A long-pulse xenon ion laser as a pumping source for dye lasers

A simple xenon ion laser that is either sealed or has a gas flow mode is described. The laser delivered long pulses ( 15 μs) of almost 1 kW peak power. It has been used to pump a dye laser employing the same configuration as cw dye lasers. The system is inexpensive and can be mode-locked, enabling it to yield ultrashort pulses comparable in duration to those delivered by cw argon laser-pumped dye lasers but with much higher peak powers.     

Frequency offsets in frequency-locked semiconductor lasers

A commonly used technique for frequency locking a laser is dithering the laser frequency and monitoring the first derivative of the laser transmission through an absolute reference. In semiconductor lasers, this frequency dithering can be obtained easily by dithering the injection current. However, this dithering also modulates the laser output power. Here we show that this modulation of the laser output power results in an offset of the locked laser frequency from the reference frequency. We derive analytical expressions for these frequency offsets for semiconductor lasers frequency-locked to a Fabry-Perot transmission peak, a Gaussian absorption line, and a Lorentzian absorption line.     

A mode-locked dye laser pumped by a xenon ion laser

Passive mode-locking of a rhodamine 6G dye laser has been achieved, using a pulsed xenon ion laser as a pumping source. A pulse width of 5 ps and a peak power of 4 kW have been obtained. Thermal problems were encountered, which adversely affected the operation of the dye laser. Work is in progress to improve these results.     

用于定向红外对抗的中波红外激光器技术

针对定向红外对抗系统对中波红外激光器在激光波段、激光功率、激光束散角、激光重复频率以及调制波形等方面的具体要求,通过对光泵半导体激光器、量子级联激光器和基于光学参量振荡的固体以及光纤激光器的技术特点与发展现状的分析比较,和对双折射相位匹配与准相位匹配的特点和最新发展动态的梳理,提出用高功率高光束质量的1 064 nm固体激光器或光纤激光器泵浦基于掺氧化镁的周期极化铌酸锂晶体（PPMgLN）的光学参量振荡器的中波红外激光器方案,其波段转换效率可达到16%以上。     

FM dye lasers

We have investigated the detailed operation of a frequency modulated dye laser (FML). The FML consists of a standing wave Rh6G dye laser with an intracavity transverse ADP phase modulator which is driven at a frequency close to the cavity mode spacing. An ideal FML output consists of a laser beam which is constant in amplitude but sinusoidally varying in frequency. This provides a source of many laser modes which are equally spaced by the modulation frequency. Several dye laser configurations have been investigated. Measurements of the mode intensities, total power, amplitude modulation and rf beat amplitudes have been made as a function of the rf driving frequency of the phase modulator. The FM laser obtained has been frequency stabilised by locking it to a reference interferometer and also by frequency offset locking it to a single-frequency dye laser.     

A parametric study of negative feedback Nd:YAG laser

The output pulse parameters of a mode-locked Nd:YAG laser with a passive negative feedback element were studied experimentally. The pulse evolution within the train was experimentally recorded using a modified second harmonic generation autocorrelator. By comparing the laser operation with and without an acousto-optic modulator, we found that with the later there is a significant increase in the mode locking probability and the pulse acquires a temporally Gaussian symmetric pulse shape. Further with the active modulator there is a relaxation in alignment tolerances and increase in the range of permissible dye concentrations for stable mode locking. It was also observed that the pulse width of the negative feedback laser depends on the saturation intensity of the mode locking dye and reduces for a dye with higher saturation intensity. The pulse width was also found to reduce linearly as the initial transmission of the dye is reduced.     

Experimental determination of cw dye laser parameters by loss variation

The behavior of a cw dye laser under variation of the output coupling has been investigated. By studying the dependence of laser threshold, output power and slope efficiency on the degree of outcoupling, numerical values for macroscopic and microscopic laser parameters have been obtained. The macroscopic data comprise values for internal cavity losses and mode matching conditions, the microscopic data refer to molecular parameters of the dye used, such as cross-sections for stimulated emission and triplet-triplet absorption.     

