Energetic Femtosecond Pulses Research Articles

Simulation of femtosecond pulse in a Kerr-lens mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser

The Kerr-lens mode-locking (KLM) is known as a suitable method for generation of femtosecond pulses and mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser is now widely used sources of stable, energetic femtosecond pulses. We will present the simulation of KLM in Ti:sapphire laser cavities with a folded-cavity four-mirror by applying the ABCD ray-tracing technique for a Gaussian beam. Simulations will be performed for an asymmetric resonator design. Based on the numerical analysis, we will find the optimum design parameters (slit position, gain cavity spacing, gain medium position) for KLM.

Pre-chirp managed self-phase modulation for efficient generation of wavelength-tunable energetic femtosecond pulses

Self-phase-modulation-enabled spectral selection (SESS) allows generation of widely tunable femtosecond pulses. We propose pre-chirp managed SESS, in which the excitation pulse is properly pre-chirped to control the fiber-optic nonlinear spectral broadening and hence generate separated spectral lobes—a feature demanded by SESS. Besides offering improved efficiency compared with conventional energy-tuned SESS, this new method is able to reshape an input pulse of unwanted shape into a bell-shaped pulse that is desired for implementing SESS. The excellent energy scalability of pre-chirp managed SESS can produce megawatt-level femtosecond pulses widely tunable in the wavelength range of 0.86–1.3 µm. Such a powerful source is well suited to drive multiphoton microscopy to achieve deep-tissue imaging.

Manipulating Soliton Polarization in Soliton Self-Frequency Shift and Its Application to 3-Photon Microscopy in Vivo

Soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) enables energetic femtosecond pulse generation and deep-brain 3-photon microscopy (3PM) in animal models in vivo. The signal level in 3PM is currently limited by the available soliton energy. Here we propose a new maneuverable physical parameter that enables more energetic soliton generation through SSFS in a photonic-crystal (PC) rod. Through both theory and experiment, we demonstrate that circularly-polarized solitons are 1.5 times more energetic than previously reported linearly-polarized solitons. We further demonstrate comparative 3PM of the white matter layer in the mouse brain in vivo with both circularly-polarized and linearly-polarized solitons. The 3.7 times higher 3PM signal excited with circularly-polarized solitons indicates that this novel nonlinear optical technique is promising for 3PM.

Simulation of femtosecond pulse in a Kerr-lens mode locked Ti: sapphire laser

The Kerr-lens mode-locking (KLM) is known as a suitable method for generation of femtosecond pulses and mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser is now widely used sources of stable, energetic femtosecond pulses. We will present the simulation of KLM in Ti:sapphire laser cavities with a folded-cavity four-mirror by applying the ABCD ray-tracing technique for a Gaussian beam. Simulations will be performed for an asymmetric resonator design. Based on the numerical analysis, we will find the optimum design parameters (slit position, gain cavity spacing, gain medium position) for KLM.

Deep-brain 2-photon fluorescence microscopy in vivo excited at the 1700 nm window.

Here we demonstrate deep-brain 2-photon fluorescence microscopy in mouse in vivo, excited at the 1700nm window. Through signal versus power measurement, we show that indocyanine green (ICG) is a promising 2-photon fluorescent dye excitable at the 1700nm window. In order to excite ICG circulating in the vasculature in the deep brain, we employ a circular-polarization soliton self-frequency shift technique to generate energetic femtosecond pulses at 1617nm. Combining the labeling and laser technologies, we achieve a record 2-photon fluorescence brain vasculature imaging depth of 2000μm in vivo. Both the effective attenuation length measurement and signal-to-background ratio measurement indicate that we have reached the theoretical depth limit in 2-photon fluorescence microscopy.

Air-core fiber or photonic-crystal rod, which is more suitable for energetic femtosecond pulse generation and three-photon microscopy at the 1700-nm window?

Energetic femtosecond pulses at the 1700-nm window are a prerequisite for deep-tissue three-photon microscopy (3PM). Soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) in photonic-crystal (PC) rod has been the only technique to generate such pulses suitable for 3PM. Here we demonstrate through SSFS in an air-core fiber, we can generate most energetic femtosecond soliton pulses at the 1700-nm window, 5.2 times higher than that from PC rod. However, the air-core soliton pulse width is 5.9 times longer than that of PC rod soliton. Based on comparative 3PM excited with both air-core and PC rod solitons, we propose the more suitable source for 3PM. We further elucidate the challenge of generating shorter soliton pulses from air-core fibers through numerical simulation.

Multimodal imaging platform for optical virtual skin biopsy enabled by a fiber-based two-color ultrafast laser source.

We demonstrate multimodal label-free nonlinear optical microscopy in human skin enabled by a fiber-based two-color ultrafast source. Energetic femtosecond pulses at 775 nm and 1250 nm are simultaneously generated by an Er-fiber laser source employing frequency doubling and self-phase modulation enabled spectral selection. The integrated nonlinear optical microscope driven by such a two-color femtosecond source enables the excitation of endogenous two-photon excitation fluorescence, second-harmonic generation, and third-harmonic generation in human skin. Such a 3-channel imaging platform constitutes a powerful tool for clinical application and optical virtual skin biopsy.

