Self-starting mode-locked picosecond Ti：sapphire laser by using of a fast SESAM

A stable continuous wave mode-locked picosecond Ti:sapphire laser by using a fast semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) is demonstrated. The laser delivers pulse width of 20 ps at a central wavelength of 813 nm and a repetition rate of 100 MHz. The maximum output power is 1.34 W with pump power of 7 W which corresponds to an optical--optical conversion efficiency of 19.1%.     

Cleaning of artificially soiled paper using nanosecond, picosecond and femtosecond laser pulses

Cleaning of cultural assets, especially fragile organic materials like paper, is a part of the conservation process. Laser radiation as a non-contact tool offers prospects for that purpose. For the studies presented here, paper model samples were prepared using three different paper types (pure cellulose, rag paper, and wood-pulp paper). Pure cellulose serves as reference material. Rag and wood-pulp paper represent essential characteristics of the basic materials of real-world artworks. The papers were mechanically soiled employing pulverized charcoal. Pure and artificially soiled paper samples were treated with laser pulses of 28 fs (800 nm wavelength) and 8–12 ns (532 nm) duration in a multi pulse approach. Additionally, the cellulose reference material was processed with 30 ps (532 nm) laser pulses. Damage and cleaning thresholds of pure and soiled paper were determined for the different laser regimes. Laser working ranges allowing for removal of contamination and avoiding permanent modification to the substrate were found. The specimens prior and after laser illumination were characterized by light-optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as multi spectral imaging analysis. The work extends previous nanosecond laser cleaning investigations on paper into the ultra-short pulse duration domain.     

Broadband terahertz light source pumped by a 1 μm picosecond laser

We obtained a frequency tunable, low-coherence, picosecond, terahertz (THz) output with a high repetition rate from a picosecond Nd:YVO₄ bounce laser in combination with tandem periodically poled stoichiometric lithium tantalate and 4′-dimethylamino-N-methyl-4-stilbazolium tosylate crystals. The frequency of the THz output was tunable in the range 2.1–7.1 THz with a linewidth of ~3.5 THz at 2.2 THz. The THz output had a maximum peak power of ~180 mW and an average power of ~0.65 μW at 3.9 THz. This system has the potential to realize ultra-high speed, THz coherence tomography.     

Heterogeneous integration of InGaAsP microdisk laser on a silicon platform using optofluidic assembly

Heterogeneous integration of InGaAsP microdisk lasers on a silicon platform is demonstrated experimentally using an optofluidic assembly technique. The 200-nm-thick, 5- and 10-μm-diameter microdisk lasers are fabricated on InP and then released from the substrates. They are reassembled on a silicon platform using lateral-field optoelectronic tweezers (LOET). The assembled laser with 5-μm diameter exhibits a threshold pump power of 340 μW at room temperature under pulse condition. The heterogeneously-integrated InGaAsP-on-Si microdisk laser could provide the much needed optical source for CMOS-based silicon photonics. The small footprint and low power consumption make them attractive for optical interconnect applications. The optofluidic assembly technique enables efficient use of the III–V epitaxial materials in silicon photonic integrated circuits.     

Numerical study of the expansion of metallic vapor plasma by a nanosecond laser pulse

The interaction between a laser-produced aluminum plasma and the ambient air, at a pressure of 173.3 Pa, is studied at the plasma thermalization stage. A two-dimensional approach is developed to solve the Navier–Stokes equations, where a finite volume discretization allows for obtaining a numerical solution. The simulation runs over a time representing 10 μs of plasma expansion. It is shown that the shock and drag models are good approximations for the two successive regimes after the initial strong expansion stage, and the calculation makes evident the plume sharpening on the axial direction before its confinement by the ambient gas, which is in good agreement with the experimental observation.     

Discharge instability induced by external laser preionization of a XeF discharge laser

External-laser-induced preionization of excimer lasers was investigated. A discharge XeF laser was preionized by two different UV lasers [a KrF laser (λ=249 nm) and an ArF laser (λ=193 nm)], and the improvements in performance of the XeF laser were compared. The XeF laser beam profiles were measured by an intensified CCD (ICCD) camera with temporal resolution of 10 ns. Striated XeF laser profiles were obtained with 249 nm laser preionization, whereas there was no striation in the profiles for 193 nm laser preionization. These striations originated from discharge in the XeF laser induced by laser preionization. The influence of excited rare-gas atoms on the discharge instability was examined.     

