Abstract
Ultrafast laser sources operating in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) region, which contains the characteristic fingerprint spectra of many important molecules and transparent windows of atmosphere, are of significant importance in a variety of applications. Over the past decade, a significant progress has been made in the development of inexpensive, compact, high-efficiency mid-IR ultrafast mode-locked lasers in the picosecond and femtosecond domains that cover the 2.0 μm–3.5 μm spectral region. These achievements open new opportunities for applications in areas such as molecular spectroscopy, frequency metrology, material processing, and medical diagnostics and treatment. In this review, starting with the introduction of mid-IR mode-locking techniques, we mainly summarize and review the recent progress of mid-IR mode-locked laser sources, including Tm3+-, Ho3+-, and Tm3+/Ho3+-doped all-solid-state and fiber lasers for the 2.0 μm spectral region, Cr2+:ZnSe and Cr2+:ZnS lasers for the 2.4 μm region, and Er3+-, Ho3+/Pr3+-, and Dy3+-doped fluoride fiber lasers for the 2.8 μm–3.5 μm region. Then, some emerging and representative applications of mid-IR ultrafast mode-locked laser sources are presented and illustrated. Finally, outlooks and challenges for future development of ultrafast mid-IR laser sources are discussed and analyzed. The development of ultrafast mid-IR laser sources, together with the ongoing progress in related application technologies, will create new avenues of research and expand unexplored applications in scientific research, industry, and other fields.
Highlights
Ultrafast mid-infrared laser sources have recently attracted tremendous interest due to their promising applications in molecular spectroscopy, mid-IR supercontinuum generation, mid-IR frequency combs, material processing, laser surgery, biodiagnostics, etc.[1,2,3] Passive mode locking is a commonly used, straightforward method to generate ultrashort laser pulses in various spectral regions
In this review, starting with the introduction of mid-IR mode-locking techniques, we mainly summarize and review the recent progress of mid-IR mode-locked laser sources, including Tm3þ, Ho3þ, and Tm3þ/Ho3þ-doped all-solid-state and fiber lasers for the 2.0 lm spectral region, Cr2þ:ZnSe and Cr2þ:ZnS lasers for the 2.4 lm region, and Er3þ, Ho3þ/Pr3þ, and Dy3þ-doped fluoride fiber lasers for the 2.8 lm–3.5 lm region
We review the progresses of mid-IR mode-locked lasers in the last decade, including all-solid-state and fiber mode-locked laser sources that operate around the 2.0 lm, 2.4 lm, and 2.8 lm–3.5 lm spectral regions
Summary
Ultrafast mid-infrared (mid-IR) laser sources have recently attracted tremendous interest due to their promising applications in molecular spectroscopy, mid-IR supercontinuum generation, mid-IR frequency combs, material processing, laser surgery, biodiagnostics, etc.[1,2,3] Passive mode locking is a commonly used, straightforward method to generate ultrashort laser pulses in various spectral regions. Less than 10-optical-cycle and even $3-optical-cycle ultrashort pulses have been directly generated in mode-locked laser oscillators around 2.0 lm and 2.4 lm regions, respectively,[15,16] while the wavelength of the mode-locked lasers has been extended to $3.5 lm.[17] These newly developed mid-IR ultrafast laser sources, together with ongoing progress in related technologies, can open new research avenues and offer novel opportunities for applications in scientific research, industry, and other fields.
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