A 12.1-W SESAM mode-locked Yb:YAG thin disk laser

Pumped by a 940 nm fiber-coupled diode laser, a passively mode-locked Yb:YAG thin disk oscillator was demonstrated with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror(SESAM). 12.1 W mode-locked pulses were obtained with pulse duration of 698 fs at the repetition rate of 57.43 MHz. Measurement showed that the beam quality was close to the diffraction limit.     

Compact sub-100-fs Nd:silicate laser

We present a compact Nd:silicate laser pumped by a single 1-W high-brightness commercial laser diode that generates pulses as short as 88 fs (nearly Fourier limited) when passively mode-locked with a saturable absorber mirror. We also tested a prismless cavity setup employing a single Gires-Tournois mirror, yielding 100-fs pulses. These setups are significantly simpler and more compact than those reported previously for short pulse Nd:silicate lasers.     

High pulse energy mode-locked multicore photonic crystal fiber laser

A high pulse energy passively mode-locked fiber laser operating in the all-normal dispersion regime is demonstrated. The gain material is an Yb-doped multicore photonic crystal fiber with 18 cores in array-type geometry. Robust and self-starting mode locking is achieved using a fast semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. The laser generates 180?nJ chirped pulses at a 14.48?MHz repetition rate for an average power of 2.6?W. The 1.15?ps output pulses are compressed to 690?fs outside the cavity.     

基于石墨烯的1 064 nm连续锁模超短脉冲激光器

介绍了利用沉积在增透镜上的石墨烯薄膜作为可饱和吸收体、808 nm激光二极管端面泵浦Nd∶YVO4晶体的1 064 nm连续锁模激光输出特性。采用W型折叠谐振腔结构,在808 nm泵浦功率为8.0 W时,有稳定的连续锁模脉冲输出,平均输出功率达到185 mW;当抽运功率增加到16.0 W时,获得了中心波长1 063.4 nm、脉冲宽度为518 fs、重复频率为66.7 MHz、最大平均输出功率为323 mW的百飞秒量级超短脉冲激光输出。实验结果表明:石墨烯具有优良的可饱和吸收性,在1 064 nm波段能够实现高功率、百飞秒量级连续锁模脉冲激光输出。     

Graphene mode-locked femtosecond laser at 2 μm wavelength

We experimentally demonstrated a passively mode-locked femtosecond laser by using a graphene-based saturable absorber mirror (graphene SAM) in the spectral region of 2 μm. The graphene SAM was fabricated by transferring chemical-vapor-deposited, high-quality, and large-area graphene on a highly reflective plane mirror. Stable mode-locked laser pulses as short as 729 fs were obtained with a repetition rate of 98.7 MHz and an average output power of 60.2 mW at 2018 nm.     

Diode-pumped mode-locked femtosecond Tm:CLNGG disordered crystal laser

A diode-end-pumped passively mode-locked femtosecond Tm-doped calcium lithium niobium gallium garnet (Tm:CLNGG) disordered crystal laser was demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. With a 790 nm laser diode pumping, stable CW mode-locking operation was obtained by using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. The disordered crystal laser generated mode-locked pulses as short as 479 fs, with an average output power of 288 mW, and repetition rate of 99 MHz in 2 μm spectral region.     

Use of saturable absorber dyes for self-starting operation of a self-mode-locked Ti:Al2O3 laser

Extremely stable and self-starting operation of a self-mode-locked Ti:Al₂O₃ laser can be achieved by incorporating a jet of dilute saturable absorber in the laser resonator. We have demonstrated a laser which generates pulses as short as 47 fs, with 700 mW average power near 800 nm when pumped by 7 W from an all-lines argon laser. A mixture of saturable absorber dyes starts the mode-locking process but does not restrict the tuning range of the laser. Pulses less than 100 fs in duration are generated at wavelengths between 700 nm and 900 nm with two sets of optics. Pulses of 100 fs from this laser have been compressed to 26 fs with standard fibre-prism techniques.     

