Showing papers on "Regenerative amplification published in 1995"
TL;DR: A Ti:sapphire amplifier system capable of producing pulses of 1 mJ, with 20-22-fs pulse duration, at a 1-kHz repetition rate, and an eight-pass system with a total gain of 10(6) is developed.
Abstract: We have developed a Ti:sapphire amplifier system capable of producing pulses of 1 mJ, with 20–22-fs pulse duration, at a 1-kHz repetition rate. The amplifier has a unique design consisting of a three-mirror multipass ring configuration with a highly doped Ti:sapphire crystal as the gain medium. Pulses of 15-fs duration from a Ti:sapphire oscillator are temporally stretched and injected into the amplifier, which is an eight-pass system with a total gain of 106. The amplifier is more than 10% efficient, and the shot-to-shot energy fluctuation of the output is less than 2%. The output beam focuses to 1.8 times the diffraction limit.
117 citations
TL;DR: An all-solid-state tunable diode-pumped Cr3+:LiSrAlF 6 (Cr:LiSAF) regenerative amplifier, seeded by a tunable bi-modulus femtosecond oscillator, has been demonstrated for the first time to the authors' knowledge.
Abstract: An all-solid-state tunable diode-pumped Cr3+:LiSrAlF 6 (Cr:LiSAF) regenerative amplifier, seeded by a tunable diode-pumped Cr:LiSAF femtosecond oscillator, has been demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. The oscillator was tunable over 75 nm and generated pulses as short as 24 fs. As much as 70 mW average output power was obtained with pulses of 40-fs duration. The amplifier produced recompressed pulses of less than 200-fs duration with energies exceeding 1 μJ at a repetition rate as high as 25 kHz.
81 citations
TL;DR: Frequency-resolved optical gating measurements were made to characterize pulses from a Ti:sapphire chirped-pulse amplified laser system and provide an experimental demonstration of the value of FROG for characterizing complex pulses, including tailored femtosecond pulses for quantum control.
Abstract: Frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) measurements were made to characterize pulses from a Ti:sapphire chirped-pulse amplified laser system. By characterizing both the pulse intensity and the phase, the FROG data provided the first direct observation to our knowledge of residual phase distortion in a chirped-pulse amplifier. The FROG technique was also used to measure the regenerative amplifier dispersion and to characterize an amplitude-shaped pulse. The data provide an experimental demonstration of the value of FROG for characterizing complex pulses, including tailored femtosecond pulses for quantum control.
81 citations
TL;DR: A simple four-pass Ti:sapphire amplifier is seeded by sub-10-fs pulses generated from a mirror-dispersion-controlled Ti:Sapphire laser, achieved from an extremely compact system.
Abstract: A simple four-pass Ti:sapphire amplifier is seeded by sub-10-fs pulses generated from a mirror-dispersion-controlled Ti:sapphire laser. Pulses of 17–18-fs duration with energies up to 50 and 100 μJ have been produced at repetition rates of 2 and 1 kHz, respectively. Because of the absence of a pulse stretcher, this performance is achieved from an extremely compact system.
72 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a β-barium-borate Type-I optical parametric amplifier with 400-nm-wavelength pulses from a 200-kHz Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier system is described.
Abstract: Microjoule-energy 100-fs pulses are able to produce diffraction-limited white-light continuum in solid materials. Using this broadband continuum as a seed permits the efficient operation of widely tunable ultrafast optical parametric amplifiers with only microjoule pump energies. We describe a β-barium-borate Type-I optical parametric amplifier pumped with 400-nm-wavelength pulses from a 200-kHz Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier system.
70 citations
Proceedings Article•
21 May 1995TL;DR: In this paper, the limitations introduced during the amplification of such short pulses can be found by studying the spectral properties of Ti:sapphire amplifiers, which can be used to obtain a few tens of millijoules.
