Amplification Of Femtosecond Pulses Research Articles

Self-frequency-shifted solitons in a polarization-maintaining, very-large-mode area, Er-doped fiber amplifier.

We demonstrate soliton self-frequency-shifted, femtosecond-pulse amplification in a newly-developed, polarization-maintaining, Er-doped, very-large-mode-area fiber amplifier. The PM-VLMA Er fiber had a core diameter of 50 μm, an effective area of ~1050 μm2, and Er absorption of 50 dB/m. The measured birefringence beat length of the PM-VLMA Er fiber was 14.1 mm. The soliton wavelength could be shifted by more than 90 nm. The soliton generation process resulted in remarkably clean, 86 fs pulses with 21 nJ energy at 1650 nm and 244 kW peak power from an all-fiber, fusion spliced system without bulk-optics for pulse compression. The polarization extinction ratio of the soliton was greater than 40 dB, and the M2 was 1.1. The fully polarization-maintaining fiber laser system provides robust and stable soliton generation. Peak-to-peak variation in the soliton wavelength, measured over the course of an hour was only 0.03% and pulse energy variation was only 0.5%.

High-power all-fiber femtosecond chirped pulse amplification based on dispersive wave and chirped-volume Bragg grating.

We report a high-power all-fiber-integrated femtosecond chirped pulse amplification system operating at 1064 nm, which consists of a dispersive wave source, a fiber stretcher, a series of ytterbium-doped amplifiers and a chirped volume Bragg grating (CVBG) compressor. The dispersive wave is generated by an erbium-doped mode-locked fiber laser with frequency shifted to the 1 μm region in a highly nonlinear fiber. With three stages of ytterbium-doped amplification, the average output power is scaled up to 125 W. Through CVBG, the pulse duration is compressed from 525 ps to 566 fs, the average output power of 107 W with a high compression efficiency of 86% is achieved, and the measured repetition rate is 17.57 MHz, corresponding to the peak power of 10.8 MW.

A dual-wavelength amplifier that enables the simultaneous chirped-pulse amplification of femtosecond 1562 nm pulses and continuous wave 1064 nm radiation for applications in difference frequency generation

We present the first demonstration of a chirped-pulse amplification system that enables the simultaneous amplification of femtosecond pulses from the erbium band and continuous wave radiation centered at 1064 nm. The setup generated 470 fs laser pulses, centered at 1562 nm, with an average output power of 590 mW. By exploiting the unique dual-wavelength design an additional gain of 18.08 dB was achieved for the auxiliary 1064 nm seed signal required in the frequency conversion part of the setup. The usability of the constructed source was verified by setting up a difference frequency generation experiment in which the unique characteristics of the mode-locked laser pulses were transferred into the mid-infrared wavelength region.

All-fiber phase-control-free coherent-beam combining toward femtosecond-pulse amplification

Our present work is to develop an all-fiber coherent-beam-combining system that achieves a high-energy femtosecond-pulse fiber laser beyond pulse energy limits due to the nonlinear effects in fiber amplifiers. Coherent-beam combining (CBC) using optical fibers is technically difficult because the optical phases and the polarizations in the optical fibers fluctuate due to disturbances. We developed an all-fiber passive CBC system that does not need to control optical phases and polarizations that achieved a beam-combining efficiency of 95.9%. The combined output changes of the passive CBC system are the less than 1.0% in full width.

Femtosecond wavelength-tunable OPCPA system based on picosecond fiber laser seed and picosecond DPSS laser pump.

We present a compact and stable femtosecond wavelength-tunable optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) system. A novel OPCPA front-end was constructed using a multi-channel picosecond all-in-fiber source for seeding DPSS pump laser and white light supercontinuum generation. Broadband chirped pulses were parametrically amplified up to 1 mJ energy and compressed to less than 40 fs duration. Pulse wavelength tunability in the range from 680 nm to 930 nm was experimentally demonstrated.

Quantum Transmission Line Modeling Method and Its Application to Quantum Dot Amplifiers

In this paper, a new transmission line modeling method is introduced to establish a photon emission model, which is referred to as quantum transmission line modeling method (Q-TLM). Based on Q-TLM, a new model for a quantum dot structure is established, and it was found that Q-TLM can accurately describe the gain and spontaneous emission spectra of quantum dot structures. Furthermore, the Q-TLM method is used to analyze the femtosecond pulse amplification in the quantum dot amplifier in the time-frequency domain. The new modeling technique that combines the quantum statistic and photon-electron interaction process descriptions provides an attractive tool to predict the temporal and spectral performance of semiconductor optical devices.

