Compact TEM<Subscript>00</Subscript> grazing-incidence Nd:GdVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser using a folded cavity

A compact diode-side-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ laser system using a folded cavity and grazing-incidence configuration is presented. The highest multimode output power obtained was 21.8 W at 36 W of effective diode pump power. Highest optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 61.5% was achieved at 33 W of effective diode pump power with 20.3 W of multimode output power. For single-mode TEM₀₀ operation, an intracavity telescope was adopted for mode matching in the horizontal direction. Because of the folded cavity and the intracavity telescope, this laser head was the most compact to our knowledge of the TEM₀₀ grazing-incidence laser geometry. At last, an output power of 15 W was produced at 36 W of effective diode pump power. The stable Q-switching operation was also obtained. PACS 42.55.-f; 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Gd     

Axial mode tuning of a single frequency Yb:YAG thin disk laser

We describe an arrangement for an Yb:YAG thin disk laser, which enables narrow bandwidth operation in single-frequency mode at freely selectable wavelengths within the broad tuning range of the laser. This is facilitated by a combination of a double-stage birefringent filter and an etalon inside the laser cavity. We investigate the wavelength selection characteristics of the single elements as well as their combination. A simple procedure is implemented for a computer-based automation of wavelength tuning. The reflectivity of the partially reflecting resonator mirror is optimised, and the laser pump power is adapted for best tuning performance. Single-frequency emission is achieved in a frequency range of 9.75 THz (wavelength range 1020 nm to 1055 nm). Each axial laser mode in this range can be selected individually. The axial mode separation of 0.47 GHz corresponds to wavelength steps of 1.7 pm at 1030 nm. PACS 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Fc; 42.60.Lh     

Tunable L-band erbium-doped fibre ring laser by means of induced cavity loss using a fibre taper

In this paper, we present a continuous-wave tunable fibre ring laser operating in the L-band. A bi-directional pumped L-band erbium-doped fibre amplifier provides gain to the loop. Tunability is achieved by bending a single-mode fibre taper using a micrometer drive, controlling in this way the spectral cavity losses. Laser emission is achieved between 1587 and 1606 nm, and low variation of the output laser power is observed over all the tuning range. PACS 42.55.Wd; 42.60.Da     

Model of pulsed Nd:GSAG laser at 942?nm considering rate equations with cavity structure

The laser resonator structure and beam diameter change with the pump power due to the thermal lens effect. This influences the output power. With increasing pump power, the output power sharply decreases when the cavity becomes unstable. In order to describe this situation, rate equations considering the cavity structure and the thermal lens effect are presented; numerical methods are used to solve them. This modeling can be used in repetitively pulsed laser systems when the thermal lens depends on the average pump power, while the peak value of the output power and pump power are considered by the rate equations. Experiments are performed with 50 Hz LD diode pumped Nd:GSAG laser crystal operating at the quasi-three-level laser transition with 942 nm wavelength. Fitting the calculated results to experimental data allows to determine the cavity loss. PACS  42.55.Xi; 42.60.Da     

Diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:GdVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser with a GaAs saturable absorber mirror

We report on a diode end-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:GdVO₄ laser. By using a GaAs wafer simultaneously as the saturable absorber and the output coupler, stable continuous-wave mode locking was achieved. The pulse width was measured to be 18.9 picoseconds at a repetition rate of 370 MHz. The most remarkable property of the laser is that its repetition rate can be changed from 370 MHz to 3.348 GHz by simply changing the cavity length. An average output power of 3.46 W at a 3.348 GHz repetition rate was obtained with a 14 W pump power. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a passively mode-locked Nd:GdVO₄ laser using a GaAs wafer as the saturable absorber. PACS 42.55.Rz; 42.60.Fc; 42.55.Xi.     

Multiwavelength Raman fiber lasers with equalized peak power using a sampled chirped fiber Bragg grating

Two novel multiwavelength Raman fiber lasers using a ring cavity and a linear cavity are proposed and demonstrated experimentally. Both laser configurations include a sampled chirped fiber Bragg grating used in the reflection mode. By adjusting the polarization controller (PC) in the cavities, up to ten stable lasing wavelengths with 0.8 nm spacing and equalized peak power are achieved at room temperature. It is observed that the output spectrum depends upon which port of the grating is connected to the cavity. These two fiber ring lasers offer advantages such as, stable room temperature operation, simple structure, low loss, multiwavelength lasing lines with moderate output power. PACS 42.55.Wd; 42.55.Ye; 42.81.-i     

Broadly tunable multiwavelength Brillouin-erbium fiber laser using a twin-core fiber coupler

A tunable multiwavelength Brillouin-erbium fiber laser (MW-BEFL) using a twin-core fiber (TCF) coupler is proposed and demonstrated. The TCF coupler is formed by splicing a section of TCF between two single-mode fibers. By simply applying bending curvature on the TCF coupler, the peak net gain is shifted close to the Brillouin pump (BP), which has advantage for suppressing self-lasing cavity modes with low-BP-power injection. In this work, the dependency of the Stokes signals tuning range on the free spectral range (FSR) of TCF coupler is studied. It is also found that the tuning range of MW-BEFL can exceed the FSR of TCF coupler by adopting proper BP power and 980-nm pump power. Up to 40 nm tuning range of MW-BEFL in the absence of self-lasing cavity modes is achieved.     

