Grating-free 2.8 μm Er:ZBLAN fiber chirped pulse amplifier

Abstract

We report on a grating-free fiber chirped pulse amplifier (CPA) at 2.8 μm for the first time. The CPA system adopted Er:ZBLAN fiber with large anomalous dispersion as stretcher and germanium (Ge) rods as compressor with a compact structure. High-energy picosecond pulses of 2.07 μJ were generated at the repetition rate of 100 kHz. Using highlydispersive Ge rods, the amplified pulses were compressed to 408 fs with a pulse energy of 0.57 μJ, resulting in a peak power of ~1.4 MW. A spectral broadening phenomenon in the main amplifier was observed, which was caused by the special gain shape of Er:ZBLAN fiber amplifier in operation and confirmed by our numerical simulation. This compact fiber CPA system at 2.8 μm will be practical and meaningful for application fields.

High-energy 2.8-μm Ultrashort Pulses Generation in an Er:ZBLAN Fiber Amplifier

“…One can notice that femtosecond pulses in the Er:ZBLAN fiber were extended to the picosecond scale due to nonlinear effects (including self-phase modulation) and anomalous dispersion environment. Both pre-dispersion management [15] and out-of-cavity dispersion management [18] are effective ways to achieve femtosecond pulses. We will proceed with the related work next.…”

“…This amplifier consisted of an SSFS-based seed source and a fluoride amplifier [17]. Further, due to their strong resonance absorption, MIR ultrashort pulses with μJ-level pulse energy are more suitable for polymer processing, which can improve the processing efficiency by several times [18]. 2.8 μm ultrashort pulse fiber amplifiers with pulse energy of 2.07 μJ [18] and 84 μJ [19] at 100 kHz repetition frequency have been reported successively.…”

“…Further, due to their strong resonance absorption, MIR ultrashort pulses with μJ-level pulse energy are more suitable for polymer processing, which can improve the processing efficiency by several times [18]. 2.8 μm ultrashort pulse fiber amplifiers with pulse energy of 2.07 μJ [18] and 84 μJ [19] at 100 kHz repetition frequency have been reported successively. Their femtosecond seed pulses were provided by optical parametric chirped pulse amplification and Er:ZBLAN fiber amplification systems, respectively, and required bulky and complex optical systems.…”

Specifications and control of spatial frequency errors of components in two-beam laser static holographic exposure for pulse compression grating fabrication

“…The pulse compression grating (PCG) plays a key role in the performance of the ultra-high-intensity ultra-short laser system, which in turn has pushed PCGs toward their limits in terms of size, optical performance and resistance to laser damage [ 4 – 6 ] . Over the last three decades, as the peak power of high-power lasers has increased from several megawatts (MW) to 10 petawatts (PW) [ 7 – 10 ] , the grating dimension has also been enlarging. These laser systems today use meter-scale gratings to compress the final amplified chirped pulse.…”

Tunable and Robust Mid‐Infrared Saturable Absorber Employing Tungsten Doping Cadmium Oxide

“…[1][2][3] Recent studies have focused on compact MIR pulsed lasers and related optical elements. [4][5][6] and transfer processes have led to poor reliability and repeatability, which significantly limit their applications in the field of highpower pulsed lasers. Therefore, the introduction of MIR functional materials with high LIDT and excellent nonlinear optical properties is necessary for pulse optical switches and compact MIR light sources.…”