Wavelength-dependent femtosecond pulse amplification in wideband tapered-waveguide quantum well semiconductor optical amplifiers.

In this paper, we study the wavelength-dependent amplification in three different wideband quantum well semiconductor optical amplifiers (QWAs) having conventional, exponentially tapered, and linearly tapered active region waveguide structures. A new theoretical model for tapered-waveguide QWAs considering the effect of lateral carrier density distribution and the strain effect in the quantum well is established based on a quantum well transmission line modeling method. The temporal and spectral characteristics of amplified femtosecond pulse are analyzed for each structure. It was found that, for the amplification of a single femtosecond pulse, the tapered-waveguide QWA provides higher saturation gain, and the output spectra of the amplified pulse in all three structures exhibit an apparent redshift and bandwidth narrowing due to the reduction of carrier density; however, the output spectrum in the tapered-waveguide amplifier is less distorted and exhibits smaller bandwidth narrowing. For the simultaneous amplification of two femtosecond pulses with different central frequencies, in all the three structures, two peaks appear in the output spectra while the peak at the frequency closer to the peak frequency of the QWA gain spectrum receives higher amplification due to the frequency (wavelength) dependence of the QWA gain. At a low peak power level of the input pulse, the bandwidth of each window in the tapered structure is larger than that of the conventional waveguide structure, which aggravates the spectrum alias in the amplification of femtosecond pulses with different central frequencies. As the peak powers of the two pulses increase, the spectrum alias in the conventional waveguide becomes more serious while there are small changes in the tapered structures. Also, we have found that in the amplification of a femtosecond pulse train, the linear-tapered QWAs exhibit the fastest gain recovery as compared with the conventional and exponentially tapered QWAs.

Analysis of strain effects on the dynamic spectra of a quantum well semiconductor optical amplifier using quantum well transmission line modelling method

This paper studies the strain (i.e. compressive (CS) and tensile (TS)) effects on the dynamic spectra of an amplified femtosecond pulse in a quantum well semiconductor optical amplifier (QW-SOA) using quantum well transmission line modelling (QW-TLM) method. Based on the analysis of band structure, the gain spectrum as well as the spontaneous spectrum of quantum well (QW) in the CS, unstrained (US) and TS are investigated using QW-TLM and it was found that in the CS QW, the magnitude ratio of the gain spectrum and the spontaneous emission spectrum is the largest. Furthermore, QW-TLM is adopted to investigate the dynamic spectral evolution of femtosecond pulse amplification in QW-SOAs and it was found that as the femtosecond pulse approaches the amplifier output, the centre frequency of the amplified femtosecond pulse spectra decreases and its bandwidth decreases. The output spectra of the amplified femtosecond pulse in QW amplifiers under the CS, US and TS cases are compared and the simulation results show that in a CS QW-SOA the spectral shape exhibits the largest magnitude and the smallest fluctuation due to the largest gain and the largest ratio between the gain and noise.

Analytical model for synchronous Raman amplification of high-energy ultrashort pulses in optical fibers

The amplification of ultrashort laser pulses to high energy and average power in optical fibers involves management of nonlinearity, gain bandwidth, dispersion, and saturation. In this paper, we investigate the use of stimulated Raman scattering in optical fibers for high-energy pulse amplification. The amplification of femtosecond pulses stretched to picosecond or even nanosecond durations by synchronized pump pulses is considered, assuming a carrier frequency difference close to the Raman gain peak frequency. An analytical solution for the pulse amplitude and phase profiles that includes the complete Raman gain spectrum plus self- and cross-phase modulation is given. To demonstrate the potential of this approach, we propose an amplifier-shifter setup with standard fibers to generate microjoule pulses with a duration around 100 fs at 1078 nm from a 250-fs nanojoule oscillator at 1030 nm. Simulations of an additional Raman amplifier stage with rod-type fibers resulted in pulse energies of a few millijoules, durations near 150 fs and peak powers larger than 10 GW after compression.

