Injection-Seeded 500 Hz Repetition Rate High Peak Power Single-Frequency Nd:YAG Laser for Mid-Infrared Generation

We develop an injection-seeded single-frequency neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser with 500 Hz repetition rate and high peak power. The laser construction is designed as seed injection and master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) including single-frequency master oscillator, extra-cavity frequency doubling crystal, and round-trip power amplifier. The master oscillator can emit 1,064 nm laser of 8.4 mJ with 6.8 ns pulse width at the pump energy equal to 23 mJ. A green laser energy of 1.1 mJ is obtained by setting the proper temperature of the LBO crystal. The pulse energy of 1,064 nm laser decreases to 6.5 mJ after passing through the LBO crystal and rises to 25.3 mJ after a round-trip power amplifier corresponding to the extraction efficiency of 29%. The final output pulse width is 6.5 ns, representing a peak power of 3.9 MW. The 1,064 nm laser beam quality factor M² of the master oscillator and the amplified one are 1.3 and 1.5, respectively. The laser will be used to generate mid-infrared where the 532 nm laser with narrow pulse width is to pump sheet optical parametric oscillator (OPO) and the 1,064 nm laser with high peak power to pump the OPO.     

High peak power eye-safe intracavity optical parametric oscillator pumped by a diode-pumped passively Q-switched ND:GGG laser

By exploiting the diode-end-pumped Nd:GGG/Cr⁴⁺:YAG laser as the pump source, a high peak power gray-trace resistance KTP intracavity optical parametric oscillator at eye-safe wavelength was first demonstrated (to our knowledge). Under the incident diode power of 10 W, the maximum average output power of 320 mW at 1567 nm was obtained with the T = 33% output coupler. The corresponding signal pulse width and repetition rate were respectively 1.4 ns and 5.8 kHz. Due to the greatly reduced pulse repetition rate and short pulse width, the signal peak power was estimated to be as high as 39.4 kW.     

脉冲单频Nd:YVO4激光器及其倍频输出特性研究

为了研制激光干涉成像所需的主振荡功率放大(MOPA)结构脉冲单频激光器,本文完成MOPA激光器的种子源即声光调Q脉冲单频1 064 nm激光器的特性研究,同时完成种子源腔外倍频绿光特性研究。脉冲单频激光器采用声光调Q模块实现脉宽约20 ns的1 064 nm脉冲激光输出,采用环形腔设计并采用一组不同厚度的标准具实现单纵模运转。实验研究基频1 064nm和倍频532 nm激光脉冲的线宽,得出在全脉宽范围内都具有较高时间相干性的结论。实验分别获得脉宽约28 ns峰值功率约6.5 kW的1 064 nm脉冲单频激光和脉宽约20 ns、峰值功率约0.5 kW的532 nm脉冲单频激光,腔外倍频效率为5.6%。实验同时也验证了腔外倍频的激光脉宽压缩效应。     

紧凑型LD端面抽运Nd:YAG内腔三倍频准连续355 nm紫外激光器

报道了一台LD端面抽运Nd:YAG晶体内腔三倍频355 nm激光高效率、高峰值功率准连续输出的全固态紫外激光器.激光腔采用紧凑型平平直腔,腔长仅106 mm.当注入抽运功率为5.73 W、重复频率为9 kHz时,获得163 mW的355 nm激光准连续输出,光光转换效率达到最高2.84％.当注入抽运功率为6.7 W重复频率为5 kHz时,获得最高174 mW的355 nm激光准连续输出,输出功率短期不稳定性为5％,光束质量因子M²为3.79.当注入抽运功率为5.73 W、重复频率为2 kHz时,获得112 mW的355 nm激光准连续输出,峰值功率最高达到9.15 kW.通过采用内腔倍频技术和设计合理的腔结构,实现了中小功率准连续输出的全固态紫外激光器的小型化、便携化,进一步拓宽了紫外激光器的应用领域. 关键词： LD端面抽运 内腔三倍频 Q')" href="#">声光调Q 紫外激光     

二极管泵浦被动调Q Nd:YAG/ KTP绿光激光器

报道了LD泵浦的Nd:YAG/KTP/Cr:YAG结构被动调Q绿光激光器.当注入泵浦功率为750mW时,获得了平均功率38mW,脉冲宽度14.7ns,重复频率20.4kHz,峰值功率126.6W的调Q绿激光输出.     

