A dual-wavelength amplifier that enables the simultaneous chirped-pulse amplification of femtosecond 1562 nm pulses and continuous wave 1064 nm radiation for applications in difference frequency generation

Abstract

We present the first demonstration of a chirped-pulse amplification system that enables the simultaneous amplification of femtosecond pulses from the erbium band and continuous wave radiation centered at 1064 nm. The setup generated 470 fs laser pulses, centered at 1562 nm, with an average output power of 590 mW. By exploiting the unique dual-wavelength design an additional gain of 18.08 dB was achieved for the auxiliary 1064 nm seed signal required in the frequency conversion part of the setup. The usability of the constructed source was verified by setting up a difference frequency generation experiment in which the unique characteristics of the mode-locked laser pulses were transferred into the mid-infrared wavelength region.

High-power frequency comb source tunable from 27 to 42 μm based on difference frequency generation pumped by an Yb-doped fiber laser

“…Such DFG frequency comb can be generated either by mixing the output of two independent sources (e.g. a mode-locked oscillator and continuous-wave (CW) laser [12,13]), or -preferably -using one master source. In the latter case, the DFG system can be driven by e.g.…”