Megawatt peak power tunable femtosecond source based on self-phase modulation enabled spectral selection.

Wavelength widely tunable femtosecond sources can be implemented by optically filtering the leftmost/rightmost spectral lobes of a broadened spectrum due to self-phase modulation (SPM) dominated fiber-optic nonlinearities. We numerically and experimentally investigate the feasibility of implementing such a tunable source inside optical fibers with negative group-velocity dispersion (GVD). We show that the spectral broadening prior to soliton fission is dominated by SPM and generates well-isolated spectral lobes; filtering the leftmost/rightmost spectral lobes results in energetic femtosecond pulses with the wavelength tuning range more than 400 nm. Employing an ultrafast Er-fiber laser and a dispersion-shifted fiber with negative GVD, we implement an energetic tunable source that produces ~100-fs pulses tunable between 1.3 µm and 1.7 µm with up to ~16-nJ pulse energy. Further energy scaling is achieved by increasing the input pulse energy to ~1-μJ and reducing the fiber length to 1.3 cm. The resulting source can produce >100-nJ femtosecond pulses at 1.3 µm and 1.7 µm with MW level peak power, representing an order of magnitude improvement of our previous results. Such a powerful source covers the 2nd and the 3rd biological transmission window and can facilitate multiphoton deep-tissue imaging.

Er-fiber laser enabled, energy scalable femtosecond source tunable from 1.3 to 1.7 µm.

We demonstrate that energetic femtosecond pulses tunable from 1.3 to 1.7 µm can be achieved using self-phase modulation enabled spectral broadening followed by spectral lobe filtering. Based on a home-built 5-W Er-fiber laser system operating at 31-MHz repetition rate, we obtain femtosecond pulses that can be continuously tuned from 1.3 to 1.7 µm with >4.5 nJ pulse energy. We further optimize the spectral broadening process using a fiber with larger mode area and scale up the pulse energy to >10 nJ; the resulting pulse duration is as short as ~50 fs. Such a widely tunable, energetic femtosecond source is well suited for driving a laser scanning microscope to perform deep tissue multiphoton microscopy.

Flexible Guidance of Ultra-Short Laser Pulses in Ophthalmic Therapy Systems

In the last 20 years, the role of ultrashort pulsed lasers in ophthalmology has become increasingly important. However, it is still impossible to guide ultra-short laser pulses with standard glass fibres. The highly energetic femtosecond pulses would destroy the fibre material, and non-linear dispersion effects would significantly change beam parameters. In contrast, photonic crystal fibres mainly guide the laser pulses in air, so that absorption and dispersive pulse broadening have essentially no effect. This article compares classical beam guidance with mirrors, lenses and prisms with photonic crystal fibres and describes the underlying concepts and the current state of technology. A classical mirror arm possesses more variable optical properties, while the HCF (Hollow-Core Photonic Crystal Fibre) must be matched in terms of the laser energy and the laser spectrum. In contrast, the HCF has more advantages in respect of handling, system integration and costs. For applications based on photodisruptive laser-tissue interaction, the relatively low damage threshold of photonic crystal fibres compared to classic beam guiding systems is unacceptable. If, however, pulsed laser radiation has a sufficiently low peak intensity, e.g. as used for plasma-induced ablation, photonic crystal fibres can definitely be considered as an alternative solution to classic beam guidance.

Optical Cherenkov radiation by cascaded nonlinear interaction: an efficient source of few-cycle energetic near- to mid-IR pulses

When ultrafast noncritical cascaded second-harmonic generation of energetic femtosecond pulses occur in a bulk lithium niobate crystal optical Cherenkov waves are formed in the near- to mid-IR. Numerical simulations show that the few-cycle solitons radiate Cherenkov (dispersive) waves in the λ = 2.2 - 4.5 μm range when pumping at λ₁ = 1.2 - 1.8 μm. The exact phase-matching point depends on the soliton wavelength, and we show that a simple longpass filter can separate the Cherenkov waves from the solitons. The Cherenkov waves are born few-cycle with an excellent Gaussian pulse shape, and the conversion efficiency is up to 25%. Thus, optical Cherenkov waves formed with cascaded nonlinearities could become an efficient source of energetic near- to mid-IR few-cycle pulses.

Highly efficient temporal cleaner for femtosecond pulses based on cross-polarized wave generation in a dual crystal scheme

We present an experimental demonstration of a renewed set up, with respect to the one described in [A. Jullien et al, Opt. Lett. 30, 920 (2005)], that enables more reliable and robust performances in the increase of the contrast ratio (CR) of energetic femtosecond pulses. The new approach is based on the use of two successive crystals situated at optimum position that generate cross polarized waves whose individual effect interferes constructively. This arrangement overcomes the limitation of the single crystal schemes for temporal cleaning – the early saturation of the transmission efficiency, previously observed when either using a relatively thick crystal or increasing intensities up to its damage threshold. A theoretical model that predicts the output CR is developed for the first time. It shows that the CR depends on the initial CR and the extinction ratio of the polarizers used. The measured temporal CR 10-10 is in accordance with theoretical predictions.