400-Hz pulsed single-longitudinal-mode Nd:YAG laser with more than 100-mJ pulse energy and good beam quality

An all solid state master-oscillator-power-amplifier laser system was experimentally investigated using a pulsed-diode-pumped single-longitudinal-mode Nd:YAG laser as a master oscillator. The system was operated with 400 Hz pulse repetition rate. The amplifiers contain a pre-amplifier and a power amplifier. A specially designed large aperture tapered fiber as a solid state phase conjugation mirror was used in the power amplifier to improve the beam quality. The maximum pulse energy of 101 mJ is obtained after double-pass amplification. The pulse duration is less than 6 ns. The corresponding peak power reached 16.8 MW for each single pulse.     

Diode-pumped Nd:YLF slab master oscillator power amplifier laser system with 655 m J output at 50 Hz repetition rate

A laser-diode-pumped high-pulse-energy Nd:Li YF4 master oscillator power amplifier 1053 nm laser system is demonstrated. We design a home-made pump module to homogenize the pump intensity through the ray tracing method. To increase the extraction efficiency, the pre-amplifier adopts a double-pass amplification structure. At a repetition rate of 50 Hz, 655 m J pulse energy and 12.9 ns pulse width of 1053 nm laser is obtained from the master oscillator power amplifier system. The corresponding peak power is 51 MW. The optical-to-optical efficiency of the system is about 9.7%.     

Intracavity optical parametric oscillator pumped by an actively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

A non-critically phase-matched KTiOPO₄ optical parametric oscillator (OPO) intracavity pumped by a laser diode end-pumped acousto-optically Q-switchedNd:YAG laser is experimentally demonstrated. The highest average power is obtained at the pulse repetition rate (PRR) of around 15 kHz, which is different from the widely reported Nd:YVO₄ laser pumped OPO in which the highest average power is obtained at a very high PRR, e.g. 80 kHz. With an incident laser diode power of 6.93 W and a pulse repetition rate of 15 kHz, an average signal power of 0.72 W is obtained with a peak power of 7.7 kW and an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 10.4%. PACS 42.65.Yj; 42.60.Gd; 42.55.Xi     

All-fiber passively mode-locked laser oscillator at 1.5 microm with watts-level average output power and high repetition rate

We report on a passively mode-locked all-fiber laser oscillator at 1.5 microm based on heavily doped phosphate-glass active fiber. An active fiber only 20 cm long is sufficient to produce as much as 2.4 W of average output power directly from the oscillator. The width of the mode-locked pulses varies from 8 ps at the lowest output power in the mode-locked state to 44 ps at the highest power. Our picosecond laser oscillator features a high repetition rate of 95 MHz and high peak pulse power of approximately 540 W. The oscillator combines the convenience of all-fiber construction with power performance that was previously achievable only with mode-locked bulk-optic laser oscillators or more complex systems involving fiber amplifiers.     

Tunable, low-repetition-rate, cost-efficient femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser for nonlinear microscopy

We report on a broadly tunable, long-cavity Ti:sapphire laser oscillator being mode-locked in the net negative intracavity dispersion regime by Kerr-lens mode-locking, delivering τ _FWHM<300 fs pulses at 22 MHz repetition rate. The wavelength of the laser can be tuned over a 170 nm wide range between 712 nm and 882 nm. Having a typical pump power of 2.6 W, the maximum pulse peak power is 60 kW. Comparison of the reported laser with a standard, 76 MHz Ti:sapphire oscillator regarding two-photon excitation efficiency in a laser scanning microscope shows that the 22 MHz laser generates the same fluorescence signal at considerably, 1.82 times lower average power, which is expected to result in a reduced photothermal damage probability of biological samples. This fact along with the broad tunability and a low pump power requirement makes this cost-effective laser an ideal light source for nonlinear microscopy.     

