Nanosecond-pulsed, dual-wavelength, passively Q-switched ytterbium-doped bulk laser based on few-layer MoS2 saturable absorber

A compact saturable absorber mirror（SAM） based on few-layer molybdenum disulfide（MoS2） nanoplatelets was fabricated and successfully used as an efficient saturable absorber（SA） for the passively Q-switched solid-state laser at 1 μm wavelength. Pulses as short as 182 ns were obtained from a ytterbium-doped（Yb:LGGG） bulk laser Q-switched by the MoS2 SAM, which we believe to be the shortest one ever achieved from the MoS2 SAs-based Q-switched bulk lasers. A maximum average output power of 0.6 W was obtained with a slope efficiency of 24%,corresponding to single pulse energy up to 1.8 μJ. In addition, the simultaneous dual-wavelength Q-switching at 1025.2 and 1028.1 nm has been successfully achieved. The results indicate the promising potential of few-layer MoS2 nanoplatelets as nonlinear optical switches for achieving efficient pulsed bulk lasers.

Nonlinear Talbot self-healing in periodically poled LiNbO_3 crystal [Invited]

The nonlinear Talbot effect is a near-field nonlinear diffraction phenomenon in which the self-imaging of periodic objects is formed by the second harmonics of the incident laser beam. We demonstrate the first, to the best of our knowledge, example of nonlinear Talbot self-healing, i.e., the capability of creating defect-free images from faulty nonlinear optical structures. In particular, we employ the tightly focused femtosecond infrared optical pulses to fabricate LiNbO_(3) nonlinear photonic crystals and show that the defects in the form of the missing points of two-dimensional square and hexagonal periodic structures are restored in the second harmonic images at the first nonlinear Talbot plane. The observed nonlinear Talbot self-healing opens up new possibilities for defect-tolerant optical lithography and printing.

Generation of 100 nJ pulse,1 W average power at 2μm from an intermode beating mode-locked all-fiber laser

We report on the investigation of intermode beating mode-locked(IBML)pulse generation in a simple all-fiber Tm^3+-doped double clad fiber laser(TDFL).This IBML TDFL is implemented by matching longitudinal-mode frequency between 793 nm laser and TDFL without extra mode locker.The central wavelength of 1983 nm,the fundamental pulse frequency of 9.6 MHz and the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)of>50 dB are achieved in this IBML TDFL.With laser cavity optimization,the IBML TDFL can finally generate an average output power of 1.03 W with corresponding pulse energy of 107 nJ.These results can provide an easily accessible way to develop compact large-energy,highpower TDFLs.

Second-harmonic generation in periodic fork-shaped χ^((2)) gratings at oblique incidence

Three-dimensional(3D) nonlinear photonic crystals have received intensive interest as an ideal platform to study nonlinear wave interactions and explore their applications. Periodic fork-shaped gratings are extremely important in this context because they are capable of generating second-harmonic vortex beams from a fundamental Gaussian wave, which has versatile applications in optical trapping and materials engineering. However, previous studies mainly focused on the normal incidence of the fundamental Gaussian beam, resulting in symmetric emissions of the second-harmonic vortices. Here we present an experimental study on second-harmonic vortex generation in periodic fork-shaped gratings at oblique incidence, in comparison with the case of normal incidence. More quasi-phase-matching resonant wavelengths have been observed at oblique incidence, and the second-harmonic emissions become asymmetric against the incident beam.These results agree well with theoretic explanations. The oblique incidence of the fundamental wave is also used for the generation of second-harmonic Bessel beams with uniform azimuthal intensity distributions. Our study is important for a deeper understanding of nonlinear interactions in a 3D periodic medium. It also paves the way toward achieving highquality structured beams at new frequencies, which is important for manipulation of the orbital angular momentum of light.

Nonlinear photonic quasi-periodic spiral

The design of nonlinear photonic Vogel's spiral based on quasi-crystal theory was demonstrated.Two main parameters of Vogel's spiral were arranged to obtain multi-reciprocal circles.Typical structure was fabricated by the near-infrared femtosecond laser poling technique,forming a nonlinear photonic structure,and multiple ring-like nonlinear Raman±Nath second-harmonic generation processes were realized and analyzed in detail.The structure for the cascaded thirdharmonic generation process was predicted.The results could help deepen the understanding of Vogel's spiral and quasi-crystal and pave the way for the combination of quasi-crystal theory with more aperiodic structures.