A Decade of Sub‐100‐fs Thin‐Disk Laser Oscillators

Abstract

Thin‐disk lasers (TDLs) are best known for their high‐power continuous‐wave industrial applications. Nonetheless, the thin‐disk geometry is also highly attractive for ultrafast laser oscillators. The short propagation distance and large beam diameter inside the gain crystal allows for very low induced nonlinearity, low dispersion, and extreme peak powers inside the laser cavity. The path toward TDL oscillators directly delivering high average power at ultrafast pulse duration required for many scientific applications has, however, been tangled and is still ongoing. A decade ago, the first sub‐100‐fs laser oscillator is demonstrated, initiating the pursuit of even shorter pulses. Since then, many gain materials have been investigated in the thin‐disk geometry as well as various mode‐locking mechanisms for their suitability for efficient short‐pulse operation. In this review, the fast‐evolving development trends of TDL oscillators, as well as their scientific applications and prospects will be discussed.

Electric Control of Thermal Contributions to the Nonlinear Optical Properties of Nitrobenzene

“…[1][2][3] The OKE is responsible for various nonlinear effects such as self-focusing, self-phase modulations, cross-phase modulation, and four-wave mixing and has various applications including alloptical switching, optical modulators, Kerr lens mode-locking, and optical signal processing. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The effect of OKE is described DOI: 10.1002/apxr.202300053 by a third-order nonlinear refractive index (n 2 ) and it can be measured by using the Z-scan technique. [10,11] The Z-scan technique is very sensitive to spatial distortion (both amplitude and phase) of a laser beam transmitted through the sample.…”