Forsterite Laser System Research Articles

High-Frequency Shift and Extension of the Terahertz Radiation Spectrum up to 10 THz During Optical Rectification of High-Power Few-Cycle Near-Infrared Femtosecond Pump Radiation in a BNA Crystal

The generation of terahertz radiation in a BNA crystal pumped by 1.24-µm femtosecond laser radiation from a Cr:forsterite laser system with a pulse duration of 100 and 35 fs and a pump density of 10 mJ/cm2 has been realized. The achieved generation efficiency is 0.1%. It is found that a decrease in the pump pulse duration from 100 to 35 fs leads to the generation of high-frequency components in the ranges of 2.5–6.5 THz and 9‒10.5 THz in the generated radiation spectrum. Simulation of the terahertz radiation generation based on the solution of Maxwell’s equations by the finite-difference time-domain method has made it possible to adequately describe the measured spectra. The generation of broadband high-frequency terahertz radiation in the BNA crystal pumped by the Cr:forsterite laser system allows one to consider this schematic as an alternative to sources based on the BNA crystal pumped by a Ti:sapphire laser system.

High-Frequency Shift and Extension of the Terahertz Radiation Spectrum up to 10 THz During Optical Rectification of High-Power Few-Cycle Near-Infrared Femtosecond Pump Radiation in a BNA Crystal

The generation of terahertz radiation in a BNA crystal pumped by 1.24-µm femtosecond laser radiation from a Cr:forsterite laser system with a pulse duration of 100 and 35 fs and a pump density of 10 mJ/cm2 has been realized. The achieved generation efficiency is 0.1%. It is found that a decrease in the pump pulse duration from 100 to 35 fs leads to the generation of high-frequency components in the ranges of 2.5–6.5 THz and 9‒10.5 THz in the generated radiation spectrum. Simulation of the terahertz radiation generation based on the solution of Maxwell’s equations by the finite-difference time-domain method has made it possible to adequately describe the measured spectra. The generation of broadband high-frequency terahertz radiation in the BNA crystal pumped by the Cr:forsterite laser system allows one to consider this schematic as an alternative to sources based on the BNA crystal pumped by a Ti:sapphire laser system.

Generation of Intense Few-Cycle Terahertz Radiation in Organic Crystals Pumped by 1.24-μm Multigigawatt Chirped Laser Pulses

It has been shown that the spectrum of intense few-cycle terahertz radiation generated in a DAST organic crystal can be controlled by chirping 1.24-μm pump femtosecond laser radiation of a chromium forsterite laser system. It has been found that an increase in the linear chirp of generating radiation results in the narrowing of the spectrum of terahertz radiation and its redshift. The simulation of the generation of terahertz radiation within the model of three-wave mixing has shown that this effect is due to a change in the phase matching width of the degenerate generation of the difference frequency of terahertz range. In addition, the comparative analysis of terahertz radiation spectra generated in DAST, DSTMS, OH1, and BNA organic crystals indicates that the spectral–temporal properties of terahertz radiation can be more roughly controlled by choosing an appropriate crystal. The proposed approach to control the terahertz radiation spectrum by chirping the pump pulse provides the foundation for spectroscopic studies using intense terahertz radiation with controlled spectral–temporal properties.

Generation of Intense Few-Cycle Terahertz Radiation in Organic Crystals Pumped by 1.24-μm Multigigawatt Chirped Laser Pulses

It has been shown that the spectrum of intense few-cycle terahertz radiation generated in a DAST organic crystal can be controlled by chirping 1.24-μm pump femtosecond laser radiation of a chromium forsterite laser system. It has been found that an increase in the linear chirp of generating radiation results in the narrowing of the spectrum of terahertz radiation and its redshift. The simulation of the generation of terahertz radiation within the model of three-wave mixing has shown that this effect is due to a change in the phase matching width of the degenerate generation of the difference frequency of terahertz range. In addition, the comparative analysis of terahertz radiation spectra generated in DAST, DSTMS, OH1, and BNA organic crystals indicates that the spectral–temporal properties of terahertz radiation can be more roughly controlled by choosing an appropriate crystal. The proposed approach to control the terahertz radiation spectrum by chirping the pump pulse provides the foundation for spectroscopic studies using intense terahertz radiation with controlled spectral–temporal properties.