Littrow-type discretely tunable, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser around 1.3 μm

An all-solid-state, side diode array pulse pumped Nd:YAG laser tunable for six wavelengths ranging from 1318.8 nm to 1356.0 nm is developed. The tunability is obtained by using a grating in Littrow mode that also serves as an output coupler. The configuration ensures a line width as low as 0.04 nm. Thermal effects limit the maximum average power to 250 mW for an average absorbed pump power of 8.0 W in the free-running condition. An acousto-optic Q-switching of the laser provides pulses of width 251 ns with peak power of 733 W for an average pump power of 11.5 W. The laser may find application in microsurgery and dermatology. PACS 42.55.Xi; 42.60.-v; 42.60.Fc; 42.60.Gd; 42.62.Be     

Numerical simulations of pulsed and quasi-cw regimes of synchronously pumped Raman oscillators

Synchronously pumped Raman oscillators allow for an efficient frequency conversion of pump pulses whose power is well below the threshold for extracavity stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). Numerical simulations show that the cavity mismatch of pump laser and Raman oscillator is critical for maximum conversion efficiency and minimum pulse duration for transient and stationary SRS. At a certain mismatch the simulations predict a quasi-cw Raman oscillator output even at moderate cavity quality factors. Optimum operation conditions are discussed for pump pulse trains of finite lengths. The results of the numerical calculations are in qualitative agreement with a simple phenomenological model. PACS 42.55.Ye; 42.65.Dr; 42.55.Lt     

Tunability range of 245 nm in a diode-pumped Tm:BaY2F8 laser at 1.9 μm: a theoretical and experimental investigation

Extremely wide wavelength tuning ranges of up to ∼300 nm around 1.9 μm are theoretically predicted in a Tm-doped BaY₂F₈ crystal, on the basis of near-infrared measurements of emission and absorption cross sections. A tunability interval of 245 nm, from 1849 nm to 2059 nm, has been demonstrated by room-temperature laser experiments using a 8% Tm-doped crystal. PACS 42.55.Xi; 42.55.Rz; 42.60.Pk; 42.70.Hj; 42.60.Lh     

Tunable all-normal-dispersion Yb-doped mode-locked fiber lasers

We experimentally investigate continuous wavelength tunability in an all-normal-dispersion Yb-doped mode-locked fiber laser with an Yb-doped fiber of a fixed length. The spectral tuning over 46.3 nm, from 1024.5 to 1070.8 nm, is achieved. Spectral dynamics with different pumping levels are demonstrated. The central wavelength of the dissipative solitons shifts 8 nm towards short wavelength with pump power increasing from 168 to 456 mW.     

可调谐光纤环形腔激光器输出特性的理论与实验研究

提出一种简单的理论模型,并通过数值模拟详细研究了可调谐光纤环形腔激光器的输出特性随掺铒光纤长度、输出耦合比、抽运功率、腔内损耗等参量的变化关系.理论分析得到,通过参量优化可以实现在铒离子增益范围内超过130nm带宽(1500—1630nm)的激光输出.实验获得了100nm带宽(15185—16185nm)的可调谐激光输出,激光器输出功率高,信噪比在大部分可调范围内高于60dB,实验结果与理论分析符合得较好 关键词： 掺铒光纤 光纤环形腔激光器 可调谐 光纤珐布里珀罗滤波器     

Ultra-cold atoms in an optical cavity: two-mode laser locking to the cavity avoiding radiation pressure

The combination of ultra-cold atomic clouds with the light fields of optical cavities provides a powerful model system for the development of new types of laser cooling and for studying cooperative phenomena. These experiments critically depend on the precise tuning of an incident pump laser with respect to a cavity resonance. Here, we present a simple and reliable experimental tuning scheme based on a two-mode laser spectrometer. The scheme uses a first laser for probing higher-order transversal modes of the cavity having an intensity minimum near the cavity’s optical axis, where the atoms are confined by a magnetic trap. In this way the cavity resonance is observed without exposing the atoms to unwanted radiation pressure. A second laser, which is phase locked to the first and tuned close to a fundamental cavity mode, drives the coherent atom-field dynamics. PACS 42.50.Vk; 42.55.-f; 42.60.Lh; 34.50.-s     

Lasing threshold of Nd-doped crystal, ceramic, and glass lasers under spatially inhomogeneous diode pumping

The effect of transverse mode locking on the dependence of the threshold pump power on the cavity length in Nd-doped media lasers with longitudinal inhomogeneous diode pumping is experimentally and theoretically studied in the cavity stability region. An essentially nonmonotonic behavior of the dependence of the threshold pump power on the cavity length is detected. The dependences of the threshold pump power on the cavity length are calculated using the method based on the expansion of the complex field amplitude in Laguerre-Gaussian modes of a cold cavity. The best agreement with calculated results is observed for lasers with Nd:YLF active elements.     