Abstract: Pulses with durations shorter than 10 fs have been produced in several laboratories by using Ti:sapphire oscillators. Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) can be used to amplify such pulses to energies of a few tens of millijoules.1 The limitations introduced during the amplification of such short pulses can be found by studying the spectral properties of Ti:sapphire amplifiers.
52 citations
TL;DR: A novel stretcher-compressor system to produce 45-fs, 75-mJ pulses at a 10-Hz repetition rate and it is shown that pulses from this system can be tuned for high-performance stretcher compressing applications.
Abstract: We have developed a novel stretcher–compressor system to produce 45-fs, 75-mJ pulses at a 10-Hz repetition rate.
49 citations
TL;DR: A simple and robust Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier without prepulse stretching is reported, and transform-limited 60-fs Gaussian pulses at up to a 5-kHz repetition rate with energy of 50 μJ/pulse are obtained.
Abstract: We report a simple and robust Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier without prepulse stretching. Pulse stretching by positive group-velocity dispersion and negative third-order dispersion are provided by highly dispersive flint glass prisms inside the regenerative amplifier cavity. Using a single-grating compressor, we obtain transform-limited 60-fs Gaussian pulses at up to a 5-kHz repetition rate with energy of 50 μJ/pulse.
43 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that powerful femtosecond pulses can be obtained by use of a series of amplifying media with shifted but overlapping narrow gain bandwidth, based on chirped-pulse amplification in Nd:glass amplifiers.
Abstract: We show that powerful femtosecond pulses can be obtained by use of a series of amplifying media with shifted but overlapping narrow gain bandwidth. This concept, based on chirped-pulse amplification in Nd:glass amplifiers, permits the generation of sub-100-TW pulses with durations shorter than 300 fs. Experimental gain narrowing and phase distortion are found to be in good agreement with theory.
41 citations
TL;DR: A 100-kHz mode-locked Ti:sapphire-seeded regenerative amplifier pumping an optical parametric amplifier generates femtosecond pulses tunable from 470 to 710 nm that are bandwidth expanded through self-phase modulation in bulk material and further compressed to less than 30-fs duration.
Abstract: A 100-kHz mode-locked Ti:sapphire-seeded regenerative amplifier pumping an optical parametric amplifier generates femtosecond pulses tunable from 470 to 710 nm. This output was compressed with a pair of prisms to bandwidth-limited pulses of 80- to 40-fs duration and more than 150 nJ of energy. These tunable pulses were then bandwidth expanded through self-phase modulation in bulk material and further compressed to less than 30-fs duration.
39 citations
TL;DR: By using a lower-transmission output coupler, a diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked Cr(3+):LiSrAlF(6) laser is described and a self-starting regime is demonstrated with an output power of 10 mW and 55-fs pulses.
Abstract: We describe a diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked Cr3+:LiSrAlF6 laser that produces 50 mW of 70-fs pulses in the 820–890-nm range when pumped by two red diodes of 400 mW each. By using a lower-transmission output coupler we have demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge a self-starting regime with an output power of 10 mW and 55-fs pulses.
TL;DR: An all-solid-state, tunable, diode-pumped Cr:LiSrAlF(6) regenerative amplifier has been demonstrated, for the first time to the authors' knowledge, that amplifies femtosecond pulses to energies exceeding 1 mu;mJ at up to a 16-kHz repetition rate.
Abstract: A tunable femtosecond solid-state amplifier system that uses only 3 W of 488-nm argon-ion pump power has been demonstrated to deliver microjoule pulses at repetition rates up to 20 kHz, with a maximum pulse energy of 14 μJ obtained at 5 kHz. An all-solid-state, tunable, diode-pumped Cr:LiSrAlF6 regenerative amplifier has been demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge, that amplifies femtosecond pulses to energies exceeding 1 μJ at up to a 16-kHz repetition rate.
