Femtosecond tuning of Cr:colquiriite lasers with AlGaAs-based saturable Bragg reflectors

Demırbas, Umıt; Petrich, G.S.; Li, Duo; Sennaroğlu, Alphan; Kolodziejski, L. A.; Kärtner, Franz X.; Fujimoto, James G.

doi:10.1364/josab.28.000986

Cited by 25 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…However, with careful dispersion adjustment, it is possible obtain pulsewidths of ∼25 fs from standard AlGaAs-based SBR mode-locked Cr:Colquiriite lasers [30]. Moreover, using novel oxidized broadband SBR mirrors [81] or Kerr-lens modelocking with gain matched OCs [82], it might be possible to obtain sub-10 fs level pulses from Cr:LiSAF.…”

Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Various diode types have been used to pump Cr:LiSAF lasers to date, including single-spatial-mode laser diodes (also known as single-transverse-mode diodes or ridge waveguide lasers) [3,4,8,[26][27][28][29][30], broad-stripe single-emitter diodes [31,32], tapered diodes [33], and laser diode arrays [34]. Broadstripe single-emitter diodes, tapered diodes, and laser diode arrays provide higher pump powers (1 to 10 s of Watts) for pumping Cr:LiSAF lasers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Compact and efficient Cr:LiSAF lasers pumped by one single-spatial-mode diode: a minimal cost approach

2012

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In this study, we report a minimal-cost and minimal-complexity Cr:LiSAF laser that is pumped only by one inexpensive single-spatial-mode diode. The pump diode, which was originally developed for DVD-writers, provides 130 mW of output power at 660 nm with an efficiency of 30%. This simple pump source enables the construction of a Cr:LiSAF laser that (i) has an estimated total material cost below US$ 5k, (ii) has a footprint of about 20 × 30 cm, (iii) does not require active cooling, and (iv) can be driven by batteries. All of these make this system ideal for applications that require portability. In continuous-wave (cw) laser experiments, we have demonstrated lasing thresholds as low as 2 mW, slope efficiencies as high as 52%, and output powers up to 58 mW. A record cw tuning range extending from 780 to 1110 nm has also been obtained. In cw mode-locking experiments using a saturable Bragg reflector at 850 nm, the Cr:LiSAF laser produced 100 fs pulses with an average power of 38 mW at a repetition rate of 235 MHz. Using a more compact laser cavity, we have also obtained 130 fs pulses with an average power of 33 mW at a repetition rate of 757 MHz. The corresponding electrical-to-optical conversion efficiencies in cw and cw mode-locked regimes were 12.8% and 8.4%, respectively. These results show that, with the progress in laser-diode and optical mirror technology in the last decade, reasonable output powers can now be obtained from Cr:LiSAF lasers that are pumped only by one single-spatial-mode diode. We believe that this compact, low-cost, and simplistic Cr:LiSAF laser system may be an attractive source for several applications including amplifier seeding.

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Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compact and efficient Cr:LiSAF lasers pumped by one single-spatial-mode diode: a minimal cost approach

2012

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“…to above 1.5 W level) [59]. We also believe that, using this BRF plate, multicolor laser operation is also feasible with ultrashort pulses in either Kerr lens mode-locked or Saturable Bragg mirror mode-locked laser cavities [60,61]. Lastly, dual-wavelength cw operation has been demonstrated in Cr:LiSAF before using grating controlled coupled cavities [23].…”

Section: Multicolor Laser Operation With Cr:lisafmentioning

confidence: 78%

Multicolor lasers using birefringent filters: experimental demonstration with Cr:Nd:GSGG and Cr:LiSAF

Demırbas¹,

Uecker²,

Fujimoto³

et al. 2017

Opt. Express

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Abstract:In this study, we numerically and experimentally investigate application of birefringent filters (BRFs) as frequency selective elements in multicolor lasers. A BRF plate made out of crystalline quartz with an arbitrarily oriented optical axis has been explored. Simulation results have shown that compared to regular BRFs where the optical axis lies in the plane of the plates surface, a BRF with an optical axis pointing out of its surface enables design flexibility in filter parameters, providing access to a wider set of free spectral range and bandwidth values. As a result, multicolor operation could be obtained in many wavelength pairs using a single BRF plate. In the experiments a 3-mm thick quartz BRF with an optical axis 45° to the surface plane has been used. With Cr:Nd:GSGG as a laser medium two-color and three-color cw laser operation has been demonstrated in 11 and 3 different transition combinations, respectively. Moreover, two-color laser operation has been demonstrated in 10 different wavelength pairs in Cr:LiSAF. To our knowledge, this study is the first detailed investigation and experimental demonstration of BRFs with tilted optical axis for multicolor operation of solid-state lasers. Compared to other methods, BRFs enable a rich selection of transition pairs and also the ratio of the power in each line could be regulated by fine adjustment of the rotation angle. Implementation of tilted-axis BRFs should boost development of efficient and low-cost multicolor lasers in other gain media as well. 449-451 (1997). 6. S. Pan, X. Zhao, and C. Lou, "Switchable single-longitudinal-mode dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber ring laser incorporating a semiconductor optical amplifier," Opt. Lett. 33(8), 764-766 (2008). 7. C. W. Chow, C. S. Wong, and H. K. Tsang, "All-optical NRZ to RZ format and wavelength converter by dualwavelength injection locking," Opt. Commun. 209(4-6), 329-334 (2002). 7231-7242 (2007). 10. J. B. Abshire, "Pulsed multiwavelength laser ranging system for measuring atmospheric delay," Appl. Opt.19 ( 202-208 (1985). 33. S. Zhu, "Birefringent filter with tilted optic axis for tuning dye lasers: theory and design," Appl. Opt. 29(3), 410-415 (1990). 34. X. Wang and J. Yao, "Transmitted and tuning characteristics of birefringent filters," Appl. Opt. 31(22), 4505-4508 (1992). 35. H. Wu, C. Zhang, and X. Bai, "A complete description of polarization and transmission of nonnormal incident rays in a uniaxial birefringent plate with arbitrary optic axis," Opt. Commun. 283(21), 4129-4134 (2010).