窄线宽纳秒脉冲光纤拉曼放大器的理论模型和数值分析

窄线宽纳秒脉冲光纤拉曼放大器在非线性频率变换、遥感探测和量子信息等领域有广泛的应用前景.综合考虑受激拉曼散射(stimulated Raman scattering,SRS)、受激布里渊散射(stimulated Brillouin scattering,SBS)、自相位调制(self-phase modulation)和交叉相位调制(cross-phase modulation)等非线性效应,建立了窄线宽纳秒脉冲光纤拉曼放大器的非线性动力学模型.仿真分析了放大器中脉冲激光的时频演化特性,对比研究了抽运脉冲宽度、光纤长度和信号光功率等因素对放大器性能的影响.研究发现,上述因素会影响放大器的SRS阈值、SBS阈值、输出激光线宽、激光转换效率等.例如,当脉冲宽度为800 ns时,SBS随着抽运功率的增加而发生,限制了激光功率的提升;减短抽运脉宽可以抑制SBS,但是输出激光的线宽易于展宽到数百MHz以上;增加光纤长度可以获得更低的SRS阈值和更高的转换效率,但是SBS效应和光谱展宽程度也随之增强.系统搭建中需要平衡各非线性效应,选择合适的系统参数.研究内容可以为窄线宽纳秒脉冲光纤拉曼放大器的设计搭建提供参考.     

Gain studies of Coumarin 503 dye-doped polymer laser

Solid-state dye doped polymer is an attractive alternative to the conventional liquid dye solution. In this paper, the laser characteristics of Coumarin 503 (C503) doped polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) rods modified with ethyl alcohol (EtOH) are studied under nitrogen laser excitation in a transverse pumping configuration and the variation of gain of the dye in solid medium for different pumping powers is studied. The gain of Coumarin 503 in solid medium is compared with the gain of Coumarin 503 in liquid medium and it is found that the gain of the dyes in the solid environment is less than that in the liquid environment. The photobleaching of dye in polymer medium under nitrogen laser excitation is also studied by keeping the rod in a fixed position and by rotating the rod about its cylindrical axis. It is found that the photobleaching rate is faster when the rod is in a fixed position.     

液晶相位调控器件的高功率激光应用相关问题

液晶相位调控器件在聚变点火、激光加工、光电对抗、激光雷达、激光通讯、激光防护等高功率激光领域有着非常广泛的应用及应用前景。但受限于构成器件材料自身抗激光损伤能力的限制以及缺乏对高功率激光辐照下液晶相位调控器件相位调控性能退化及损伤特性的系统研究,目前液晶相位调控器件的激光耐受力还难以满足高功率激光系统的应用和发展需求。为指导高激光耐受力液晶相位调控器件的制备工艺优化,对液晶相位调控器件在高峰值和高平均功率激光应用下出现的损伤现象以及性能退化进行了综述,最后对液晶相位调控器件激光耐受力提升方法做了总结和归纳。     

Gain studies of coumarin 307 dye doped polymer laser

Solid state dye doped polymer is an attractive alternative to the conventional liquid dye solution. In this paper the laser characteristics of coumarin 307 (C307) doped polymethyl methacrylate rods modified with dioxane are studied under nitrogen laser excitation in a transverse pumping configuration and the variation of gain of the dye in solid medium for different pumping powers is studied. The photobleaching of dye doped polymer rod is also studied.     

An experimental optimization study for concentration and laser power effects in the fullerene-C60 and azo dye doped guest-host liquid crystal systems

The current-voltage characteristics of a famous guest-host liquid crystal system have been investigated under dark and laser illumination conditions. Dependency of current modulation with respect to concentration and laser power gives some optimization possibilities and estimations on the reorientation mechanisms of the liquid crystals. The current-voltage character of pure E7 is almost unchanged with laser pumping, while the fullerene and dye doping are enhancing effects in their individual and collective usage. The negative resistance effect was observed for some certain concentrations of the dye and C₆₀, and this peculiarity is shown to be switched with laser illumination. The mobility of the doped LC samples was calculated by transient current measurements and its dependency on the dye concentration and the laser power was investigated. It is evaluated that the effect of methyl red is a critical parameter in photoconductivity applications of liquid crystals.     

Optically Injection‐Locked Mid‐IR Quantum‐Cascade Lasers: The Output‐Power–Modulation‐Bandwidth–Noise Trilogy

A comprehensive study on the output power, the modulation response, and the relative intensity noise (RIN) behavior of an optically injection‐locked mid‐infrared quantum‐cascade laser reveals that the modulation bandwidth and the output power are enhanced in the stable locking range, while the RIN of the slave laser is a superposition of the master and slave noise sources. Since the RIN level of the master laser can even take the lead, a design procedure is introduced to improve the main characteristics of a free‐running laser, including the RIN, the photon lifetime, the modulation bandwidth, and the bias current, using facet reflectivity tailoring. A figure of merit is defined and the RIN reduction of about 20 dB Hz^?1 is obtained for very low injection powers compared with the injection‐locked system before the design of master laser.     