TL;DR: In LiIO(3) and BBO crystals the wave-matching conditions for femtosecond noncollinear parametric light generation at lambda = 390 nm pumping wavelength are investigated and simultaneous phase- and group-velocity- matching angles are determined.
Abstract: In LiIO3 and BBO crystals the wave-matching conditions for femtosecond noncollinear parametric light generation at λ = 390 nm pumping wavelength are investigated. In the LiIO3 crystal simultaneous phase- and group-velocity-matching angles are determined. Parametric generation occurred at 0.45–2.9-μm wavelengths by pumping with the second harmonic of 150-fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses and is in qualitative agreement with calculated directions in both crystals.
TL;DR: A high-power compact diode-pumped Nd:YLF regenerative amplifier that is focused into the laser crystal with a longitudinal end-pumping arrangement based on an array of cylindrical microlenses is described.
Abstract: We describe a high-power compact diode-pumped Nd:YLF regenerative amplifier. The pumping source is a 15-W diode-laser array that is focused into the laser crystal with a longitudinal end-pumping arrangement based on an array of cylindrical microlenses. Seeded with 15-ps pulses from a diode-pumped and mode-locked Nd:YLF oscillator, the regenerative amplifier produces pulses of 0.5-mJ energy at a 1-kHz repetition rate. A pulse energy as high as 0.75 mJ is achieved at a 500-Hz repetition rate and below.
TL;DR: A passive self-injection-seeding scheme for the generation of short-pulse trains from various pulsed lasers using a single subnanosecond pulse generated from a short-cavity seeding laser.
Abstract: We propose a passive self-injection-seeding scheme for the generation of short-pulse trains from various pulsed lasers. In this scheme a single subnanosecond pulse is generated from a short-cavity seeding laser. The pulse is then returned to the same gain medium and amplified regeneratively until the gain is quenched completely. Cw operation capability or an external short-pulse seeding laser is not required for generation of short-pulse trains. Based on this simple scheme an ultraviolet subnanosecond pulse train is directly and passively generated from a solid-state laser medium (Ce3+:LuLiF4) pumped by a standard 10-ns laser.
TL;DR: A high-power longitudinally end-diode-pumped Nd:YLF all-in-one laser has been constructed and tested to prevent the buildup of large-amplitude relaxation oscillations and to minimize the prelasing leakage.
Abstract: A high-power longitudinally end-diode-pumped Nd:YLF all-in-one laser has been constructed and tested. The compact single-cavity laser generates pulses with durations of 28 ps. Pulse energies of ~120 or ~500 μJ are measured at a 1-kHz repetition rate when the all-in-one laser is pumped with a 3- or 15-W diode laser, respectively. Controlled prelasing is utilized to prevent the buildup of large-amplitude relaxation oscillations and to minimize the prelasing leakage. Pulse shaping in the all-in-one laser is analyzed in terms of the Kuizenga–Siegman theory.
TL;DR: Amplified spontaneous emission is experimentally found to play an important role in the dynamics of pulse formation in Q-switched fiber lasers and leads to stepwise (or quantized) behavior of the emission buildup.
Abstract: Amplified spontaneous emission is experimentally found to play an important role in the dynamics of pulse formation in Q-switched fiber lasers and leads to stepwise (or quantized) behavior of the emission buildup. This effect could be included in detailed modeling of pulsed fiber lasers and might be interesting in some applications.
TL;DR: The parasitic resonances that are characteristic of multicavity lasers are used to demonstrate the increase in mode volume in the apertured laser that can increase the output power by a factor of 3 with respect to that of the nonapertured laser.
Abstract: In a laser TEM00-mode selection by the use of a hard intracavity aperture gives rise to losses that are experimentally observable and to an increase in the fundamental-mode volume that is more difficult to observe. We use the parasitic resonances that are characteristic of multicavity lasers to demonstrate this volume enhancement in a He–Ne laser operating at 3.39 μm. The increase in mode volume in the apertured laser can increase the output power by a factor of 3 with respect to that of the nonapertured laser.
