Title :
Generation of ultrashort pulses from a neodymium glass laser system
Author :
Yan, Li ; Ho, P.-T. ; Lee, Chi H. ; Burdge, Geoffrey L.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Maryland Univ., College Park, MD, USA
fDate :
12/1/1989 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
A neodymium glass laser system capable of generating high-energy, ultrashort pulses at a convenient repetition rate is described. The effect of nonlinear frequency pulling on active mode locking is discussed. By minimizing the nonlinear frequency pulling, it is possible to routinely generate stable ~10-ps pulses at a 100-MHz repetition rate from the actively mode-locked oscillator. The regenerator amplifier increases the oscillator pulse energy to over 30 μJ at a 370-Hz repetition rate. Using intracavity self-phase modulation, the regenerative amplifier also broadens the pulse bandwidth to ~35 Å. By subsequent pulse compression while maintaining high energy, it is possible to produce 0.55-ps pulses with >10 μJ. An optical fiber pulse compressor further shortens the pulses to 30 fs (30 nJ), the shortest pulses ever generated at 1.054 μm from a neodymium laser system
Keywords :
fibre optics; high-speed optical techniques; laser frequency stability; laser mode locking; neodymium; optical modulation; solid lasers; spectral line breadth; 0.55 ps; 1.054 micron; 10 muJ; 10 ps; 30 fs; 30 muJ; 30 nJ; active mode locking; convenient repetition rate; high-energy pulses; intracavity self-phase modulation; mode-locked oscillator; neodymium glass laser system; nonlinear frequency pulling; optical fiber pulse compressor; oscillator pulse energy; pulse bandwidth; pulse bandwidth broadening; pulse compression; regenerator amplifier; repetition rate; stable pulse generation; ultrashort pulse generation; ultrashort pulses; Frequency; Glass; Laser mode locking; Neodymium; Optical amplifiers; Optical pulse generation; Optical pulses; Oscillators; Pulse amplifiers; Pulse compression methods;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