19飞秒激光脉冲的产生与测量

本文介绍产生19飞秒激光脉冲的被动锁模四棱镜补偿群速度分散的环型染料激光器的特点;讨论了二次谐波强度自相关法和二次谐波干涉自相关法。用该激光器产生的超短而高稳定的光源对同步扫描条纹相管作了评价。     

Spectral narrowing in a dye laser with non-resonant feedback

The temporal development of the spectral output of a flashlamp pumped dye laser, having non-resonant feedback achieved by means of fibre optics, has been studied using a streak camera. Spectral narrowing from 40 nm (the bandwidth of the spontaneous fluorescence of the system) to 2.5 nm has been observed, with the degree of spectral narrowing depending upon the output power.     

Experimental investigation on chaos generation in erbium-doped fiber single-ring lasers

In this paper,the chaotic behaviors in an erbium-doped fiber(EDF) single-ring laser(EDFSRL) are investigated experimentally by using the loss modulation method.An electro-optic modulator(EOM) made of LiNbO 3 crystal is added to the system.Thus,by changing the modulation voltage and the modulation frequency of the EOM,the freedom of the EDFSRL system is increased.The chaotic characteristics of the system are studied by observing the time series and the power spectra.The experimental results indicate that the erbium-doped fiber single-ring laser system can enter into chaos states through period-doubling bifurcation and intermittency routes.     

水冷10 Hz Yb:YAG激光放大器热管理

为了控制重频放大器的热致波前畸变,设计并加工了均匀冷却的背面水冷激活镜激光放大器,对放大器的热畸变特性开展了实验研究,实验发现在泵浦功率密度较高即重复频率达到10 Hz,平均功率密度达到200 W/cm2时,放大器的热畸变既影响远场分布又对近场产生显著的调制。近场的调制会给放大器带来较大的损伤风险。为了消除热畸变对近场的调制,首先对泵浦强度分布进行了匀化,然后对介质进行了边缘热平衡控制,消除了热畸变引起的近场调制。通过对上述因素的控制,采用水冷激活镜构型的四程放大器实现了在10 Hz频率下良好运行。在没有进行主动补偿的情况下,实现了远场焦斑优于5倍衍射极限的输出。     

ZnS Nanospheres for Optical Modulator in an Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser

Zinc sulfide (ZnS), which belongs to transition metal monochalcogenides, is a semiconductor material with wide direct band gap. It can potentially show some special applications (such as luminescence, phosphor, sensors, infrared window materials, photocatalysis) by changing the morphology, size, and crystal structure of semiconductor materials. However, ZnS nanospheres have not been studied as optical modulators until now. Herein, ZnS nanospheres are synthesized by the hydrothermal method and are used to realize optical modulators in an Er-doped fiber laser. The evanescent field effect is utilized to incorporate the ZnS nanospheres on a tapered fiber. Furthermore, with the increase in pump power, the modulation interval gradually decreases to a minimum of 34.36 ns corresponding to the modulation frequency of 29.1 MHz, which is the highest modulation frequency to our knowledge in a ring cavity all-fiber laser. These results demonstrate ZnS nanospheres together with the interaction of dispersion and nonlinearity in optical fibers can modulate the proposed lasers. This not only provides a new method for controlling the power and frequency of all optical modulators, but also marks an important step for ZnS materials in optics research and device applications.     

The effects of power rippling on CO2 laser cutting

A power rippling method was proposed in this study to improve the cut edge quality by disturbing the natural frequency of the periodic striations in high power C0₂ laser cutting. A pilot study was also designed and set up to examine the power responsibility of the laser system, which is externally controlled by a modulated analogue signal from a signal generator. Several aspects were examined in this study. The effects of different power rippling frequencies on the cut surface roughness is the first such aspect, and the different power modulation depth on cut surface roughness is another. The power rippling shape is the third important parameter examined in this study. It was found that the amplitude and frequency of the striation pattern on the cut surface were significantly affected by the characteristics of the rippling power. Cutting quality can be significantly improved by rippling the laser power.     

Powerful dye laser oscillator-amplifier system for high resolution and coherent pulse spectroscopy

A peak power output of 100 kW in the visible at a linewidth as low as 60 MHz has been generated by using a cw dye laser oscillator followed by three single pass dye amplifier stages (or one double pass stage and one single pass stage), pumped by a single 1 MW nitrogen laser. The very high output power obtained in this laser system may be used to produce coherent ultraviolet pulses by sum or second harmonic generation in non-linear crystals or by third order mixing in atomic vapor.