Multi-Watt mid-IR femtosecond polycrystalline Cr^2+:ZnS and Cr^2+:ZnSe laser amplifiers with the spectrum spanning 20–26 µm

Vasilyev, Sergey; Moskalev, Igor; Mirov, Mike; Mirov, Sergey; Gapontsev, Valentin

doi:10.1364/oe.24.001616

Cited by 73 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The integrated phase noise from 100 Hz to 10 MHz is 1 mrad, corresponding to a relative time jitter of 10 −4 . Although the minimum duration of 30 fs, recently obtained with a KLM Cr:ZnS laser [11,12] has not been reached, the measured 47-fs pulsewidth turns out to be, to the best authors' knowledge, the shortest so far reported in the literature for a Kerr-lens mode-locking in polycristalline Cr:ZnSe. The excellent performance characterizing this femtosecond source opens the way to implement a novel-type of mid-IR optical frequency comb synthesizer, based on high-repetition rate KLM Cr:ZnSe laser, covering the near and mid-IR fingerprint spectral region from 1 to 4 µm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

47-fs Kerr-lens mode-locked Cr:ZnSe laser with high spectral purity

et al. 2017

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We report on a room-temperature Kerr-lens mode-locked Cr:ZnSe femtosecond laser operating at around 2.4 μm emission wavelength. Self-starting nearly transform-limited pulse trains with a minimum duration of 47 fs, corresponding to six optical cycles, and average output power of 0.25 W are obtained with repetition frequencies in the range from 140 to 300 MHz. The femtosecond pulse train is characterized by high-spectral purity and low time jitter.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

47-fs Kerr-lens mode-locked Cr:ZnSe laser with high spectral purity

et al. 2017

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“…Vasilyev, Moskalev, M. Mirov, S. Mirov and Gapontsev [19] demonstrate efficient amplification of few-optical-cycle mid-infrared pulses in continuously-pumped polycrystalline Cr 2+ :ZnS and Cr 2+ :ZnSe gain media, spanning the infrared spectrum between 2.0 and 2.6 µm. The 1.7 W output of a Kerr-lens mode-locked master oscillator with a 2.4 µm central wavelength and a 79 MHz repetition rate was amplified to 7.1 W and 2.7 W in Cr 2+ :ZnS and Cr 2+ :ZnSe, respectively.…”

Section: Laser Amplifiers and Ultrafast Systemsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Focus issue introduction: Advanced Solid-State Lasers (ASSL) 2015

Gallo¹,

Jeong²,

Taira³

et al. 2016

Opt. Express

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The editors introduce the focus issue on "Advanced Solid-State Lasers (ASSL) 2015", which is based on the topics presented at a congress of the same name held in Berlin, Germany, from October 4 to October 9, 2015. This focus issue, jointly prepared by Optics Express and Optical Materials Express, includes 23 contributed papers (17 for Optics Express and 6 for Optical Materials Express) selected from the voluntary submissions from attendees who presented at the congress and have extended their work into complete research articles. We hope this focus issue offers a good snapshot of a variety of topical discussions held at the congress and will contribute to the further expansion of the associated research areas.

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“…Single-pass fs laser amplifiers based on polycrystalline Cr:ZnS and Cr:ZnSe, as proposed in [6], are very appealing due to their simplicity, compactness and robustness. Recent improvements in the design of polycrystalline Cr:ZnS and Cr:ZnSe MOPAs has allowed us to realize multi-W mid-IR fs sources with three-optical cycle pulse duration [7]. 4 illustrates spectra of output pulses of the single-pass Cr:ZnS amplifier at fundamental mid-IR and SHG wavelengths.…”

Section: Ultrafast Mid-ir Oscillatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Breakthroughs in Solid‐State Mid‐IR Laser Technology

Vasilyev¹,

Moskalev²,

Mirov³

et al. 2016

Laser Technik Journal

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Availability of compact and cost-efficient mid-infrared (MIR) laser sources with a broad range of parameters is of great interest for a number of current and emerging applications. For instance, femtosecond (fs) MIR sources with high average power and broad spectral span enable high dynamic range spectroscopy, sensing, and imaging in the molecular fingerprint region. On the other hand, few-optical-cycle MIR pulses with high energy are of particular importance for the development of EUV and X-ray sources based on strong field nonlinear optics, e.g. high harmonic generation. Furthermore, high-power mid-IR lasers are of interest for processing polymers, glasses and composites, surgical, dental and cosmetology procedures, as well as numerous defense-related applications.Introduced in 1970s, the first solid-state MIR lasers were based on alkali halide crystals with color centers or oxide and fluoride crystals doped with trivalent rare earth ions and required inconvenient cryogenic cooling of the gain medium. Transition-metal doped II-VI semiconductors (TM:II-VI) were introduced as a new class of gain media in the late 1990s by William Krupke's group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA [1]. By their design, TM:II-VI are effective MIR laser materials. Features of II-VI semiconductor hosts (wide bandgap, low phonon cutoff, tetrahedral coordination) are very favorable for doping by TM ions. Chemically stable divalent TM dopant ions provide the 'right' multiplet structure for broadly tunable MIR lasers, including broad absorption and emission bands, high cross-sections, and absence of excited state absorption.ZnS and ZnSe doped with Cr 2+ and Fe 2+ are typical and the best known representatives of the large TM:II-VI family, as reviewed in [2]. Advantages of Cr:ZnS and Cr:ZnSe lasers include room-temperature (RT) operation with close to 100 % quantum efficiency, very broad tuning over 1.9 -3.4 µm range, and convenient pumping by reliable erbium (Er) and thulium (Tm) fiber lasers with pump conversion efficiency in excess of 60 %. Broad emission bands of Crdoped ZnS and ZnSe are favorable for generation of ultra-short pulses; these materials are often referred to as the "Ti:sapphire of the middle IR". In many respects, Fe:ZnS and Fe:ZnSe lasers are complimentary to Cr-based sources. They are pumped in the 2.5 -3.3 µm range and tunable over 3.4 -5.2 µm range; they operate at RT in the nanosecond (ns) pulsed regime but require cooling to about 150 K in the continuous wave (cw) regime.Cr (or Fe) doped ZnS and ZnSe have very similar spectroscopic and laser parameters. Physical properties of ZnS, e.g. reduced thermal-optical effects and wider bandgap are advantageous in high power laser applications, while ZnSe has higher nonlinearity. The choice between ZnS and ZnSe hosts is usually defined by the specific laser parameter requirements. Both materials are available in single crystal and in polycrystalline forms. Single-crystals of high optical quality and sufficiently high dopant concentrations are difficult ...

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Multi-Watt mid-IR femtosecond polycrystalline Cr^2+:ZnS and Cr^2+:ZnSe laser amplifiers with the spectrum spanning 20–26 µm

Cited by 73 publications

References 23 publications

47-fs Kerr-lens mode-locked Cr:ZnSe laser with high spectral purity

47-fs Kerr-lens mode-locked Cr:ZnSe laser with high spectral purity

Focus issue introduction: Advanced Solid-State Lasers (ASSL) 2015

Recent Breakthroughs in Solid‐State Mid‐IR Laser Technology

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