High gain fiber-solid hybrid double-passing end-pumped Nd:YVO4 picosecond amplifier with high beam quality

We propose a fiber-solid hybrid system which consists of a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror(SESAM)modelocked fiber seed with a pulse width of 10.2 ps and a repetition rate of 18.9 MHz,a two-level fiber pre-amplifier and a double-passing end-pumped Nd:YVO4 amplifier.In the solid-state amplifier,to enhance the gain and the extraction efficiency,a specially designed structure in which the seed light passes through the gain medium four times and makes full use of population inversion is used as the double-passing amplifier.Besides,the beam filling factor(the ratio of the seed light diameter to the pump light diameter)and the thermal lens effect of the double-passing amplifier are considered and its optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is further improved.To preserve the beam quality of the double-passing amplifier,a new method of spherical-aberration self-compensation based on the principles of geometrical optics is used and discussed.Our system achieves a maximum average power of 9.5Wat the pump power of 28W,corresponding to an optical-to-optical efficiency of 27%.And the beam quality factor M^2 reaches 1.3 at the maximum output power.

A Flat-Gain Double-Pass Amplifier with New Hafnia-Bismuth-Erbium Codoped Fiber

An efficient and compact double-pass optical fiber amplifier is demonstrated using a newly developed hafnia bismuth erbium co-doped fiber（HBEDF） as a gain medium. The HBEDF is fabricated using a modified chemical vapor deposition in conjunction with solution doping. The fiber has an erbium ion concentration of 12500 ppm.At the optimum length of 0.5 m, the HBEDF amplifier（HBEDFA） achieves a flat gain of 26 d B with a gain variation of less than 1.5 d B within a wavelength region from 1530 to 1560 nm when the input signal and pump power are fixed at-30 d Bm and 140 m W, respectively. On the other hand, at the input signal power of-10 d Bm,the HBEDFA also achieves a flat gain of 14.2 d B with a gain variation of less than 2.5 d B within a wide wavelength region from 1525 to 1570 nm. Compared with the conventional zirconia erbium co-doped fiber based amplifier,the proposed HBEDFA obtains a more efficient gain and lower noise figure. For an input signal of-30 d Bm, the gain improvements of 6.2 d B and 4.8 d B are obtained at 1525 nm and 1540 nm, respectively.

Effect of delay time between pre-pulse and main pulse on single-pass and double-pass amplification of 46.9 nm laser

In this paper,the influence of the delay time between the pre-pulse and the main pulse on the double-pass amplified 46.9 nm laser was studied for the first time,to the best of our knowledge,by using a high-precision polished SiC slice as a rear mirror.The temporal and spatial characteristics of the output laser were measured separately to investigate the effect of the delay time on the laser characteristics.The energy of the double-pass amplified laser was between 510μJ and 890μJ.In addition,a theoretical model of double-pass amplification was established to analyze the effect of the delay time on the double-pass amplified 46.9 nm laser.

Comparison of ocular modulation transfer function determined by a ray-tracing aberrometer and a double-pass system in early cataract patients

Background The evaluation of retinal image quality in cataract eyes has gained importance and the clinical modulation transfer functions （MTF） can obtained by aberrometer and double pass （DP） system. This study aimed to compare MTF derived from a ray tracing aberrometer and a DP system in early cataractous and normal eyes. Methods There were 128 subjects with 61 control eyes and 67 eyes with early cataract defined according to the Lens Opacities Classification System II1. A laser ray-tracing wavefront aberrometer （iTrace） and a double pass （DP） system （OQAS） assessed ocular MTF for 6.0 mm pupil diameters following dilation. Areas under the MTF （AUMTF） and their correlations were analyzed. Stepwise multiple regression analysis assessed factors affecting the differences between iTrace- and OQAS-derived AUMTF for the early cataract group. Results For both early cataract and control groups, iTrace-derived MTFs were higher than OQAS-derived MTFs across a range of spatial frequencies （P 〈0.01）. No significant difference between the two groups occurred for iTrace-derived AUMTF, but the early cataract group had significantly smaller OQAS-derived AUMTF than did the control group （P 〈0.01）. AUMTF determined from both the techniques demonstrated significant correlations with nuclear opacities, higher-order aberrations （HOAs）, visual acuity, and contrast sensitivity functions, while the OQAS-derived AUMTF also demonstrated significant correlations with age and cortical opacity grade. The factors significantly affecting the difference between iTrace and OQAS AUMTF were root-mean-squared HOAs （standardized beta coefficient=-0.63, P 〈0.01） and age （standardized beta coefficient=0.26, P 〈0.01）. Conclusions MTFs determined from a iTrace and a DP system （OQAS） differ significantly in early cataractous and normal subjects. Correlations with visual performance were higher for the DP system. OQAS-derived MTF may be useful as an indicator of visual performance in early cataract eyes.

