Broad and ultra-flattened supercontinuum generation in the visible wavelengths based on the fundamental mode of photonic crystal fibre with central holes

By coupling a train of femtosecond pulses with 100 fs pulse width at a repetition rate of 76 MHz generated by a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser into the fundamental mode of photonic crystal fibre(PCF) with central holes fabricated through extracting air from the central hole,the broad and ultra-flattened supercontinuum(SC) in the visible wavelengths is generated.When the fundamental mode experiences an anomalous dispersion regime,three phases in the SC generation process are primarily presented.The SC generation(SCG) in the wavelength range from 470 nm to 805 nm does not emerge significant ripples due to a higher pump peak power and the corresponding mode fields at different wavelengths are observed using Bragg gratings.The relative intensity fluctuations of output spectrum in the wavelength ranges of 530 nm to 640 nm and 543 nm to 590 nm are only 0.028 and 0.0071,respectively.     

亚纳秒光脉冲抽运光子晶体光纤产生的瓦级超连续谱

研究了亚纳秒脉冲抽运光子晶体光纤产生高功率超连续谱的机理.采用掺镱锁模光纤激光器产生的脉宽570ps光脉冲,抽运1.8m光子晶体光纤,得到了平均功率为1.15W、光谱覆盖范围为750nm的超连续谱.通过实验和模拟结果的对比和分析,证实了亚纳秒脉冲抽运1.8m PCF产生超连续谱时,调制不稳定性效应起了重要作用.在研究了不同抽运功率下输出的超连续谱变化后,发现随着抽运功率的提高,输出功率也更高且超连续谱覆盖波段也更宽,在瓦级输出功率下依然未达到饱和展宽状态,还有进一步提高功率和展宽光谱的空间.     

Broad spectral sliced multiwavelength source with a mode locked fiber laser

A simple multi-wavelength source is demonstrated based on spectral slicing of supercontinuum (SC) light using a Sagnac loop mirror. A mode locked fiber laser with pulse width of 800 fs is employed to generate the SC in photonic crystal fiber (PCF). The SC light extending from 1200 nm up to the wavelength region above 1750 nm is obtained at the amplified pulse pump power of 30 dBm. By slicing the SC with a loop mirror, a multiwavelength comb spectrum is obtained with different channel spacing for different operating wavelength region. Spacings of 1.5, 2.3, and 2.9 nm are shown at wavelength regions of 1220, 1450, and 1730 nm, respectively. It is also observed that the signal to noise ratio (SNR) increases from 15 to 20 dB as the operating wavelength increases from 1220 to 1730 nm region.     

Mid-infrared supercontinuum generation to 4.5 microm in ZBLAN fluoride fibers by nanosecond diode pumping

A mid-infrared supercontinuum (SC) is generated in ZBLAN (ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-AlF3-NaF...) fluoride fibers from amplified nanosecond laser diode pulses with a continuous spectrum from approximately 0.8 microm to beyond 4.5 microm. The SC has an average power of approximately 23 mW, a pump-to-SC power conversion efficiency exceeding 50%, and a spectral power density of approximately -20 dBm/nm over a large fraction of the spectrum. The SC generation is initiated by the breakup of nanosecond laser diode pulses into femtosecond pulses through modulation instability, and the spectrum is then broadened primarily through fiber nonlinearities in approximately 2-7 m lengths of ZBLAN fiber. The SC long-wavelength edge is consistent with the intrinsic ZBLAN material absorption.     

注入功率比可调控的双泵浦复合腔501 nm青光激光器

为了探究提高500 nm附近激光高准确度应用的理论和技术依据,本文采用双泵浦源复合腔结合非线性和频变换,实现腔内两种波长基频光无增益竞争,可提高基频光输出功率,同时在复合腔内进行多次非线性频率变换,通过调控基频光注入功率比,使腔内光子数配比达到1∶1,从而有效提高了光-光转换效率及和频输出功率。对首次建立的理论模型进行了实验验证,分别采用Nd:YAG和Nd:YVO₄作为增益介质获取946 nm和1064 nm基频光输出,LBO为和频晶体;通过双泵浦源结构实现946 nm和1064 nm基频光无增益竞争,调节注入LBO光功率,对比注入功率比不同时的和频转换效率及输出功率,最终在基频光注入功率比为1.48∶1(即腔内光子数配比为1∶1)时获得最大输出功率923 mW的501 nm青光。     