30 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this article, a Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier was used to amplify 50 fs pulses up to 35 mJ using gain guiding, which was shown to be scalable to higher energies.
Abstract: Gain guiding is used in a Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier to amplify 50 fs pulses up to 35 mJ. This technique is shown to be scalable to higher energies.
Proceedings Article•
21 May 1995
TL;DR: The main benefit of chirped pulse amplification is that very-high-peak power lasers have become laboratory tools as discussed by the authors, and the emphasis in this area has continued to be higher peak power in a more compact form.
Abstract: The main benefit of chirped pulse amplification is that very-high-peak power lasers have become laboratory tools. The emphasis in this area has continued to be higher peak power in a more compact form. One major improvement has been the use of tunable solid-state materials for amplifying shorter pulses which was first demonstrated in flashlamp-pumped alexandrite.1 Another decrease in size and improvement in stability has been achieved by going to laser pumping which was first demonstrated in Ti:sapphire pumped by frequency-doubled Nd:YAG.2 Further dramatic improvement in peak power has recently been accomplished by amplifying shorter pulses in this type of system.3
30 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this article, a negative-feedback Nd:YLF regenerative amplifier (regen) is described with excellent amplitude stability for amplifying complex pulse shapes that will be injected into the OMEGA laser system.
Abstract: A negative-feedback Nd:YLF regenerative amplifier (regen) is described with excellent amplitude stability for amplifying complex pulse shapes that will be injected into the OMEGA laser system. Operational characteristics and the optical square pulse distortion of this regen are presented. The measured feedback-controlled regen square pulse distortion is reproducible and can be easily compensated by proper choice of input optical pulse shape.
01 May 1995
TL;DR: In this article, an FEL scheme based on chirped-pulsed regenerative amplification was proposed to achieve high peak-power laser, where the l-ps pulse of a solid-state laser was stretched, amplified, and recompressed to achieve the high peak power.
Abstract: During a Workshop on Gamma-Gamma Colliders in Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, it was pointed out that an 1-/spl mu/m laser that can produce 1-J, 1-ps pulses at a few hundred hertz is required. With high-power scalability and ease of formatting, an FEL can be a promising candidate for such a laser. We propose an FEL scheme based on chirped-pulsed regenerative amplification to achieve this high peak-power laser. The l-ps pulse of a solid-state laser will be stretched, amplified, and recompressed to achieve the high peak power. The system is relatively simple and consists of mostly components that have already been demonstrated. This paper will describe the proposal and the important issues of such a scheme.
TL;DR: In this paper, a regenerative amplifier consisting of a conventional mirror as the output coupler and a phase-conjugating SBS cell as the high-reflectivity mirror was seeded with a single longitudinal and transverse mode oscillator with pulse durations of 10 ns and pulse energies up to 5.3 mJ.
Abstract: A regenerative amplifier consisting of a conventional mirror as the output coupler and a phase-conjugating SBS cell as the high-reflectivity mirror was seeded with a single longitudinal and transverse mode oscillator with pulse durations of 10 ns and pulse energies up to 5.3 mJ. The output energy, temporal characteristics and beam-quality were measured as a function of pump energy, input energy and the reflectivity of the feedback mirror. Output energies up to 180 mJ were obtained for oscillator input energies of only 0.3 mJ. The beam quality was 2.5 times the diffraction limit. The results are compared with those for simple double-pass amplification.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the regenerative amplification of a laser injector signal with a given phase distribution using a ring reflection-type amplifier with a self-conjugate resonator is shown to be feasible in principle.
Abstract: The regenerative amplification of a laser injector signal with a given phase distribution using a ring reflection-type amplifier with a self-conjugate resonator is shown to be feasible in principle. The effect of optical deformations of an amplifier on forming a given wavefront in the amplification process is estimated. Conditions of frequency lock-in in a system consisting of an injector and a ring laser are considered. 13 refs., 5 figs.