Spatiotemporal characterization of laser pulse amplification in double-pass active mirror geometry

We present a spatiotemporal model of pulse amplification in the double-pass active mirror(AM)geometry.Three types of overlap condition are studied,and the spatiotemporal scaling under the four-pulse overlapping(4 PO)condition is fully characterized for the first time,by mapping the temporal and spatial segments of beam to the instantaneous gain windows.Furthermore,the influence of spatiotemporal overlaps on the amplified energy,pulse distortion and intensity profile is unraveled for both AM and zigzag configurations.The model,verified by excellent agreement between the predicted and measured results,can be a powerful tool for designing and optimizing high energy multi-pass solid-state laser amplifiers with AM,zigzag and other geometries.

Double-pass grating imaging spectrometer

A double-pass grating imaging spectrometer is proposed and demonstrated. The traditional entrance slit is replaced by a middle reflective slit, which is used as a spectral filter rather than a spatial filter. The light from the scene passes through the same dispersive grating twice. The full image of the scene can be obtained with a snapshot. Therefore, the stripe noise and image distortion caused by image mosaicking can be eliminated.Besides, the target is easier to be captured and focused, just like using a camera. This method can be used to obtain clearer spectral images of the scene conveniently and quickly.

Reproducibility of optical quality parameters measured at objective and subjective best focuses in a doublepass system

AIMTo evaluate intra-session repeatability and reproducibility of optical quality parameters measured at objective and subjective best focuses in a double-pass system.METHODSThirty Chinese healthy adults (19 to 40 years old) meeting our inclusion criterion were enrolled in the study. After a basic eye examination, two methods of optical quality measurement, based on subjective and objective best focuses were performed using the Optical Quality Analysis System (OQAS) with an artificial pupil diameter of 4.0 mm.RESULTSWith each method, three consecutive measurements of the following parameters: the modulation transfer function cutoff frequency (MTFcutoff), the Strehl2D ratio, the OQAS values (OVs) at contrasts of 100%, 20%, 9% and the objective scatter index (OSI) were performed by an experienced examiner. The repeatability of each method was evaluated by the repeatability limit (RL) and the coefficient of repeatability (COR). Reproducibility of the two methods was evaluated by intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and the 95% limits of agreement (Bland and Altman analysis). Thirty subjects, seven females and twenty three males, of whom 15 right eyes and 15 left eyes were selected randomly for recruitment in the study. The RLs (percentage) for the six parameters measured at objective focus and subjective focus ranged from 8.44% to 15.13% and 10.85% to 16.26%, respectively. The CORs for the two measurement methods ranged from 8.27% to 14.83% and 10.63% to 15.93%, respectively. With regard to reproducibility, the ICCs for the six parameters of OQAS ranged from 0.024 to 0.276. The 95% limits of agreement obtained for the six parameters (in comparison of the two methods) ranged from -0.57 to 42.18 (MTFcutoff), -0.01 to 0.23 (Strehl2D ratio), -0.02 to 1.40 (OV100%), -0.10 to 1.75 (OV20%), -0.14 to 1.80 (OV9%) and -1.46 to 0.18 (OSI).CONCLUSIONMeasurements provided by OQAS with either method showed a good repeatability. However, the results obtained from the two different measurement methods showed a poor reproducibility. These findings suggest that it might be best to evaluate patients' optical quality by OQAS using the best focus as chosen automatically by the instrument.