High-power pre-chirp managed amplification of femtosecond pulses at high repetition rates

Femtosecond pulses at 250 MHz repetition rate from a mode-locked fiber laser are amplified to high power in a pre-chirp managed amplifier. The experimental strategy offers a potential towards high-power ultrashort laser pulses at high repetition rates. By investigating the laser pulse evolution in the amplification processes, we show that self-similar evolution, finite gain bandwidth and mode instabilities determine pulse characteristics in different regimes. Further average power scaling is limited by the mode instabilities. Nevertheless, this laser system enables us to achieve sub-50 fs pulses with an average power of 93 W.

Multidimensional coherent pulse addition of ultrashort laser pulses.

Spatially and temporally separated amplification and subsequent coherent addition of femtosecond pulses is a promising performance-scaling approach for ultrafast laser systems. Herein we demonstrate for the first time the application of this multidimensional scheme in a scalable architecture. Applying actively controlled divided-pulse amplification producing up to four pulse replicas that are amplified in two ytterbium-doped step-index fibers (6 μm core), pulse energies far beyond the damage threshold of the single fiber have been achieved. In this proof-of-principle experiment, high system efficiencies are demonstrated at both high pulse energies (i.e., in case of strong saturation) and high accumulated nonlinear phases.

Amplification and formation of femtosecond laser single pulses upon the high-current electron beam pumping of Ti:Al2O3 crystals

Features of the high-power nanosecond X-ray and electronic excitation of Ti:Al2O3 crystals are investigated. It is shown that the coefficient for the single-pass amplification of femtosecond laser emission reaches 11 upon the high-current nanosecond electron beam pumping of Ti:Al2O3 crystals, along with the synchronous emission of a femtosecond laser single pulse under the action of the induced accompanying hypersonic wave.

Impact of Mode Filtering on the Performance of Femtosecond Pulse Amplification in a Large Mode Area Fiber

We experimentally investigated the impact of the mode filtering technique on the performances of pulse amplification in a fiber with a large core diameter. The technique was applied to a femtosecond pulse amplifier, and was based on a large area double-clad Yb-doped fiber. The mode filtering enabled selective excitation of the lowest transverse mode with minimal contamination of higher order modes. The output pulses with 110 fs duration, > 30 nJ pulse energy (> 3 W average power), and clean spatial/temporal profiles were successfully generated. Benefits of this technique are also discussed.

Femtosecond Pulse Generation Using Microring Resonators for Eye Nano Surgery

The effect of femtosecond pulse through a nonlinear microring system for refractive surgery eye is studied. The scattering matrix method is used to study the laser pulse treatment through a system of N micro ring resonator is analytically studied. A bright soliton with nanosecond pulse width is fed into the system consist of five Hydrogenated-amorphous Silicon (a-Si:H) micro ring resonators and an amplified femtosecond pulse is generated. Simulated results show the generation of ultra short pulse with FWHM of 150 fs which is practical for correcting short-sightedness and far-sightedness in eye nano surgery.

Infrared supercontinuum generation in soft-glass photonic crystal fibers pumped at 1560 nm

In this work we present results on supercontinuum (SC) generation in a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) fabricated from lead-bismuth-gallium-oxide glass (PBG-08). Due to high refractive index, high nonlinearity and high transmittance, the PBG-08 glass-based fibers seem to be excellent media for broad supercontinuum generation in the infrared spectral region. In our experiment, a short-length piece of PCF (5-6 cm) is pumped by a femtosecond chirped pulse amplification (CPA) setup, which may be seeded by two different fiber-based oscillators. This compact and cost-effective system allows to generate SC spanning from 900 to 2400 nm. The paper describes in detail the fabrication process of the fiber, as well as the SC generation results.