An efficient intracavity-pumped KTP optical parametric oscillator at 1572 nm

We demonstrate an efficient and eye-safe wavelength intracavity optical parametric oscillator (OPO),based on a KTP crystal inside a Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser end pumped by a fiber-coupled diode laser. Inthe acousto-optic Q-switched operation with the pulse repetition rate of 10 kHz, a 1572-nm eye-safe laser with the average power of 237 mW at the incident pump power of 5.64 W is obtained. Under the pulse repetition rate of 5 kHz, the signal light with pulse width of 2 ns and peak power of 18.5 kW is achieved.The conversion efficiency of the average power is 4.2% from pump diode to OPO signal output and thesignal pulse duration is about 13 times shorter than that of the depleted pump light.     

AOM fourfold pass for efficient Q-switching and stable high peak power laser pulses

We report on a scheme for efficient acousto-optical Q-switching. A flash lamp pumped Nd:YAG oscillator with an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) fourfold pass configuration is presented. The setup combines two important advantages: enhancement of the diffraction efficiency by additional AOM passes and a compact oscillator design in spite of an extension of the optical path length. A flash lamp pumped oscillator with an average output power of 7 W and a beam quality of M² = 1.2 is developed. The system operates with a 100 Hz repetition rate for the flash lamps. In each pumping pulse a pulse train of 1 up to 40 Q-switched laser pulses is generated. The pulse duration is from 15 to 120 ns. In comparison to a former setup (AOM double pass) the AOM fourfold pass configuration allows single pulses with energy above 20 mJ and a pulse peak power of more than 1 MW. In addition, the beam profile is improved due to a better separation of the incident and diffracted beam caused by the AOM. The laser is dedicated as master oscillator in a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system where pulse peak powers in the MW range should be achieved.     

The self-injected XeCl excimer laser

We present experimental and modelling results of the first self-injected excimer laser. The intracavity losses of a XeCl oscillator are properly modulated by a Pockels cell allowing generation, amplification and extraction of short laser pulses with selectable duration in the range of 1–12 ns, tailored temporal profile and peak power increment up to a factor of three. Longer output laser pulses, up to 100 ns, can be obtained by slicing the intracavity laser radiation without peak power increment. Laser output peak powers in excess of 2 MW have been obtained, with remarkable reproducibility characteristics.ENEA fellow     

基于光纤中超短脉冲非线性传输机理与特定光谱选择技术的多波长飞秒激光的产生

高集成、高可靠性宽调谐飞秒激光源在超快光谱学、量子光学及生物成像等研究与应用领域具有重要价值.如在生物多光子显微成像中,具有适中能量的宽调谐飞秒激光源不仅可满足多种生物组织荧光激发所需的峰值功率与激发波长,而且也可以显著提升非线性荧光产生效率、成像分辨率以及增大成像穿透深度.采用自主研发的高可靠性全保偏光纤飞秒激光器作为抽运源,基于低色散光纤中高峰值功率飞秒激光脉冲非线性传输引起的光谱加宽机制,本文开展了多波长全光纤飞秒激光产生技术研究.通过采用中心波长在980, 1000,1050, 1070与1100 nm的带通滤波片选择性地对单模光纤输出光谱中最左边与最右边光谱旁瓣进行滤波,在上述中心波长处分别可获得203, 195, 196, 187与194 fs的激光输出.本文提出的基于全光纤飞秒激光脉冲在单模光纤中非线性传输引起的光谱加宽机制与特定光谱选择技术的实验方案为高集成、高可靠性宽调谐飞秒激光源的实现提供了新的研究途径.     

Directly diode-pumped high-energy Ho:YAG oscillator

We report on the high-energy laser operation of an Ho:YAG oscillator resonantly pumped by a GaSb-based laser diode stack at 1.9 μm. The output energy was extracted from a compact plano-concave acousto-optically Q-switched resonator optimized for low repetition rates. Operating at 100 Hz, pulse energies exceeding 30 mJ at a wavelength of 2.09 μm were obtained. The corresponding pulse duration at the highest pump power was 100 ns, leading to a maximum peak power above 300 kW. Different pulse repetition rates and output coupling transmissions of the Ho:YAG resonator were studied. In addition, intracavity laser-induced damage threshold measurements are discussed.     

