Pulses as short as 260 fs have been generated in a diode-pumped low-gain Er:Yb:glass laser by exploiting the nonlinear optical response of single-layer graphene. The application of this novel material to solid-state bulk lasers opens up a way to compact and robust lasers with ultrahigh repetition rates.
Frequency combs can be used directly, for example as a highly precise spectroscopic light source. They can also be used indirectly, as a bridge between devices whose high precision requirements would normally make them incompatible. Here, we demonstrate two ways that a frequency comb enables new technologies by matching optical cavities. One cavity is the laser oscillator. A second cavity is a low-threshold doubly-resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO). Extending optical referencing to the doubly-resonant OPO turns the otherwise unstable device into an extremely precise midinfrared frequency comb. Another cavity is an optical enhancement cavity for amplifying spectral absorption in a gas. With the high speed of a graphene-modulated frequency comb, we can couple a frequency comb directly into a highfinesse cavity for trace gas detection.
Pulses as short as 260fs have been generated in an Er:Yb:glass laser by saturable absorber mode-locking using graphene as the only mode-locking mechanism. These novel saturable absorbers present a low-cost, ultra-broadband alternative to traditional SESAMs.
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