Analysis of tunable picosecond pulse generation from a distributed feedback Ti：sapphire laser

A distributed feedback Ti:sapphire laser (DFTL) pumped by a 532nm Q-switched pulse is proposed for the generation of tunable picosecond pulses. With coupled rate equation model, the temporal characteristics of DFTL are obtained. The numerical solutions show that the DFTL pulse with a 50-ps pulse duration and as much as 3.SmJ pulse energy can be obtained under 40-m J, 5-ns pulse pumping. The dependence of output pulse width on the laser crystal‘s length, pumping pulse duration, and pumping rate is also discussed in detail.     

Ligand-free gold–silver nanoparticle alloy polymer composites generated by picosecond laser ablation in liquid monomer

Polymer matrix nanocomposites filled with metallic and alloy nanoparticles add functionality in various applications such as optical devices and in the energy sector. However, matrix coupling agents or nanoparticle ligands may be unwanted additives, potentially inhibiting the resulting nanocomposite to be processed by injection molding. The generation of stabilizer-free Au, Ag, and AuAg alloy nanoparticle acrylate composites is achieved by picosecond-pulsed laser ablation of the respective metal target in the liquid monomer. Complementary to laser ablation of the solid alloy, we have alloyed nanoparticles by post-irradiation of Au and Ag colloids in the liquid monomer. The optical properties of the colloidal nanoparticles are successfully transferred to the solid poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix and characterized by their plasmon resonance that can be easily tuned between 400 and 600 nm by laser alloying in the liquid monomer.     

Spatial and temporal study of shock waves generated by laser ablation for Ti target

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57 W, 27 fs pulses from a fiber laser system using nonlinear compression

We report on the generation of 27 fs pulses with an average output power of 57 W and a repetition rate of 78 MHz. The pulses are generated by combining a high average power fiber chirped pulse amplification (FCPA) system with a microstructured large-mode-area fiber for nonlinear compression. The FCPA system delivers 270 fs pulses in a linearly polarized beam with diffraction-limited quality. Nonlinear compression is achieved by launching the pulses into a short (few cm) piece of microstructured fiber and subsequent compression by a pair of chirped mirrors. PACS  42.55.Wd; 42.55.Xi, 42.65.Re     

Gas sensing by tunable multimode diode laser using correlation spectroscopy

A novel method to use multimode diode lasers for gas detection is demonstrated. The relationship between the intensity decay of partially absorbed multiple modes and the target gas concentration is presented. The gas concentration is retrieved by a linear-regression-based procedure applied on simultaneously recorded absorption signals in a dual-beam wavelength-modulation configuration. Signals of non-gas origin or disturbed by interfering gases are effectively eliminated by correlation analysis procedure. Light intensity fluctuations and wavelength shifts due to temperature drift are automatically compensated for. Several absorption signals can readily be obtained within a limited tuning range by overlapping the laser multimode chart with the target gas spectrum. This scheme was applied on the detection of trace acetylene mixed in ambient air, and a sensitivity of 3 ppm was achieved with a 48.5 cm path length. The trade-off between sensitivity and reliability for retrieving gas concentration by multiple absorption signals is also presented.     

Selective ablation of thin SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> layers on silicon substrates by femto- and picosecond laser pulses

The selective ablation of thin (∼100 nm) SiO₂ layers from silicon wafers has been investigated by applying ultra-short laser pulses at a wavelength of 800 nm with pulse durations in the range from 50 to 2000 fs. We found a strong, monotonic decrease of the laser fluence needed for complete ablation of the dielectric layer with decreasing pulse duration. The threshold fluence for 100% ablation probability decreased from 750 mJ/cm² at 2 ps to 480 mJ/cm² at 50 fs. Significant corruption of the opened Si surface has been observed above ∼1200 mJ/cm², independent of pulse duration. By a detailed analysis of the experimental series the values for melting and breaking thresholds are obtained; the physical mechanisms responsible for the significant dependence on the laser pulse duration are discussed.     

Photoinduced multiple microchannels inside silicon produced by a femtosecond laser

Photoinduced multiple microchannels in the interior of silicon produced by an 800-nm femtosecond laser were observed. The multiple microchannels were aligned spontaneously with a period along the propagation direction of the laser beam, which could be attributed to the interface spherical aberration induced due to refractive-index mismatch. We also observed that the depth of the photoinduced microchannels increased with the increase of the laser power. The power dependence of the depth of photoinduced microchannels in silicon was different from that in transparent materials, which probably arose from the competition between self-focusing due to the nonlinear Kerr effect and self-defocusing related to the thermal accumulation in the process of laser irradiation.     

