Efficient nonlinear compression of a thin-disk oscillator to 8.5  fs at 55  W average power

Barbiero, Gaia; Wang, Haochuan; Grassl, M.; Gröbmeyer, Sebastian; Neuhaus, Marcel; Pervak, Vladimir; Nubbemeyer, Thomas; Fattahi, Hanieh; Kling, Matthias F.

doi:10.1364/ol.440303

Cited by 27 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…In contrast, the implementation of our method requires only off-the-shelf optics and enables strong spectral broadening by high B-integrals per pass. Therefore, our compression scheme is a compact alternative to more complex multistage setups [14,[21][22][23][24][25] and presents a highly attractive method to generate sub-50 fs pulses from a highpower picosecond laser.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factor 30 Pulse Compression by Hybrid Multipass Multiplate Spectral Broadening

Seidel

Balla

et al. 2022

Ultrafast Sci

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As ultrafast laser technology advances towards ever higher peak and average powers, generating sub-50 fs pulses from laser architectures that exhibit best power-scaling capabilities remains a major challenge. Here, we present a very compact and highly robust method to compress 1.24 ps pulses to 39 fs by means of only a single spectral broadening stage which neither requires vacuum parts nor custom-made optics. Our approach is based on the hybridization of the multiplate continuum and the multipass cell spectral broadening techniques. Their combination leads to significantly higher spectral broadening factors in bulk material than what has been reported from either method alone. Moreover, our approach efficiently suppresses adverse features of single-pass bulk spectral broadening. We use a burst-mode Yb:YAG laser emitting pulses with 80 MW peak power that are enhanced to more than 1 GW after postcompression. With only 0.19% rms pulse-to-pulse energy fluctuations, the technique exhibits excellent stability. Furthermore, we have measured state-of-the-art spectral-spatial homogeneity and good beam quality of M2=1.2 up to a spectral broadening factor of 30. Due to the method’s simplicity, compactness, and scalability, it is highly attractive for turning a picosecond laser into an ultrafast light source that generates pulses of only a few tens of femtoseconds duration.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factor 30 Pulse Compression by Hybrid Multipass Multiplate Spectral Broadening

Seidel

Balla

et al. 2022

Ultrafast Sci

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“…The demonstration of CEO stabilization of a 100-W class TDL oscillator [49] followed by another 100-MW class oscillator directly emitting 50-fs pulses [53] is highly promising. Especially, in combination with the advances in multi-pass cell bulk compression schemes, which have been routinely reaching sub-30-fs pulses at these power levels [94,96] and most recently even 8.5 fs [97]. Combining these recent results will likely provide a CEO-stable single-cycle 100-W-class laser source capable of generating isolated attosecond pulses at megahertz repetition rates.…”

Section: High Harmonic Generationmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Their high overall transmission and their robustness against beam pointing instabilities allows for reliable operation at average powers well above the 100 W. The highest demonstrated peak power is close to 170 MW [96] in approximately 30 fs pulses. Compression into the few-cycle regime (≤10 fs at 1 µm) has been demonstrated as well using single-or multiplate compressors to avoid the need for broadband, dispersion-engineered multi-pass cell mirrors [34,97]. Overall, nonlinearly compressed TDL oscillators generate peak power on the 100 MWlevel, which already suffices for many nonlinear applications.…”

Section: Peak Power Scaling and Pulse Compressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overview of peak power and pulse duration of state-of-the-art TDL oscillators operating at sub-picosecond pulse duration. The red hexagon markers depict the parameters after nonlinear pulse compression [34,49,63,[90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97]. The bell jar symbols indicate systems operated in vacuum.…”

Section: Peak Power Scaling and Pulse Compressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The bell jar symbols indicate systems operated in vacuum. For references [34,97], the peak power was calculated based on the compression ratio, power efficiency and compression efficiency stated in the manuscripts, which is likely an overoptimistic estimate.…”

Section: Peak Power Scaling and Pulse Compressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Think-disk lasers and their applications for nonlinear frequency conversion toward THz and XUV

Drs¹

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This thesis is devoted to the development of ultrafast thin-disk lasers (TDL) oscillators and their use for intra-oscillator high-harmonic generation (HHG). The main motivation was to develop a simple and compact source of coherent extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light. Conventionally, coherent XUV radiation can be found in large scale synchrotron or free-electron laser facilities. Laser driven HHG systems have long strived to become a lab-scale alternative to these sources. The major challenge has been the low conversion efficiency of the HHG process and the high demands on the driving laser. With the advancing laser technology, this situation is rapidly improving and several state-of-the-art HHG systems can nowadays reach an XUV flux which is in certain aspects comparable to synchrotrons. The intra-laser-oscillator HHG approach is inspired by femtosecond enhancement cavities. Driving HHG inside an enhancement cavity allows for recycling the unconverted pulse energy, while increasing the available power by the cavity enhancement factor. An enhancement cavity, however, requires coherent coupling of the femtosecond pulses into the cavity which is a demanding task. The intra-oscillator HHG approach offers a simplified concept using directly the cavity of the laser instead of an external enhancement cavity. To achieve sufficiently high driving power for efficient intra-oscillator HHG, the existing TDL technology had to be significantly improved and optimized for intracavity performance. Within the scope of this thesis, a strong focus was placed on the development of the driving laser and significant progress has been achieved. To this purpose, we investigated and demonstrated Kerr lens modelocked TDL oscillators based on the gain material Yb:YAG, which achieved several records in terms of their output performance. Using our system we have demonstrated the shortest pulse duration of any TDL oscillator of 27 fs, as well as the highest average power in the sub-100-fs regime of 100 W and the highest peak power of 100 MW. The corresponding increase of intracavity performance of our laser allowed us to significantly improve the HHG operation in terms of the generated XUV flux and photon energies. Starting from 0.5 nW generated at 13 eV demonstrated five years ago, we have improved the XUV flux to 10 μW at 30 eV at the current state. Although this is not yet the highest performance among other HHG systems, the flux value is becoming competitive to the results of enhancement cavities operating at similar photon energy. The improved output performance of the demonstrated TDLs is also highly attractive for nonlinear conversion toward longer wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. A part of this thesis is, thus, dedicated to terahertz generation. We have demonstrated the first TDL driven terahertz generation in 2018, through optical rectification in GaP. Later, we used the tunability and the high average power of our self-built TDL oscillator to experimentally investigate in detail the properties of optical rectification in GaP driven by 1- μm high-power Yb-based lasers. Finally, having the experience from intra-oscillator HHG, we have shown that the high-power driving laser can be replaced by driving the THz generation directly inside the cavity of a small KLM bulk laser oscillator.

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

Drs

Fischer

Modsching

et al. 2023

Laser & Photonics Reviews

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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.

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Efficient nonlinear compression of a thin-disk oscillator to 8.5 fs at 55 W average power

Cited by 27 publications

References 32 publications

Factor 30 Pulse Compression by Hybrid Multipass Multiplate Spectral Broadening

Factor 30 Pulse Compression by Hybrid Multipass Multiplate Spectral Broadening

Think-disk lasers and their applications for nonlinear frequency conversion toward THz and XUV

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

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