Interference microscopy study of the preplasma formed on an iron target surface exposed to high-power femtosecond laser pulses

The characteristic scale of spread of the plasma formed on the surface of a bulk iron target irradiated by a femtosecond laser pulse with an intensity of 1016 W cm−2 is measured by time-resolved interference microscopy using femtosecond pulses emitted by a Cr : forsterite laser system with an intensity contrast of 107. The chosen technique is demonstrated to be efficient in such measurements. It is shown experimentally that, as a result of laser pulse impact, the displacement of a plasma layer with a density exceeding critical does not exceed 30 nm.

Time-resolved interference microscopy for studying nonideal plasma formed by high-power femtosecond laser pulses

Measurement results of characteristic size of plasma density inhomogeneity on the surface of bulk iron target formed under action of femtosecond laser pulses with intensity of 1016 W/cm2 are presented. Investigations are performed using time-resolved interference microscopy technique. Femtosecond laser pulses with high time contrast of 107 generated by chromium:forsterite laser system are applied. Efficacy of the chosen technique is demonstrated; the size of plasma inhomogeneity is shown to be less than 30 nm.

A source of THz radiation with electric field strength of more than 1 MV cm−1 on the basis of 100-Hz femtosecond Cr : forsterite laser system

A source of terahertz (THz) radiation with a bandwidth of 0.5 – 2.5 THz and a pulse repetition rate of 100 Hz has been developed. The THz generation is based on optical rectification of femtosecond pulses (generated by a Cr : forsterite laser system) in a nonlinear organic crystal OH1. An optical scheme of a multipass amplifier for the Cr : forsterite laser system is developed to increase the pulse energy to 2.2 mJ. The conversion efficiency for pump laser radiation at a wavelength of 1.24 μm into THz radiation is found to be to 2 %. An electric field strength of 3.5 MV cm−1 is attained when focusing a THz beam into a near diffraction-limited spot.

Acousto-optic replication of ultrashort laser pulses

Precisely controlled sequences of ultrashort laser pulses are required in various scientific and engineering applications. We developed a phase-only acousto-optic pulse shaping method for replication of ultrashort laser pulses in a TW laser system. A sequence of several Fourier-transform-limited pulses is generated from a single femtosecond laser pulse by means of applying a piecewise linear phase modulation over the whole emission spectrum. Analysis demonstrates that the main factor which limits maximum delay between the pulse replicas is spectral resolution of the acousto-optic dispersive delay line used for pulse shaping. In experiments with a Cr:forsterite laser system, we obtained delays from 0.3 to 3.5 ps between two replicas of 190 fs transform-limited pulses at the central wavelength of laser emission, 1230 nm.

Generation of frequency-tunable pulsed terahertz radiation by a Cr : forsterite laser system with an acoustooptical control of the pulse temporal profile

We report the experimental results on generating pulsed terahertz (THz) radiation, frequency-tunable within the range . The THz pulse generation was implemented using the method of optical rectification of femtosecond laser pulses in the nonlinear organic crystal OH1. The frequency tuning of the THz radiation was provided by adaptive phase – amplitude modulation of the pump pulses from the Cr : forsterite laser system with a radiation wavelength of using the acoustooptical dispersion delay line.

Microsurgery of Cell Membrane with Femtosecond Laser Pulses for Cell Fusion and Optical Injection

We report on results of using femtosecond laserscalpel for microsurgery of plasma membrane ofliving cells. Femtosecond laser pulses were appliedto initiate cell fusion as well as to performreversible permeabilization of cell membranerequired for efficient injection of extrinsicsubstances into the target cells. Laser-based cellfusion of mammalian embryo blastomeres as wellas fusion of cell bodies of neurons of molluskLymnaea stagnalis were successfully carried out byapplying single femtosecond laser pulses (secondharmonic of a Cr:Forsterite laser system) 620 nm,100 fs with the fluences of 0.42-0.71 J/cm2. It wasshown that the fusion of cells was completed within5-60 minutes depending on the cell type. Successfulpermeabilization of a cell membrane andoptoinjection of a membrane impermeable dye wasperformed with the help of a compact laser systemfor cell microsurgery DissCell-F (ytterbium laser,1050 nm, 75 MHz, ~115 fs). In both cases the laserirradiation parameters were thoroughly optimized toachieve high viability of treated cells and highefficiency of the procedures of cell fusion andoptical injection.

