Analysis of saturable absorbers,interacting with gaussian pulses

Mode-locked lasers, Q-switch systems and discrimination amplifiers make use of saturable absorbers. The interaction of those absorbers with light pulses is well known, either for very long or very short pulses, but not, if the pulse width is comparable with the absorber life time, which occurs very often in experiments. Moreover, the spatial structure of the pulse is mostly not considered. In this paper, we investigate in detail the interaction of gaussian pulses (spatial and temporal) with the two-level-absorber. Energy transmission, pulse shortening and pulse asymmetry are calculated as functions of pulse width and small signal transmission of the absorber.     

Shortening of excimer laser pulses with saturable absorbers

Shortening by a factor of more than five of XeCl laser pulses by a single pass saturable absorber is recorded. The pulse shortening is attributed to the combined action of both nonlinear absorption and stimulated emission from the dye solution.     

Thermal effects in phase-conjugation in saturable absorbers with picosecond pulses

Phase conjugation reflection with efficiencies of 400% for microsecond pulses and ～50% for picosecond pulses has been obtained in saturable absorber dye solutions. The effect of different solvents on the generation of the thermal phase grating involved was investigated.     

Generation of picosecond and subpicosecond light pulses with saturable absorbers

Single light pulses, generated by a mode-locked Nd-glass laser, were shortened with saturable absorbers of low initial transmissionT ₀. The pulse duration was reduced from 8 to 2.6 ps after a single pass through a dye cell ofT ₀=10^–7. Light pulses as short as 0.5 ps were observed after five transits through an absorberamplifier system. Detailed calculations of the stationary and the transient situation (with respect to the dye relaxation time) are presented to demonstrate optimum conditions for the pulse shortening.     

Effective stimulated emission and excited-state absorption cross-section spectra of para-phenylene-ethynylene polymers

The effective stimulated emission cross-section spectra, em,eff(), the stimulated emission cross-section spectra, em(), and the excited-state absorption cross-section spectra, ex()=em()–em,eff(), of the conjugated polymers poly(2,5-dioctadecyloxy-paraphenylene-ethynylene-co-2,5-thienyl) (OPT) and poly(2,5-dioctadecyloxy-paraphenylene-ethynylene-co-2,5-pyridinyl) (OPP) in tetrahydrofuran are determined in the fluorescence region. em,eff() determined by a fluorescence amplification technique is found to be small compared to em() indicating that ex() is nearly as large as em(). The laser excitation to the wide inhomogeneously broadened S1-absorption band leads to the formation of spectrally structured inhomogeneously broadened lattice relaxed exciton conformations extending on average over two monomer units which are thought to be responsible for upper-to-lower-state stimulated emission and lower-to-upper-state (excited-state) absorption.     

Enhancement of temporal contrast of high-power femtosecond laser pulses using two saturable absorbers in the picosecond regime

We characterized the transmission properties of a color-glass-filter (RG850) saturable absorber (SA) in a wide range of pulse durations (from 25 fs to 5 ps). The transmission properties were strongly related to the energy fluence, pulse duration, and chirp parameter. On the basis of these properties, the input pulse duration, chirp parameter, and energy fluence were optimized to maintain the width of the transmitted laser spectrum as much as possible with minimal energy loss. We demonstrated that, by transmitting a positively chirped 2.8-ps laser pulse to two identical SAs at an energy fluence of 15 mJ/cm², the temporal contrast ratio of the main pulse to the amplified spontaneous emission was enhanced by 4 orders of magnitude without any significant energy loss or strong spectral narrowing in a 10-Hz, 100-TW femtosecond laser system.     

Measurement of the background energy content of Nd-glass picosecond pulses with saturable absorbers

The background energy content of a mode-locked Nd-glass laser is determined with photodetectors and saturable absorbers. By comparing the signal height of a fast detector with the readout of an integrating energy meter the noise energy E_u2 outside the rise-time of the fast detector is measured. The background energy E_u1 within the rise-time is analysed by transmission measurements through two subsequent absorber cells. The obtained mean background to pulse energy (and intensity) ratios of ( and indicate a high degree of mode-locking.     