Femtosecond optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled KTiOPO(4)

We report a femtosecond optical parametric oscillator based on a periodically poled KTiOPO(4) crystal for which quasi-phase matching is achieved with a 24-microm poling period. The singly resonant parametric oscillator, synchronously pumped by a Ti:sapphire laser at a wavelength of 758 nm, generates a signal at 1200 nm and an idler at 2060 nm. The maximum signal power conversion efficiency of the device is 22% with a pump depletion of 69%. We tune the signal wavelength over a 200-nm band by changing the cavity length. In addition, pump wavelength tuning provides output tunability in the 1000-1235-nm range.     

宽谱可调谐的全固化Cr:LiSAF激光器

报道了调谐范围达130nm的的V型腔端面泵浦全固化Cr:LiSAF激光器。研究了V型腔结构的重要参数,优化了腔型设计以提高激光器的效率。激光器自由运转输出时,斜效率最高达39.2%,泵浦阈值最低为32.8mW。对比分析了双折射滤光片(BF)和棱镜的调谐效果。在腔内插入BF调谐,实现了783~913nm连续可调谐输出,在840nm处获得115mW的最大输出功率,在800~900nm的区间内,输出功率超过80mW。用棱镜作为调谐元件,调谐范围达802~887nm,最大输出功率为6.5mW。从调谐范围和输出功率看,BF的调谐效果更好。     

Wavelength tunable high power laser using a double-clad Er:Yb doped fiber

We experimentally demonstrated a stable, wavelength-tunable fiber laser using a polarization-maintaining, double-clad Er:Yb doped fiber amplifier in the cavity. The output wavelength is tunable over the range from 1535 to 1567 nm using a fixed grating and the dichroic mirror placed on a rotational mount; under rotation of the dichroic mirror the tuning ratio of 50 nm/deg was found. We studied the wavelength tuning range dependence on the amplifier fiber length and achieved a maximal output power of 850 mW. This configuration can be Q-switched for high peak power and its narrow bandwidth is suitable for nonlinear optics applications, such as parametric teraherthz generator.     

High repetition rate, tunable, Q-switched diode pumped Tm:YLF laser

The aim of work was to characterize a simple oscillator consisted of Tm:YLF crystal end-pumped by a fiber coupled diode laser and active Q-switch with tunability option. About 7 W with near 35% slope efficiency was demonstrated in a free-running mode. The divergence angle was about 4.3 mrad and estimated parameter M² < 1.3. Continuous tuning by means of Lyot’s filter, consisted of 2 quartz plates in the range of 1879.0–1939.4 nm with less than 1-nm linewidth, was achieved. For the best case (10-ms pump pulse duration, 42-A pump current corresponding to 266 mJ of pump energy), the Q-switched energy was 10.5 mJ with pulse duration of 22 ns corresponding to near 0.5 MW peak power. The 2.5 W of average power with 12.6-kW peak power and 2000-Hz repetition rate was demonstrated for cw pumping regime.     

Power scaling potential of Yb:NGW in thin disk laser configuration

We report on efficient laser operation of Yb:NaGd(WO₄)₂ (Yb:NGW) in thin disk laser configuration. Using doping concentrations of 10.7 at. % and 15.3 at. % and disk thicknesses between 0.1 mm and 0.4 mm the optimum crystal parameters have been determined. A 0.1 mm thick, 10.7 at. % Yb:NGW disk pumped at 975 nm delivered 18.2 W of output power at 43.6 W of incident pump power with a slope efficiency of 51% and a resulting optical-to-optical efficiency of 42%. Using a 2 mm thick birefringent filter, continuous tuning from 997 nm to 1075 nm has been achieved. PACS 42.55.Rz; 42.60.Lh; 42.70.Hj     

Efficient Yb:KGW lasers end-pumped by high-power diode bars

The laser performance of Yb:KGW under end-pumping with high-power diode bars has been investigated. In one configuration, the pump is delivered through an optical fiber yielding a symmetric but unpolarized pump spot. In the second configuration, the pump is delivered through an optical lens system yielding a polarized but asymmetric pump spot. Both configurations resulted in a maximum optical to optical efficiency of 47% and a maximum power of 12.4 W has been generated with the fiber coupled pump source. The output power was limited by crystal fracture, which occurred at an estimated temperature gradient of 1.2×10⁵ K/m. Thermal lensing and laser tuning characteristics are also investigated. PACS 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Lh