS suppression. Based on the theoretical analyses, we propose to use an intracavity saturable absorber to prevent the generation of high-level Stokes background light in the FRASL, and the feasibility of this method is shown by numerical simulations.     

Wavelength-tunable multicolored femtosecond laser pulse generation in a fused silica glass plate

We obtained an array of multicolored femtosecond laser pulses with as many as 17 different colors that are spatially isolated. The mechanism of generation was proved to be cascaded four-wave mixing and with the following procedure. The output beam from a femtosecond laser was split into two. One of the two beams was pulse-compressed with a hollow core fiber and the intensity of the other was reduced. The two beams were synchronized and combined with a small crossing angle in a plate of fused silica glass plate. The wavelengths of the sidebands are continuously tunable from near-ultraviolet to near-infrared. The pulse duration, spatial mode, spectrum, and energy stability of the sidebands were studied. As many as fifteen spectral up-shifted pulses and two spectral downshifted pulses were obtained with spectral bandwidths broader than 1.8 octaves. Properties such as pulse energy as high as 1 μmJ, 45 fs pulse duration, smaller than 1.1 times of the diffraction limit Gaussian spatial profile, and better than 2% RMS power stability of the generated sidebands make it can be used in various experiments. The characterization showed that the sidebands have sufficiently good qualities to enable application to for various multicolor femtosecond laser experiments, for example, a multicolor pump-probe experiment.