Tunable femtosecond near-infrared source based on a Yb:LYSO-laser-pumped optical parametric oscillator

We demonstrate a widely tunable near-infrared source from 767 nm to 874 nm generated by the intracavity second harmonic generation （SHG） in an optical parametric oscillator pumped by a Yb：LYSO solid-state laser. The home-made Yb：LYSO oscillator centered at 1035 nm delivers an average power of 2 W and a pulse duration as short as 351 fs. TWo MgO doped periodically poled lithium niobates （MgO：PPLN） with grating periods of 28.5-31.5 μm in steps of 0.5 μm and 19.5-21.3μm in steps of 0.2 μm are used for the OPO and intracavity SHG, respectively. The maximum average output power of 180 mW at 798 nm was obtained and the output pulses have pulse duration of 313 fs at 792 nm if a sech2-pulse shape was assumed. In addition, tunable signal femtosecond pulses from 1428 nm to 1763 nm are also realized with the maximum average power of 355 mW at 1628 nm.

Passive Q-Switching of a Yb:LuVO_4 Laser with Cr^(4+):YAG:Approaching the Intrinsic Upper Limit of Repetition Rate

We demonstrate a diode pumped Yb：LuVO4 laser that can be passively Q-switched by a Cr^（4＋）：YAG saturable absorber having an initial transmission as high as 99.3%.A maximum pulsed output power of 2.35 W is generated at a repetition rate of 285.7 kHz,approaching or very near the intrinsic upper limit imposed by the recovery time of the Cr^（4＋）：YAG saturable absorber,and the resulting pulse energy,duration and peak power are,respectively,8.2μJ,39.2ns and 0.209kW.

Noise-like rectangular pulses in a mode-locked double-clad Er:Yb laser with a record pulse energy

Generation of noise-like rectangular pulse was investigated systematically in an Er–Yb co-doped fiber laser based on an intra-cavity coupler with different coupling ratios.When the coupling ratio was 5/95,stable mode-locked pulses could be obtained with the pulse packet duration tunable from 4.86 ns to 80 ns.The repetition frequency was 1.186 MHz with the output spectrum centered at 1.6μm.The average output power and single pulse energy reached a record 1.43 W and1.21μJ,respectively.Pulse characteristics under different coupling ratios(5/95,10/90,20/80,30/70,40/60)were also presented and discussed.

Acousto-Optically Q-Switched Operation of Yb:CNGG Disordered Crystal Laser

We report the repetitively Q-switched laser operation of the Yb-doped calcium niobium gallium garnet disordered garnet crystal, achieved with an acousto-optic modulator in a compact plano-concave resonator that is endpumped by a 935-nm diode laser. An average output power of 1.96 W is produced at pulse repetition rate of50 k Hz at emission wavelengths around 1035 nm, with a slope efficiency of 16%. The highest pulse energy of 269 μJ is generated at pulse repetition rate of 1 k Hz, with pulse width 12.1 ns and peak power 20.53 kW.

A 61-mJ,1-kHz cryogenic Yb:YAG laser amplifier

We report a diode-pumped rod-type Yb:YAG laser amplifier operating at 1 kHz.Cryogenic cooling method was adopted to make the Yb:YAG crystal work with four-level behavior.A single-frequency fiber laser acts as the seed in an actively Q-switched Yb:YAG oscillator.The resonator delivers 5.75-mJ pulses at 1 kHz with a pulse duration of approximately 40 ns.The pulses were amplified to 61 mJ in a four-pass rod-type Yb:YAG amplifier with optical-to-optical efficiency of 24%in the main amplifier.The M^(2)parameter of the output laser is<1.4.

Yb^(3+):CS-FAP激光晶体的生长研究

With the development of the diode laser pump sources,the Yb 3+ doped crystals have brought much attention which is not suitable for flash light pump source since they are not match in spectrum region.Comparing with Nd 3+ doped crystals,Yb 3+ doped crystals have many advantages,for example, (1)Yb 3+ doped crystals have very low thermal load,(only about 1/3 of that of Nd 3+ doped crystals) therefore,the systems can obtain lasers with higher optical quality and higher average power. (2)The energy stored up ability of Yb 3+ doped crystals is about 5 times as much as that of Nd 3+ doped crystals. (3)The position of main absorption peak of Yb 3+ matches to the pumping InGaAs diode emission,which is more durable than the AlGaAs diode used to pump the Nd 3+ . (4)The full width at half maximum of Yb 3+ doped crystals is 10 times as much as that of Nd 3+ doped crystals,so,the temperature control requirement of laser diode is relatively moderate. (5)From the point of view of energy transfer,because of the inherently small quantum defect of the Yb 3+ ,the theoredtical quantum efficiency can get up to 91%.