High-power diode-pumped Yb3+:CaF2 femtosecond laser

We report what is believed to be the first demonstration of a high-power passively mode-locked diode-pumped femtosecond laser based on an Yb3+:CaF2 single crystal, directly pumped by a 15-W fiber-coupled laser diode. With a 5-at. % Yb3+ -doped sample and prisms for dispersion compensation we obtained pulses as short as 150 fs, with 880 mW of average power and up to 1.4-W average output power, with a pulse duration of 220 fs, centered at 1049 nm. The laser wavelength could be tuned from 1040 to 1053 nm in the femtosecond regime. Using chirped mirrors for dispersion compensation, the oscillator provided up to 1.74 W of average power, with a pulse duration of 230 fs, corresponding to a pulse energy of 20 nJ and a peak power of 85 kW.     

LD-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser at 1342 nm with high initial transmission V:YAG saturable absorber

We have realized, for the first time to our knowledge, the passive Q-switching operation of an LD-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ laser at 1342 nm with V:YAG saturable absorber of initial transmission as high as 96%. This laser is investigated under different transmissions of the output coupler. The dependences of average output power, pulse width, pulse repetition rate, single-pulse energy and peak power on incident pump power are also measured. The shortest pulse width of 80 ns, the maximum single-pulse energy of 19.5 μJ and the highest peak power of 244 W are obtained with the output coupler of T = 15% and the pump power of 7.93 W. We find a special experimental phenomenon that the pulse repetition rate begins to drop after reaching the peak with the increase of the pump power. This phenomenon is analyzed and the theoretical calculations are consistent with the experimental results.     

采用多通腔望远镜谐振腔结构的10MHz重复频率飞秒钛宝石激光器特性研究

通过在钛宝石激光腔内引入望远镜长腔系统增加腔长,实现了重复频率低到10?MHz的飞秒激光振荡,在5?W的抽运功率下获得了平均输出功率200?mW、单脉冲能量20?nJ的稳定输出. 在此基础上分析了腔内不同色散情况下的输出脉冲光谱和脉宽特性,结果表明在腔内存在一定负色散的情况下,锁模脉宽可接近转换极限,最短脉宽可达56?fs. 而在正色散的情况下,锁模输出的脉宽较宽,并且随着腔内正色散的增多,脉宽可到大于600?fs,锁模光谱也呈马鞍形. 关键词： 钛宝石激光器 飞秒脉冲 低重复频率 望远镜腔     

6.1 MW, 10 kHz Side-Pumped Burst-Mode Nd:YAG Laser

We present a compact high-peak-power, high-repetition-rate burst-mode laser from a master-oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) at 1064 nm for laser-based measurement applications. The oscillator is an 808 nm pulsed laser diode side-pumped acousto-optical (A-O) Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at repetition rates ranging from 10–100 kHz, producing a pulse train with a pulse number of 2–25. The maximum output energy of the oscillator is 15.6 mJ at 10 kHz, whereas it is 1.7 mJ at 100 kHz. After twostage amplifiers, a single-pulse energy of 85.2 mJ with a pulse-width of 14.5 ns is achieved at 10 kHz, which produces a peak power of 6.1 MW. At 100 kHz, the total burst energy reaches 220 mJ with a single-pulse energy of 8.8 mJ in the pulse burst laser system.     

MW级峰值功率掺钛蓝宝石激光振荡器

在常规重复频率77 MHz掺钛蓝宝石飞秒激光器的基础上,通过腔内引入Herriott型多通望远镜系统增加总腔长及对腔内色散的深入分析和实验控制,实现了低重复频率、高脉冲能量飞秒激光振荡的稳定运行.在连续功率8.2 W的532 nm激光抽运下,得到了重复频率11 MHz、单脉冲能量达72.73 nJ、对应峰值功率MW量级的结果.相对80 MHz重复频率下6.25 nJ的单脉冲能量及150 kW的峰值功率,其输出能力提高了约一个量级. 关键词： 飞秒激光 掺钛蓝宝石激光器 低重复频率 MW