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“…In the case of SESAMs, one major drawback is the complexity of the fabrication process. Furthermore, the resonant nature of the quantum well limits the operational bandwidth of the mode-locked laser, making it difficult to obtain pulses with a duration shorter than 25 fs in Cr:LiSAF [7]. In the case of SWCNTs, although the fabrication process is easier and more cost-effective in comparison with that for SESAMs, bandwidth limitations may still arise, depending on the radius distribution of the carbon nanotubes.…”

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Graphene mode-locked Cr:LiSAF laser at 850 nm

et al. 2015

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We report, for the first time to our knowledge, a mode-locked femtosecond Cr:LiSAF laser initiated with a high-quality monolayer graphene saturable absorber (GSA), synthesized by chemical-vapor deposition. The tight-focusing resonator architecture made it possible to operate the Cr:LiSAF laser with only two 135 mW, 660 nm low-cost single-mode diode lasers. At a pump power of 270 mW, the laser produced nearly transform-limited 68 fs pulses with an average power of 11.5 mW at 850 nm. The repetition rate was around 132 MHz, corresponding to a pulse energy and peak power of 86 pJ and 1.26 kW, respectively. Once mode locking was initiated with the GSA, stable, uninterrupted femtosecond pulse generation could be sustained for hours. The saturation fluence and the modulation depth of the GSA were further determined to be 28 μJ∕cm 2 and 0.62%, respectively. The Cr:LiSAF gain medium, an important member of the class of Cr:colquiriite lasers, has emerged as a versatile solid-state gain medium with broad, tunable emission in the 780-1110 nm wavelength range [1]. Its high emission cross section-fluorescence lifetime product (322 μs × 10 −20 cm 2 ) and high intrinsic slope efficiency (>50%) have made it possible to obtain efficient, low-threshold lasing with the use of widely available low-power, single-mode red pump diodes [1]. The broad emission bandwidth of Cr:LiSAF has further enabled the generation of femtosecond pulses as short as 10 fs [2] and mode-locked tuning over the 800-920 nm wavelength range [3].One disadvantage of the Cr:colquiriites in general and of Cr:LiSAF in particular is the low value of the nonlinear refractive index (0.8 × 10 −16 cm 2 ∕W, four times lower than that for Ti:sapphire [4]), which makes it quite challenging to obtain a sufficient modulation depth via Kerr lens mode (KLM) locking alone. Hence, saturable absorbers and alternative modulation schemes have been proposed recently to improve the long-term stability of the laser during mode-locked operation. For example, semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs) [5] and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) [6] were successfully employed in previous studies to generate mode-locked pulses from Cr:LiSAF lasers with improved long-term stability. In the case of SESAMs, one major drawback is the complexity of the fabrication process. Furthermore, the resonant nature of the quantum well limits the operational bandwidth of the mode-locked laser, making it difficult to obtain pulses with a duration shorter than 25 fs in Cr:LiSAF [7]. In the case of SWCNTs, although the fabrication process is easier and more cost-effective in comparison with that for SESAMs, bandwidth limitations may still arise, depending on the radius distribution of the carbon nanotubes. Furthermore, as the operation wavelength decreases toward the visible, the transmission of the carbon nanotubes increases because of the onset of metallic effects, leading to higher nonsaturable insertion losses [8]. In more recent studies [3,9], our groups further demonstrated the use of a gai...

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Femtosecond tuning of Cr:colquiriite lasers with AlGaAs-based saturable Bragg reflectors

Cited by 25 publications

References 41 publications

Compact and efficient Cr:LiSAF lasers pumped by one single-spatial-mode diode: a minimal cost approach

Compact and efficient Cr:LiSAF lasers pumped by one single-spatial-mode diode: a minimal cost approach

Multicolor lasers using birefringent filters: experimental demonstration with Cr:Nd:GSGG and Cr:LiSAF

Graphene mode-locked Cr:LiSAF laser at 850 nm

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