Q switching by saturable absorption in microdroplets: elastic scattering and laser emission

Laser-induced modification of cavity Q's has been achieved in a microdroplet containing a saturable absorber. The elastic-scattering spectra from such droplets for higher incident intensities show that cavity Q's are increased when the absorption is bleached. The lasing spectra from a droplet containing a saturable absorber and laser dye are modified when an intense bleaching field is injected into the droplet cavity after the pump field has initiated the lasing.     

Temporal response of nonlinear transmission in optically thick saturable absorbers and determination of saturable absorption parameters

The temporal response of nonlinear transmission in saturable absorbers is theoretically investigated on the basis of a four-energy-level model including an excited-state absorption, and is experimentally employed for determining saturable absorption parameters in saturable-dye-doped films. The approximation of optically thin absorbers is shown to be inadequate to this end. In theoretical calculations, optically thick saturable absorbers are treated by a set of simultaneous partial differential equations: a rate equation governing the dynamics of population densities of energy levels and a propagation equation governing the propagation of optical fields in the optically thick absorbers. By comparing experimental results with numerical ones, the saturable absorption parameters can be determined on the basis of the intensity dependence of response time. In numerical calculations, the effect of random orientation is also considered for optically anisotropic molecules rigidly fixed in saturable absorbing media. The characterization of the saturable absorption parameters is conducted by using uranine-doped poly(vinyl alcohol) films.     

Reverse saturable absorption and optical limiting in indanthrone dyes

Fluence dependence of transmission in three dyes, viz. indanthrone, dichloroindanthrone and violanthrone, is reported at 532 nm as well as at 1.06 µm. These dyes show optical limiting at both these wavelengths for nanosecond pulses. The limiting is due to the combined effect of reverse saturable absorption from the triplet state and thermal defocussing in the dye solutions.     

Controllable propagation of light pulses in Er-doped fibers with saturable absorption

We report controllable (slow or fast) propagation of low-intensity probe-light pulses through erbium-doped fiber periodically saturated by the synchronized master-pulse sequence. These two pulse sequences could have significantly different carrier wavelengths within the fundamental absorption spectrum 1470-1570 nm of Er(+3) ions. The effect of fractional delay or advancement grew with the fiber optical absorption at the probe wavelength and could be significantly stronger than that at the saturating wavelength. The probe-pulse advancement was observed in the case when the saturating and probe waves were modulated approximately in antiphase. The observed effects are explained in the framework of a simple model of a periodically saturated homogeneously broadened absorption line.     

The effect of thermionic emission on the absorption of ultrashort laser pulses in semiconductors

The interaction between high-power ultrashort laser pulses and the semiconductor surface is considered with allowance for the effect of thermionic emission on the temperature dynamics of the electron and ion subsystems in a semiconductor medium. The parameters of the pulses for which thermionic emission must be taken into account are determined. A computational scheme that makes it possible to solve the problem in the three-dimensional formulation is obtained.     

近相对论强度激光与薄膜靶相互作用中靶厚度对超热电子发射方向的影响

研究了近相对论强度的激光脉冲与薄膜靶相互作用中，靶厚度对超热电子发射方向的影响.实验发现，随着靶厚度的增加，靶后超热电子的发射方向向靶的法线方向移动，同时电子束的发散角变大.结果分析表明，靶背面电荷分离场强度的变化是影响电子发射方向的主要原因. 关键词： 飞秒激光脉冲 超热电子 靶厚度     

Stabilization,attenuation and shaping of picosecond laser pulses by two-photon absorption in dyes

The attenuation of ultrashort laser pulses by two-photon absorption is theoretically described when a dye is used as the absorbing medium. It is shown that two-photon absorption also yields an intensity stabilization of low repetition rate laser emissions without a significant loss of power. Consequently this technique is proposed for pulse attenuation and stabilization near the damage threshold of second harmonic generator crystals, and its performance is theoretically compared with other attenuation methods.     