Ultraviolet conical emission produced by high-power femtosecond laser pulse in transparent media

In this work, supercontinuum conical emission (SC CE) accompanying the filamentation of powerful ultrashort laser pulse in BK₇ glass and fused silica is studied. The SC CE is controlled by the laser power density and the sample thickness, and the minimum SC CE cut-off wavelength is about 309?nm in the BK₇ glass and 237?nm in the fused silica. The angular distributions of the SC CE in the wavelength range less than 510?nm are measured by using a new method, and it cannot be explained by the Cerenkov emission theory but the unabridged X-Waves solution theory. Meanwhile numerical simulations of the propagation of femtosecond laser pulse in sample are performed to provide theoretical support to our results.     

Supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fiber using femtosecond pulses

Supercontinuum (SC) generation in photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is demonstrated using an amplified femtosecond stretched pulses. The stretched pulse is obtained from a mode-locked Erbium-doped fiber laser and operates at 1564 nm with a repetition rate of 8.27 MHz and a pulse width of 340 fs. Using a 50 m long PCF, broad SC spectra are observed starting from 1220 and 1050 nm for the corresponding 5.1 and 177 kW pump and spanning a wavelength region of more than 1750 nm. At a maximum peak pump power of 177 kW, flat SC which extends over bandwidths of 660 and 486 nm are obtained using 50 and 100 m piece of PCF respectively. However, the output power level is higher for the 100 m PCF especially at longer wavelength region.     

High-stability single-frequency green laser with a wedge Nd:YVO4 as a polarizing beam splitter

The effect of the large power depletion of the fundamental wave in the phase-matched polarization on the stability of the second-harmonic wave output from an intracavity frequency-doubled ring laser is discussed. It has been demonstrated that the instability resulting from the unbalanced power depletion of the fundamental waves can be eliminated by using a wedge laser rod. The function dependence of the wedge angle and the laser power is concluded. An intracavity frequency-doubled ring laser with a wedge Nd:YVO₄ laser crystal and a LBO doubler is designed and built. Comparing with similar lasers but without using the wedge laser crystal, the frequency-conversion efficiency, the power stability and the polarization purity of the second-harmonic wave output from the laser with a wedge laser rod are significantly improved. The single-frequency green laser of 6.5 W at 532 nm, with the polarization degree more than 500:1 and the power stability better than ±0.3% for 3 h, was experimentally achieved.     

20 W all fiber supercontinuum generation from picosecond MOPA pumped photonic crystal fiber

An all fiber high power supercontinuum (SC) source is demonstrated by pumping a section of photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with a picosecond MOPA laser. The core of the PCF is enlarged at the input end through a serious of PCF post processing method to match the output fiber of the picosecond laser, to ensure low loss splicing, hence high power operation of the whole system. The supercontinuum output spectrum covers the wavelength range from 650 nm to beyond 1700 nm. Limited by available pump power, 20 W super-continuum output power is obtained under 29.5 W picosecond pump power, giving a high optical to optical conversion efficiency of 67.8%.     

基于单块周期极化铌酸锂晶体级联三倍频的440 nm蓝光固体激光器

阐述了一种基于单块周期极化铌酸锂晶体级联三倍频实现440 nm蓝光输出的实验方案。根据周期极化铌酸锂晶体的Sellmeier方程以及倍频与和频的相位匹配条件,在一块周期极化铌酸锂晶体上设计了两段不同的极化周期,使其在同一工作温度下能分别实现倍频与和频,在先后经过倍频与和频后,实现级联三倍频输出。实验采用Nd: YAG产生的1319 nm光作为基频光,重频400 Hz,脉宽110 ns,横向和纵向光束质量因子分别为1.81和2.65。耦合进周期极化铌酸锂晶体后,出射光中检测到660 nm的红光和440 nm的蓝光。通过调整工作温度和入射基频光功率,得到2.4 mW的最大蓝光输出,此时工作温度55.5 ℃,基频光功率530 mW。实验结果验证了单块晶体实现级联三倍频440 nm蓝光输出的可行性。     