Dispersionless saturable absorber mirrors with large modulation depths and low saturation fluences

We show that it is possible to eliminate group delay dispersion over wide bandwidths in low-finesse, resonant saturable absorber mirrors, whilst maintaining a low saturation fluence and a high modulation depth. By modelling the mirror structure we demonstrate that these properties can be produced by capping a resonant device with a single dielectric layer of carefully selected refractive index. We show that a specially capped dispersionless structure minimises the temporal broadening of femtosecond pulses reflected from the mirror. We compare this device against uncapped-resonant and anti-resonant structures. The superior performance of the capped, dispersionless device was verified experimentally by comparing resonant, anti-resonant and dispersionless quantum-dot (QD) saturable absorber mirrors incorporated into a Cr4+:forsterite laser system. We found that a minimum pulse duration of 86 fs could be achieved for the dispersionless structure at 1290 nm with an output power of 55 mW compared to 122 fs in an anti-resonant structure and several-picosecond pulses for a resonant structure.

Single-frequency coherent terahertz-wave generation using two Cr:forsterite lasers pumped using one Nd:YAG laser

We have developed a compact terahertz-wave generator using two small Cr:forsterite lasers with single Nd:YAG laser pumping based on difference frequency generation in a GaP crystal. A Cr:forsterite laser was constructed with diffraction gratings, by which the pulse duration and delay time of the Cr:forsterite laser depend on the Cr:forsterite laser energy and the cavity length. The Cr:forsterite laser energy was tuned using the optical alignment and pumping energy. Temporal overlap of two Cr:forsterite laser pulses was realized at the GaP crystal. A single-frequency terahertz wave was generated at energy of 4.7 pJ around 2.95 THz using a 30-cm-long Cr:forsterite laser system.

Generation of superintense femtosecond pulses by the Cr:forsterite laser system

A repetitively pulsed chromium-forsterite laser system is created. High-power femtosecond light pulses are generated at the fundamental (1.24 µm) and second-harmonic (0.62 µm) wavelengths. Theoretical analysis is performed to optimize the output pulse energy. Laser pulses with a duration of 110 fs, an energy of 1 mJ, and a repetition rate of 1–50 Hz are generated. The intensity of the focused beam is greater than 1016 W/cm2. High-efficiency radiation conversion into the second harmonic is used to increase the energy contrast of the generated pulses.

Nonmonotonic behavior of the absorption of the tightly focused femtosecond radiation of a Cr:forsterite laser in a dielectric due to an increase in the number of photons involved in the process

In the tight focusing mode of the femtosecond radiation of a Cr:forsterite laser system in the transparent-dielectric bulk, the nonmonotonic behavior of absorption has been revealed as the laser pulse energy increases. The effect is caused by a change in the number of photons involved in ionization due to an increase in the effective ionization potential.

High-peak-power femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser system

High-peak-power femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser system

Chromium-activated forsterite crystal as the passive Q switch in the cavity of an Nd:YAG laser and as the active medium in an Nd:YAG—Cr:forsterite laser system

An investigation was made of the generation and self-modulation of the λ = 1.064 and 1.25 μm radiation in an Nd:YAG—Cr:forsterite laser system. The advantages of this system over those with traditional methods were demonstrated. The feasibility of self-control of the rate of pumping of the Cr:forsterite crystal was revealed and recommendations on optimisation of the system were developed.

Temporal and kinetic studies of chromium forsterite oscillators with 1064 nm laser excitation

Temporal characteristics and kinetics of the gain-switched operation of a chromium forsterite oscillator are presented for fundamental Nd:YAG laser excitation. Three temporal excitation regions have been studied with the pump laser running in fixed Q and Q-switched modes. Measured temporal behaviour as well as threshold and efficiency measurements are compared with results obtained using 532 and 732 nm excitation. The laser performance of three different chromium forsterite crystals is compared. A threshold of 0.04 J and a slope efficiency of 26% have been measured for one crystal. In one case, 10 ns gain-switched pulses were emitted with a 35 ns delay from the pump pulse, the shortest yet reported with a simple chromium forsterite laser system.