Study of the broad-band saturable absorption of indocyanine green J-aggregates in polymeric films using 10-fs laser pulses

Thin films of indocyanine green J-aggregates in polymers have been prepared and their saturable absorption properties studied in a high intensity regime using a unique ultrashort pulse Ti:sapphire laser (10 fs) with a very broad bandwidth (over 200 nm at -20 dB). The samples showed a surprisingly high stability to irradiation, strong absorption bleaching, and wavelength dependent differential absorption spectra. PACS 42.70 Jk; 42.65.-k; 78.66.Qu     

Accurate method for the measurement of absorption cross sections of solid-state saturable absorbers

A rigorous approach taking into account both the temporal and spatial distributions of the pulsed probe beam used for transmission measurements of solid-state saturable absorbers is applied to characterise these absorbers accurately. The use of this method can significantly influence the resulting value for the ground-state absorption cross section. It also permits us to avoid the introduction of an artificial excited-state absorption in systems where, according to energy-level diagrams, no such loss should occur. This is illustrated in the case of passive Q-switchers for 1.5-μm lasers such as Co²⁺-doped LaMgAl₁₁O₁₉ and MgAl₂O₄ and Co²⁺- or Cr²⁺-doped ZnSe and ZnS. Received: 21 November 2001 / Revised version: 22 January 2002 / Published online: 14 March 2002     

Mode-locked fiber laser in the C-band region for dual-wavelength ultrashort pulses emission using a carbon nanotube saturable absorber

A saturable absorber is commonly employed to generate an ultrashort laser with a mode-locking scheme. In an erbium-doped fiber laser system, the laser regimes of either 1530 or 1550 nm wavelength are procured based on the absorption profile of the erbium-doped fiber. The absorption of the erbium-doped fiber is designed to emit at both wavelengths by controlling the net gain of the laser cavity. Subsequently, simultaneous erbium-doped fiber laser emission is attained at 1533.5 and 1555.1 nm with the pulse duration of 910 and 850 fs, respectively.Therefore, this work maximizes the output portfolios of a mode-locking fiber laser for dual-wavelength ultrashort pulses emission.     

Ultrashort 1.5-microm laser excited upconverted stimulated emission based on simultaneous three-photon absorption

Simultaneous three-photon excited stimulated emission at (cavityless lasing) approximately 610 nm has been achieved in an organic chromophore solution pumped by approximately 1.5-microm ultrashort coherent radiation. The stimulated emission can be observed only in the forward and backward directions and is characterized by its high directionality and spectral narrowing. The divergence angle for the backward stimulated emission is considerably smaller than that for the forward stimulated emission, which resembles optical phase conjugation.     

Filamentation of interacting femtosecond laser pulses in air

The filamentation of two co-propagated femtosecond (fs) laser pulses in air is studied by numerical simulation. Depending on the different initial separation distances, relative phase shift and crossing angles, simulations show attraction, fusion, repulsion and collision of the two pulses. A long plasma channel can be formed by two in-phase pulses with small separation distance and cross angle. The coupling of two laser beam becomes weaker when the separation distance or cross angle between two beams is larger. In this case, the filamentation of each pulse develops independently. Our simulation results will be helpful for understanding the effect of the initial amplitude and phase modulation of laser pulse on the filamentation characteristics.     

Self-starting stretched-pulse fiber laser mode locked and stabilized with slow and fast semiconductor saturable absorbers

A self-starting stretched-pulse mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser that uses fast and slow semiconductor saturable absorbers is described. By using two absorbers, we obtained reliable operation at a fundamental repetition rate with 250 pJ of pulse energy without multiple-pulse breakup. External chirp compensation was used to compress the highly chirped pulses to durations of 135 fs.