High-power ultraviolet 278 nm laser from fourth-harmonic generation of a Nd:YAG laser in CsB3O5

We demonstrate a high-power UV 278 nm laser by fourth-harmonic generation (FHG) of a 1112 nm Nd:YAG laser in a nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal CsB3O5 (CBO) for the first time, to our best knowledge. A 30 W level diode-pumped Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1112 nm with beam quality factor M2=1.2 was used as the fundamental light source at a pulse width of 500 ns. With an LiB3O5 crystal, the 1112 nm laser was first frequency-doubled to 556 nm with an average output power of 13.5 W. It was then frequency doubled again in a CBO crystal to obtain the FHG output at 278 nm. The maximum average output power of the 278 nm laser is up to 1.5 W. The results demonstrated that CBO crystal is a promising NLO material for UV high-power lasers below 300 nm.     

Supercontinuum generation employing the high-energy wave-breaking-free pulse in a compact all-fiber laser system

Supercontinuum (SC) generation is experimentally achieved in a compact all-fiber laser system by using high-energy wave-breaking-free dissipative soliton (DS) pulses. The pulses exhibit Gaussian (rectangular) shape profiles in spectral (temporal) domain, which is even reversed of the typical rectangular-spectrum DSs. With the increase of pump power the pulse duration enlarges dramatically whereas the bandwidth and peak power of the pulse keep almost constant, which enables the pulse to accumulate much higher energy during the pulse-shaping process. When inputting the amplified pulse into the single-mode fiber, SC with excellent flatness is generated with the spectral range from about 1550 to 1700 nm. Broader SC with the bandwidth of even larger than 1000 nm can also be generated by this kind of pulse in the near-zero-dispersion-flattened photonic-crystal fiber through strong nonlinear effects.     

Generation of a compact high-power high-efficiency normal-dispersion pumping supercontinuum in silica photonic crystal fiber pumped with a 1064-nm picosecond pulse

Broadband normal dispersion pumping supercontinuum （SC） generation in silica photonic crystal fiber （PCF） is investigated in this paper. A 1064-nm picosecond fiber laser is used to pump silica PCF for the SC generation. The length of PCF is optimized for the most efficient stimulated Raman scattering process in the picosecond pump pulse region. The first stimulated Raman Stokes peak is located in the anomalous dispersion regime of the PCF and near the zero dispersion wavelength; thus the SC generation process can benefit from both a normal dispersion pumping scheme and an anomalous dispersion pumping scheme. The 51.7-W SC spanning from about 700 nm to beyond 1700 nm is generated with an all-fiber configuration, and the pump-to-SC conversion efficiency is up to 90%. In order to avoid the output fiber end face damage and increase the stability of the system, an improved output solution for the high power SC is proposed in our experiment. This high-efficiency near-infrared SC source is very suitable for applications in which average output power and spectral power density are firstly desirable.     

高效全固化紫外四倍频激光器的研究

用半导体激光器抽运的调Q YLF倍频激光器抽运掺钛蓝宝石激光器，用LBO晶体在腔内产生二次谐波，再聚焦到BBO晶体上产生四次谐波深紫外激光。为了提高谐波转换效率，在腔内分别插入了单片、组合双折射滤光片和聚焦透镜，在平均功率为3.6W，波长为527nm的抽运光下得到410mW，417nm的蓝光。用长焦距的透镜聚焦二次谐波，得到34mW，208nm的紫外脉冲激光。从实验上详细研究了基频光的线宽对二次谐波效率的影响，二次谐波的线宽对四次谐波效率的影响、基频光的波长对四次谐波产生效率的影响。全面地分析了单片和组合大拆射滤光片及抽运功率对钛蓝宝石激光器基频光的脉宽、线宽等参量的影响。     

All fiber supercontinuum light source using photonic crystal fibers pumped by nanosecond fiber laser pulses

A novel compact supercontinuum (SC) source using the single mode photonic crystal fibers (PCF) pumped with an all fiber MOPA fiber laser is demonstrated experimentally. A bandwidth of 700 nm is achieved by operating the pumping fiber laser at a wavelength of 1064 nm, pulse duration of 10 ns, repetition rate of 50 kHz and peak power of 1 kW. The SC generation is initiated through modulation instability (MI) which breakups the nanosecond pump pulses into picosecond or femtosecond pulses, and further broadened through nonlinear effects of PCF.     