Effect of power scale of 974 and 633 nm lasers on the induced loss at 633 nm of Yb3＋/Al3＋ co-doped silica fiber

Induced loss at 633 nm is tested in Yb3＋∕Al3＋co-doped silica fiber by a core pumped with a 974 nm laser and probed with a 633 nm laser. The fiber is prepared by the modified chemical vapor deposition method combined with solution doping. Different power scales of pump light and probe light are used in the tests. It is found that there is a dynamic equilibrium between photobleaching induced by 633 nm probe light and photodarkening（PD）induced by 974 nm pump light. For the first time to our knowledge, the effect of 633 nm probe laser power on an induced loss test of Yb3＋∕Al3＋co-doped silica fiber is studied quantitatively. It suggests that as long as the633 nm probe light power is less than 0.2 m W, the induced loss is mainly contributed by the PD effect of pumping light, and the deviation of induced loss is less than 5%.

Generation of 33 fs pulses directly from a Kerr-lens mode-locked Yb:CaYAlO4 laser

We experimentally demonstrated a diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked femtosecond laser with a Yb:CaYAlO4 crystal as the gain medium. Pulse duration as short as 33 fs was obtained directly from the oscillator at a repetition rate of 115 MHz. The central wavelength was at 1059 nm with a spectral bandwidth of 49 nm. These are, to the bestof our knowledge, the shortest pulses generated from a Yb:CaYAlO4 oscillator.

Diode-pumped 10 W femtosecond Yb:CALGO laser with high beam quality

We demonstrate a diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:CaGdAlO_(4)(Yb:CALGO)laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror(SESAM)for stable mode-locking operation.A perfect beam profile is measured under 10 W output power with M_(x)^(2)=1.017 and M_(y)^(2)=1.016 in the horizontal and vertical directions,respectively.At the repetition rate of 71.66 MHz,the optical pulse duration is 247 fs and the pulse energy is 140 nJ at the central wavelength of 1041 nm,corresponding to a peak power of 0.56 MW.In addition,we also generate continuous wave(CW)power of more than 15 W with TEM00 mode,corresponding to an optical-to-optical efficiency of 44.1%.

A design of a surface-doped Yb：YAG slab laser with high power and high efficiency

We demonstrate a high-efficiency and high-power quasi-three-level laser based on a trapezoidal composite slab architecture with a 270 μm-thick Yb-doping surface. The design of a surface-doped slab architecture,temperature effects, laser oscillator model, and laser oscillator experiments with a surface-doped slab as a laser host medium have been presented. By theoretical calculation, the temperature rise in the surface-doped slab is only one seventh of that in the bulk-doped slab at the same maximum pump power of 30 kW. Finally, in the laser oscillator experiments, an output energy of 21.6 J is obtained when the pump energy is 48 J with a repetition rate of 5 Hz and a pulse width of 1 ms. The optical-optical efficiency is 45%.

Preparation and laser properties of Yb^3＋-doped microstructure fiber based on hydrolysis-melting technique

The Yb^(3+)-doped silica glass was prepared by the Si Cl_4 hydrolysis doping and powder melting technology based on high frequency plasma. The absorption and emission characteristics of the Yb^(3+)-doped silica glass are studied at room temperature. The integrated absorption cross section,stimulated emission cross section and fluorescence lifetime are calculated to be 8.56×10~4 pm^3,1.39 pm^2 and 0.56 ms,respectively. The Yb^(3+)-doped microstructure fiber(MSF) was also fabricated by using the Yb^(3+)-doped silica glass as fiber core. What's more,the laser properties of the Yb^(3+)-doped MSF are studied.

Growth and spectral characteristics of a new promising stoichiometric laser crystal: Ca_9Yb(VO_4)_7

A Ca9Yb（VO4）7 crystal with dimensions of Φ23 mm×35 mm was grown successfully by Czochralski method. Its thermal conductivity was 1.06 W/（m？K） at room temperature. The absorption cross-sections at 980 nm were 1.80×10–20 cm2 and 1.28×10–20 cm2 for π- and σ- polarizations, respectively, with a full-width at half-maximum of 34 nm. The crystal had a broad emission at around 1025 nm with a full-width at half-maximum of 67 nm for π- polarization and 70 nm for σ- polarization. The emission cross-sections of the crystal were calculated by using reciprocity method and Füchtbauer-Ladenburg formula. The emission cross-sections at 1025 nm were 3.57×10–20 cm–2 and 1.91×10–20 cm–2 for π- and σ- polarization, respectively. The fluorescence lifetime was 332 μs. The results indicated that the crystal is a promising femtosecond and tunable laser material.