Visible-range hybrid femtosecond systems based on a XeF(C–A) amplifier: state of the art and prospects

Results of experimental and theoretical investigations of the hybrid (solid state/gas) visible-range femtosecond systems THL-100 (IHCE SB RAS) and THL-30 (P.N. Lebedev Physics Institute) based on a Ti : sapphire front end and a photochemical XeF(C–A) amplifier are reported. The front end generates 50-fs optical pulses with the second-harmonic (475 nm) energy of up to 5 mJ. The active medium of the amplifier is produced in a mixture XeF2–N2 subjected to VUV radiation of xenon excited by an electron beam. The computer model is developed for calculating parameters of the XeF(C–A) amplifier, which is in a good agreement with experiments. In the THL-100 system with the 25-cm output aperture of the XeF(C–A) amplifier, a record visible-range femtosecond radiation peak power of 14 GW was obtained in a 50-fs pulse with the time contrast of above 108. The measured power of an amplified spontaneous emission of the XeF(C–A) amplifier in the angle of 0.2 mrad was 32 W. The result obtained testifies that the hybrid approach to the development of ultrahigh-power systems provides a high time contrast of radiation (greater than 1012 for the projected peak power of 100 TW). In the THL-30 system, prospects for shortening an amplified femtosecond pulse are studied and it is experimentally shown that by compensating a third-order dispersion in a hybrid system one can obtain pulses with duration of at least 27 fs with a recompression of amplified pulses in bulk glass. Also, a new phenomenon was observed of spectrum broadening and self-compression of negatively chirped femtosecond pulses in the visible range under a nonlinear interaction of wide-aperture beams with fused silica. This result opens prospects for development of the new methods of self-compression for femtosecond pulses that are lacking physical limitations on pulse energy and realisation of self-compression of amplified pulses in the output window of the XeF(C–A) amplifier.

Multi-terawatt femtosecond laser system of visible range based on a photochemical XeF(C-A) amplifier

AbstractThis paper reports on the creation of a THL-100 multi-terawatt hybrid laser system based on a Start-480M titanium-sapphire starting complex and photochemical XeF(C-A) amplifier with a 25-cm aperture. The complex produces 50-fs radiation pulses of energy up to 5 mJ at a second harmonic wavelength of 475 nm. The active medium of the amplifier is created in a XeF2/N2 mixture under vacuum-ultraviolet radiation of electron beam-excited xenon. The results of first experiments on femtosecond pulse amplification in the active medium of the XeF(C-A) amplifier are presented to demonstrate that a laser beam peak power of 14 TW has been attained.

Chirped pulse amplification of femtosecond pulse sequences in a Ti: sapphire laser

An amplified femtosecond pulse sequence is generated in a multi-TW Ti: sapphire chirped pulse amplification system (JG-II facility). The pulse interval of the pulse sequence is 14.8 ns, corresponding to a frequency of 67.5 MHz. The compressed pulse sequence can reach 122 mJ in 19 independent pulses with a pulse width of about 60 fs. The energy of the pulses declines from 20 mJ to 0.5 mJ, corresponding to a peak power from 1011 W to 1010 W. The pulse sequence has important applications in lengthening the lifetime of the laser produced plasma channel in air and in microfabrication.

Generation and amplification of dual-color femtosecond pulses by a noncollinear optical parametric up-conversion process

Noncollinear optical parametric up-conversion generation and amplification are realized in a thick β-barium borate (BBO) crystal, and a couple of visible femtosecond up-conversion laser pulses can be achieved by a femtosecond pulse at 800 nm as the pump sources. The theoretical and experimental results indicate that there exist phase-matching conditions for dual-color noncollinear parametric up-conversion generation and amplification, and their wavelengths can be tuned by rotating the BBO crystal. This parametric up-conversion generation and amplification can be attributed to three and five-wave mixing in a thick BBO crystal, and it shows the potential application on optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) to generate multi-color ultraviolet or visible femtosecond laser pulses pumped directly by femtosecond fundamental laser pulses without frequency-doubling or tripling.

Grating formation in Fe:LiNbO3 photorefractive crystal by chirped 800-nm femtosecond laser pulses operated at 1 kHz

We demonstrate an extension of forming a photorefractive volume grating in an Fe:LiNbO3 crystal by chirped intense femtosecond laser pulses generated from a Ti:Al2O3 regenerative amplifier at 1 kHz. We confirm that one-photon absorption is still dominant in the Fe:LiNbO3 crystal up to 70 GW/cm2. To generate a photorefractive grating at such a low laser repetition rate within a practical writing time, the laser pulse intensity is increased to >30 GW/cm2. Furthermore, we demonstrate the amplification of femtosecond laser pulses by the chirped volume grating that is written in the Fe:LiNbO3 by two-wave mixing.