Femtosecond thin disk laser oscillator with pulse energy beyond the 10-microjoule level

Marchese, S. V.; Baer, C. R. E.; Engqvist, A. G.; Hashimoto, Shigeki; Maas, D. J. H. C.; Golling, Matthias; Südmeyer, Thomas; Keller, U.

doi:10.1364/oe.16.006397

Cited by 113 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The pulse energy of ultrafast thin disk lasers was also successfully increased. Pulse energies as high as 11.3 µJ [6] were generated in a cavity geometry with the thin disk used as simple folding mirror, while up to 25.9 µJ were achieved in an active multipass cavity with 13 reflections on the disk [7]. Generating energetic femtosecond pulses directly from a laser oscillator without any further amplification has a number of advantages in terms of simplicity, compactness, and lownoise operation [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-power ultrafast thin disk laser oscillators and their potential for sub-100-femtosecond pulse generation

et al. 2009

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Ultrafast thin disk laser oscillators achieve the highest average output powers and pulse energies of any mode-locked laser oscillator technology. The thin disk concept avoids thermal problems occurring in conventional high-power rod or slab lasers and enables high-power TEM 00 operation with broadband gain materials. Stable and self-starting passive pulse formation is achieved with semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs). The key components of ultrafast thin disk lasers, such as gain material, SESAM, and dispersive cavity mirrors, are all used in reflection. This is an advantage for the generation of ultrashort pulses with excellent temporal, spectral, and spatial properties because the pulses are not affected by large nonlinearities in the oscillator. Output powers close to 100 W and pulse energies above 10 µJ are directly obtained without any additional amplification, which makes these lasers interesting for a growing number of industrial and scientific applications such as material processing or driving experiments in high-field science. Ultrafast thin disk lasers are based on a power-scalable concept, and substantially higher power levels appear feasible. However, both the highest power levels and pulse energies are currently only achieved with Yb:YAG as the gain material, which limits the gain bandwidth and therefore the achievable pulse duration to 700 to 800 fs in It is important to evaluate their suitability for power scaling in the thin disk laser geometry. In this paper, we review the development of ultrafast thin disk lasers with shorter pulse durations. We discuss the requirements on the gain materials and compare different Yb-doped host materials. The recently developed sesquioxide materials are particularly promising as they enabled the highest optical-tooptical efficiency (43%) and shortest pulse duration (227 fs) ever achieved with a mode-locked thin disk laser.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-power ultrafast thin disk laser oscillators and their potential for sub-100-femtosecond pulse generation

et al. 2009

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“…For higher repetition rates in the MHz regime, the direct output from mode-locked thin-disk oscillators could be used as the pump source. Pulse energies of up to 26 µJ have been reported recently from such lasers [32,33]. This is sufficient energy to operate the first amplification stage of the OPCPA discussed in this paper.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

High-repetition-rate femtosecond optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier in the mid-infrared

2009

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We discuss a dual-stage optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier generating sub-100-fs pulses in the mid-infrared at a repetition rate of 100 kHz. The system is based on a 1064 nm pump laser and a 3-4 µm difference frequency generation seed source derived from the output of a femtosecond fiber laser amplifier. Both lasers are commercially available, are diode-pumped, compact, and allow for turn-key operation. Here, we focus our discussion on the design and dimensioning of the optical parametric chirpedpulse amplifier. In particular, we review the available gain materials for mid-infrared generation and analyze the impact of different stretching scenarios. Timing jitter plays an important role in short-pulse parametric amplifier systems and is therefore studied in detail. The geometry of the amplifier stages is optimized through a full 3-dimensional simulation with the aim of maximizing gain bandwidth and output power. The optimized system yields output pulse energies exceeding 1 µJ and an overall gain larger than 50 dB. The high repetition rate of the pump laser results in an unprecedented average power from a femtosecond parametric system at mid-infrared wavelengths. First experimental results confirm the design and the predictions of our theoretical model.

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“…It was followed by many experiments that successfully scaled the average output power [4], increased the pulse energy and intensity [5], or reduced the pulse duration [6], partly by employing other laser materials than Yb:YAG that offer a broader gain bandwidth. The straightforward approach to generate higher laser pulse energies has always been to reduce the pulse repetition rate, leading to a concentration of more power in fewer pulses.…”

Section: Ultrafast Disk Oscillatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two potentially complementary approaches have evolved to overcome this limitation, the first being to evacuate the resonator or to flush it with a gas of low nonlinearity such as helium. With He flooding, energies as high as 11 µJ have been generated directly from a disk oscillator [5].…”

Section: Ultrafast Disk Oscillatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perfect Precision in Industrial Micro Machining

Heckl

Siebert

Sutter

et al. 2012

Laser Technik Journal

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Industrial applications have driven the commercial laser market for decades. The widespread usage of CW lasers in welding and cutting, in particular at kilowatt average powers, is complemented by the success of pulsed lasers in applications where excessive heat is undesired and where sublimation rather than melting provides ultimate precision in manufacturing. During the past years, ultrafast lasers have become established industrial tools for cold, yet efficient micro machining. They nowadays provide the desired tens of megawatt peak powers at average powers of several tens of watts as required to reach sufficient productivity, at a total cost of ownership below 10 cent (€ or $) per watt and hour of operation. TRUMPF has pioneered ultrafast machining with new lasers based on Yb:YAG disk modules since the beginning of this millennium. This article gives a brief review of the state of the art of ultrafast disk lasers, amplifiers and their industrial applications.

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Femtosecond thin disk laser oscillator with pulse energy beyond the 10-microjoule level

Cited by 113 publications

References 34 publications

High-power ultrafast thin disk laser oscillators and their potential for sub-100-femtosecond pulse generation

High-power ultrafast thin disk laser oscillators and their potential for sub-100-femtosecond pulse generation

High-repetition-rate femtosecond optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier in the mid-infrared

Perfect Precision in Industrial Micro Machining

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