High-pressure studies on electronic and mechanical properties of FeBO3 (B = Ti,Mn, Cr) ceramics – a first-principles study

Using the density functional theory (DFT) method, the electronic and mechanical properties of perovskites FeBO₃ (B = Ti, Mn, Cr) nanostructures were studied in the pressure range of 0–100 GPa. The band structure studies show the change in the band structure upon substitution of different B cation in FeBO₃ perovskite structure. The density of states spectrum gives the perception of change in the electronic properties of FeBO₃ with the substitution of B cation. The bulk, shear and Young's moduli were calculated and an increase in the moduli is noticed. Moreover, the hardness increases under high pressure. The high-pressure studies of FeBO₃ perovskite nanostructures are explored at atomistic level. The findings show that ductility and hardness of FeBO₃ get increased upon an increase in the applied pressure. The substitution of Ti, Mn and Cr on FeBO₃ shows a significant change in the electronic and mechanical properties.     

Theoretical study on the laser gain of a multi-stage dye laser amplifier

Theoretical studies on laser gain of a multi-stage dye laser amplifier are presented in this paper. The resultsshow that the influences of amplified spontaneous emission(ASE)and nonlinear absorption of excited-state on the gain are different for different input laser energies and gains. A threshold input intensityexists for a specific system. If the imput intensity is higher than the threshold, the nonlinear absorptionof excited-state will be the main cause for gain decrease. Otherwise, the ASE is the main cause. A newscheme is proposed to calculate the gain of the amplifier by the comparison of the input intensity with theeffective saturation intensity and the choice of the calculation gain method.     

Influence of consecutive picosecond pulses at 532 nm wavelength on laser ablation of human teeth

The interaction of 40 ps pulse duration laser emitting at 532 nm wavelength with human dental tissue (enamel, dentin, and dentin–enamel junction) has been investigated. The crater profile and the surface morphology have been studied by using a confocal auto-fluorescence microscope (working in reflection mode) and a scanning electron microscope. Crater profile and crater morphology were studied after applying consecutive laser pulses and it was found that the ablation depth increases with the number of consecutive pulses, leaving the crater diameter unchanged. We found that the thermal damage is reduced by using short duration laser pulses, which implies an increased retention of restorative material. We observe carbonization of the irradiated samples, which does not imply changes in the chemical composition. Finally, the use of 40 ps pulse duration laser may become a state of art in conservative dentistry.     

High-efficiency optical compression of Ti:sapphire laser pulses at 800 nm using a silver-coated hollow fiber

A 50 cm silver coated hollow fiber with inner diameter of 250 μm and filled with argon has been used to compress optical pulses from a Ti:sapphire laser at 800 nm. Input pulses with energy of 250 μJ and duration of 110 fs were used and compressed pulses with energy of 220 μJ and duration of 20 fs were generated by using a prism compressor. Numerical and experimental results are compared. There is good agreement between the measured beam diameters of the hollow-fiber output pulse and the calculated values obtained from propagation of the HE₁₁ mode into free space. For comparison, a similar uncoated fused-silica hollow fiber was also used to obtain 20 fs compressed pulses with an energy of 190 μJ. Received: 7 September 2002 / Published online: 26 March 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-780/492-1811, E-mail: mohebbi@ee.ualberta.ca     

465 nm laser sources by intracavity frequency doubling using a 49-edge-emitters laser bar

A compact blue laser was generated by intracavity frequency doubling based on quasi-phase-matched second-harmonic generation (SHG) in a MgO-doped periodically poled lithium niobate bulk crystal. A 49 single-transverse-mode edge-emitters laser bar with antireflective coating was used as a pump source. An optical output power of 1.2?W SHG of blue lights at 465?nm is generated at 45?A injection current, equivalent to an overall wall-plug efficiency of 1.33%.     

Investigation on laser brazing AA6056 Al alloy to XC18 low-carbon steel

Based on the studies of influence of YAG laser heating conditions for Al alloy melt and steel on wettability, the mechanics of the laser overlap braze welding of 6056 Al and XC18 steel sheet has been investigated. Under the temperature range which is above the melting point of the Al alloy and below the melting point of the steel, two dissimilar metals can be joined by means of laser braze welding. There is no crack observed in the joining area, i.e. Al-Fe intermetallic phase (Fe3Al/FeAl/FeAl3/Fe2Al5) layer formed by solution and diffusion between liquid-solid interface. The temperature range can be defined as the process temperatures of laser braze welding of Al-Fe materials. Selecting a higher laser heating temperature can improve the wettability of Al melt to steel surface, but the intermetallic phase layer is also thicker. When the laser heating temperature is so high that the joining surface of steel is melted, there is a crack trend in the joining area.