High-energy femtosecond Yb-doped fiber laser operating in the anomalous dispersion regime

We report on high-energy ultrashort pulse generation from a passively mode-locked ytterbium-doped large-mode-area photonic crystal fiber oscillator operating in the anomalous dispersion regime. In the single-pulse regime, the laser directly generates 880 mW of average power of sub-500 fs pulses at a repetition rate of 53.33 MHz, corresponding to a pulse energy of 16.5 nJ. Stable and self-starting operation is obtained by adapting the spot size at the saturable absorber mirror to the pulse evolution in the low-nonlinearity fiber. The approach presented demonstrates the scaling potential of fiber based short pulse oscillators towards the microJ-level.     

Optimization of pulse width of double passively Q-switched lasers with GaAs and Cr-doped saturable absorbers

Compared with a single passively Q-switched laser, a double passively Q-switched laser with a GaAs saturable absorber and a Cr⁴⁺-doped saturable absorber can produce more symmetric and shorter pulses with high pulse peak power. New normalized coupled rate equations for a double passively Q-switched laser with both a GaAs saturable absorber and a Cr⁴⁺-doped saturable absorber are solved numerically, where the single-photon absorption (SPA) and two-photon absorption (TPA) processes of GaAs are combined. The Gaussian spatial distributions of the intracavity photon density and the initial population-inversion density are considered. The optimization of a double passively Q-switched laser to obtain the shortest pulse width is performed, and a group of general curves are generated for the first time. The curves clearly show the dependence of the optimal normalized parameters on the parameters of the gain medium, the GaAs saturable absorber, the Cr⁴⁺-doped saturable absorber and the spatial distributions of the intracavity photon density. Sample calculations for a diode-pumped Nd³⁺:YVO₄ laser with both a GaAs saturable absorber and a Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber are presented to demonstrate the use of the curves and the related formulas.     

Highly stable, passively mode-locked fiber laser with low pump power for subpicosecond pulse generation

We present the design of highly stable, passively mode-locked fiber lasers which are based on a simple configuration and require a low pump power for the generation of optical pulses with subpicosecond pulsewidth. Our designed fiber laser uses a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror to realize the self-starting, passive mode locking at a low pump power of 29 mW, with which a stable optical pulse train is obtained at the fundamental repetition rate of 52.5 MHz and the central wavelength of 1557 nm. The output mode-locked optical pulses have a pulsewidth of 881 fs and an average output power of 1.78 mW, respectively.     

Femtosecond laser pulse generation with a fiber taper embedded in carbon nanotube/polymer composite

We propose and demonstrate a new saturable absorber based on a fiber taper embedded in a carbon nanotube/polymer composite. Greater than a 10% reduction in absorption (due to saturation) is directly measured for our saturable absorber. Using an embedded fiber-taper saturable absorber, we built an all-fiber mode-locked ring laser, which produces 594 fs/1.7 nJ pulses with a repetition rate of 13.3 MHz.     

Efficient femtosecond Yb:YAG laser pumped by a single-mode laser diode

Single-mode diodes enable a particularly simple, compact and effective pumping of solid-state laser devices for many specialized applications. We investigated a single-mode, 300-mW laser diode for pumping at 935 nm a Yb:YAG laser passively mode-locked by a semiconductor saturable absorber. Relatively short pulse generation (156 fs), tunable across 1033–1059 nm has been demonstrated. An optical-to-optical efficiency of about 28% has been obtained with 320 fs long pulses. Therefore, contrarily to what previously believed, compact diode-pumped ultrafast Yb:YAG oscillators can reliably and efficiently deliver pulses in the range of ≈ 100–200 fs with few tens of mW, which are very appealing for bio-diagnostics and amplifier seeding applications.     

Generation of wide-bandwidth pulse with graphene saturable absorber based on tapered fiber

Wide-bandwidth pulses were generated with a dispersion-managed erbium-doped passively mode-locked fiber laser based on a graphene saturable absorber. The graphene saturable absorber was composed of a tapered fiber deposited with graphene fabricated by liquid-phase exfoliation. The output pulse had a 3-dB bandwidth of 13.6 nm, which is the widest spectrum ever achieved with graphene-tapered-fiber saturable absorbers.     