波长可调谐的瓦级连续橙红光激光器

介绍了基于复合腔结构的全固态波长可调谐的连续橙红色激光的输出特性。该复合腔由一个使用周期极化晶体MgO:PPLN的信号光单谐振光参量振荡器和一个LD侧面泵浦Nd:GdVO₄晶体的1 062.9 nm基频光谐振腔构成。s-偏振1 062.9 nm泵浦光抽运单谐振光参量振荡器产生s-偏振信号光腔内独立振荡。通过复合腔结构的优化设计,使独立振荡的p-偏振1 062.9 nm基频光与s-偏振信号光在2个子腔的重叠区内通过Ⅱ类角度匹配KTP晶体的腔内和频过程获得橙红色激光。当MgO:PPLN晶体的调谐温度从30 ℃上升至200 ℃时,s-偏振信号光的中心波长产生红移,导致其与p-偏振1 062.9 nm基频光和频产生的橙红色激光的中心波长从620.2 nm红移至628.9 nm。同时测得中红外波段闲频光的中心波长从3 714.2 nm蓝移至3 438.3 nm。在30 ℃最低设定温度时, 中心波长620.2 nm的橙红色激光和中心波长3 714.2 nm的闲频光最大连续输出功率分别达到2.0 W和2.9 W。     

Laser diode and pumped Cr:Yag passively Q-switched yellow-green laser at 543 nm

Efficient and compact yellow green pulsed laser output at 543 nm is generated by frequency doubling of a passively Q-switched end diode-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser at 1086 nm under the condition of sup-pressing the higher gain transition near 1064 nm. With 15 W of diode pump power and the frequency doubling crystal LBO, as high as 1.58 W output power at 543 nm is achieved. The optical to optical conversion efficiency from the corresponding Q-switched fundamental output to the yellow green output is 49%. The peak power of the Q-switched yellow green pulse laser is up to 30 kW with 5 ns pulse duration. The output power stability over 8 hours is better than 2.56% at the maximum output power. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest watt-level laser at 543 nm generated by frequency doubling of a passively Q-switched end diode pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser at 1086 nm.     

高重复频率锁模光纤激光器及其超连续谱产生

设计并实验研究了一种结构简单的主动调制锁模高重复频率窄脉宽光纤激光器。采用窄线宽连续激光调制4 GHz高重频后,通过拉曼增益孤子压缩效应将脉宽由27 ps压窄至2.6 ps。该高重频锁模激光泵浦一段300 m长高非线性光纤,同时脉冲被展宽至7.4 ps。产生的超连续谱平坦度20 dB宽带可达250 nm,功率波动为±0.2 dB。     

A frequency doubled pressure-tunable oscillator—amplifier dye laser system

A tunable, high repitition rate oscillator—amplifier dye laser system is reported. The dye laser described was longitudinally pumped with the second harmonic of a Nd—Yag laser operating at 10 Hz. Using three Fabry-Perot etalons and pressure tuning, a maximum fundamental output power of ?6 MW with a corresponding spectral width of less than 0.003 nm at 564 nm was obtained. The fundamental at 564 nm was frequency doubled to give a maximum power level of 0.6 MW of second harmonic output power with a spectral width of less than 0.0015 nm at 282 nm. Frequency stability could be maintained to within ?15% of the line-width.     

Intense supercontinuum generation in the near-ultraviolet range from a 400-nm femtosecond laser filament array in fused silica

An intense supercontinuum(SC) in the near-ultraviolet range is generated from filamentation by focusing a 400-nm laser into fused silica with a microlens array(MLA). The spectrum of the SC is shown to be sensitive to the distance between the MLA and fused silica. In our optimal conditions, the near-ultraviolet SC can cover a range of 350-600 nm,where a bandwidth of approximately 55 nm above the 1μJ/nm spectral energy density and 20 nm bandwidth with tens ofμJ/nm are achieved. In addition, the energy conversion efficiency of the 400 nm laser for SC generation is further analyzed.A maximum conversion efficiency of 66% is obtained when the entrance face of fused silica is set around the focus of the MLA.