在成年人的 Non-cycloplegic 球形的相等的折射: 双通行证系统，视网膜镜检法，主观折射和装桌子的 autorefractor 的比较

AIM:To evaluate the accuracy of spherical equivalent(SE) estimates of a double-pass system and to compare it with retinoscopy,subjective refraction and a table mounted autorefractor.METHODS:Non-cycloplegic refraction was performed on 125 eyes of 65 healthy adults(age 23.5±3.0 years) from October 2010 to January 2011 using retinoscopy,subjective refraction,autorefraction(Auto kerato refractometer TOPCON KR-8100,Japan) and a double pass system(Optical Quality Analysis System,OQAS,Visiometrics S.L.,Spain).Nine consecutive measurements with the double-pass system were performed on a subgroup of 22 eyes to assess repeatability.To evaluate the trueness of the OQAS instrument,the SE laboratory bias between the double pass system and the other techniques was calculated.RESULTS:The SE mean coefficient of repeatability obtained was 0.22D.Significant correlations could be established between the OQAS and the SE obtained with retinoscopy(r=0.956,P【0.001),subjective refraction(r=0.955,P【0.001) and autorefraction(r=0.957,P【0.001).The differences in SE between the double-pass system and the other techniques were significant(P【0.001),but lacked clinical relevance except for retinoscopy;Retinoscopy gave more hyperopic values than the double-pass system-0.51±0.50D as well as the subjective refraction-0.23±0.50D;More myopic values were achieved by means of autorefraction 0.24±0.49D. CONCLUSION:The double-pass system provides accurate and reliable estimates of the SE that can be used for clinical studies.This technique can determine the correct focus position to assess the ocular optical quality.However,it has a relatively small measuring range in comparison with autorefractors(-8.00 to +5.00D),and requires prior information on the refractive state of the patient.

Static recovery of A5083 aluminum alloy after a small deformation through various measuring approaches

Static recovery was confirmed to be the dominant softening mechanism during annealing for the studied A5083 aluminum alloy.The kinetics of static recovery,described based on the activation parameters(activation energy and volume of static recovery)and the static softening fraction,were mainly studied through two thermomechanical tests,namely,double-pass compression and stress relaxation tests.A new approach was proposed to measure the static softening fraction in the stress relaxation test.In general,a higher temperature or strain rate accelerates static recovery,while interestingly,the effect of pre-strain on static recovery is opposite in cases with and without external stress,owing to the enhanced static recovery by external stress during annealing.In addition,microhardness tests and electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)characterization were also conducted to verify the accuracy of the results.The grain average misorientation approach based on EBSD characterization was confirmed to be effective in distinguishing and quantifying static recovery.It is noteworthy that the special stress hardening phenomenon occurring at 400℃and 0.1/s is caused by strain aging,showing the complexity of the material behaviors after deformation of the studied aluminum alloy.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF DOUBLEPASS AMPLIFICATION OF X-RAY LASER IN NEON-LIKE GERMANIUM

The experimental investigations of double-pass amplification of X-ray laser in neon-like germanium were carried out by use of Shengguang laser facilities.In these experiments a molybdenum/silicon multilayer mirror Was used at normal incidence, a flat-field grating spectrograph was used to measure the intensity of lasing lines. We observed the doublepass emission intensity in the neon-like germanium at 23.2 and 23.6 nm that was 5 times larger than that of the single-pass ASE. The enhartcement of double-pass emission could be much larger if the operation period of multilayer mirror was counted in. The damage of multilayer mirror irradiated by laser plasma was measured simultaneously, the lifetime of Mo/Si multilayer mirror was about 440—700ps.In addition, we measured the beam divergence of lasing beam,the resnlts showed that the beam divergence in the vertical direction was about 22 mrad and in the horizontal direction about 12 mrad.

Effect of time interval on microstructure evolution of medium carbon steel during warm deformation

The thermal mechanical simulator system (Gleeble-3500) was used to carry out the double passes compression tests. The microstructure evolution of medium carbon steel with different time intervals during warm deformation was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and electron back-scattered diffraction. The results show that the effects of time interval on microstructure evolution are very important. The low-angle boundaries transform into high-angle boundaries (HABs) during interval. The fraction of HABs and homogeneity of particle carbides increase with increasing time interval. In addition, the homogeneity of carbides also increases with the strain. However, the effects of time interval on the microstructure evolution are negligible when it exceeds 100 s.

Novel configuration for wavelength conversion based on cross-gain modulation in semiconductor optical amplifiers

Novel configuration for cross-gain modulation (XGM) wavelength conversion based on the single-port-coupled semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), in which the input and the output share one port, has been demonstrated with the output extinction ratio as high as 15 dB, even in the 2.5 Gbit/s wavelength up conversion with a 12.8 nm span. Owing to the existence of double-pass gain and the transmission loss of the rear facet, the novel scheme can be achieved with simpler implementation and higher output extinction ratio, compared with the conventional schemes based on double-port-coupled SOA either with identical long chip or double long chip.