Compact 10-GHz Nd:GdVO4 laser with 0.5-W average output power and low timing jitter

We demonstrate a compact, diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser with a repetition rate of 9.66 GHz and 0.5-W average output power. The laser is passively mode locked with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM), yielding 12-ps-long sech2-shaped pulses. For synchronization of the pulse train to an external reference clock, the SESAM is mounted on a piezoelectric transducer. With an electronic feedback loop of only a few kilohertz loop bandwidth we achieved a rms timing jitter of 146 fs (integrated from 10 Hz to 10 MHz). This is an upper limit because it is mostly limited by the measurement system. The laser setup with a simple linear cavity has a footprint of only 130 mm x 30 mm.     

High-quality, large-area monolayer graphene for efficient bulk laser mode-locking near 1.25 μm

High-quality monolayer graphene as large as 1.2×1.2?cm² was synthesized by chemical vapor deposition and used as a transmitting saturable absorber for efficient passive mode-locking of a femtosecond bulk solid-state laser. The monolayer graphene mode-locked Cr:forsterite laser was tunable around 1.25?μm and delivered sub-100?fs pulses with output powers up to 230?mW. The nonlinear optical characteristics of the monolayer graphene saturable absorber and the mode-locked operation were then compared with the case of the bilayer graphene saturable absorber.     

Mode-locked fiber laser using an SU8/SWCNT saturable absorber

We report the fabrication of a saturable absorber based on SU8 single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) composite material. Thin films with a controllable thickness can be fabricated using a simple and reliable process. These films can be inserted between two FC/APC connectors in order to have an inline saturable absorber. A passive mode-locked laser was built by interleaving the fiberized saturable absorber in an erbium-doped fiber (L-band) ring cavity laser. The laser produces 871 fs pulses with a repetition rate of 21.27 MHz and a maximum average power of 1 mW.     

High-repetition-rate, 491 MHz, femtosecond fiber laser with low timing jitter

We demonstrate a soliton fiber laser based on an anomalously dispersive erbium-doped fiber butt-coupled to a saturable absorber mirror for passive mode locking. The laser generates 180 fs pulses at a repetition rate of 491 MHz and exhibits a timing jitter as low as 20 fs over the frequency range 1 kHz-10 MHz.     

Diode-pumped passively mode-locked femtosecond Yb:CTGG laser

A diode-pumped passively mode-locked Yb:CTGG disordered crystal laser has been demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. With a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror for passive mode locking and two Gires–Tournois interferometer mirrors for dispersion compensation, pulses as short as 389 fs at a repetition rate of 45 MHz were obtained at the central wavelength of 1,037.8 nm. The maximum average power was 420 mW, corresponding to pulse energy of 9.3 nJ and peak power of 24 kW.     

Femtosecond mode-locked holmium fiber laser pumped by semiconductor disk laser

We report on a 2085 nm holmium-doped silica fiber laser passively mode-locked by semiconductor saturable absorber mirror and carbon nanotube absorber. The laser, pumped by a 1.16 μm semiconductor disk laser, produces 890 femtosecond pulses with the average power of 46 mW and the repetition rate of 15.7 MHz.     

Diode-pumped passively mode-locked Yb:LSO/SESAM laser

Diode-end-pumped passively mode-locked Yb³⁺:Lu₂SiO₅ (Yb:LSO) lasers both in the picosecond and the femtosecond regimes were demonstrated in this paper. The mode-locked lasers were initiated by using of semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAM). In the absence of intra-prisms for pulse compression, the laser emitted 1.6 W of output power with pulses width of about 4.3 ps. A pair of SF10 prisms was inserted into the laser cavity, pulses as short as 699 fs was generated around a center wavelength of 1043.6 nm with an average output power of 800 mW and a peak power of 11.0 kW.