High-power modelocked thin-disk oscillators as potential technology for high-rate material processing

Wang, Yicheng; Tomilov, Sergei; Saraceno, Clara J.

doi:10.1515/aot-2021-0045

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 123 publications

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“…This special issue of advanced optical technologies on topic high-rate laser processing is dedicated to outline recent advances and progress using high-average power USPL in high-throughput micromachining [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. This comprises recent technological developments of highaverage power USPL including the most promising architecture concepts (fiber, thin-disk, and slab), advanced machining strategies implementing ultrafast and multibeam laser processing approaches as well as machining examples to emphasize the high potential of the USPL technology for high-rate micromachining.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Ultrashort pulse lasers in high-rate laser micro processing – Quo vadis?

Schille

Loeschner

2021

Advanced Optical Technologies

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wang et al [14] review the development of high-power modelocked thin-disk lasers (TDL) as promising candidate for average power scaling. From a 1 μm wavelength onebox oscillator, an average output power of 350 W could be delivered at 1 MHz PRF and tens of microjoules pulse energies.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrashort pulse lasers in high-rate laser micro processing – Quo vadis?

Schille

Loeschner

2021

Advanced Optical Technologies

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“…[ 45,55 ] The 2‐µm TDLs have been recently reviewed in detail by Wang et al. [ 71 ] and will not be discussed further in the context of this review.…”

Section: Gain Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another development direction of TDL oscillators leads toward operation at longer wavelength of 2 μm based on Ho:YAG. [45,55] The 2-μm TDLs have been recently reviewed in detail by Wang et al [71] and will not be discussed further in the context of this review.…”

Section: Gain Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Decade of Sub‐100‐fs Thin‐Disk Laser Oscillators

Drs

Fischer

Modsching

et al. 2023

Laser & Photonics Reviews

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Thin‐disk lasers (TDLs) are best known for their high‐power continuous‐wave industrial applications. Nonetheless, the thin‐disk geometry is also highly attractive for ultrafast laser oscillators. The short propagation distance and large beam diameter inside the gain crystal allows for very low induced nonlinearity, low dispersion, and extreme peak powers inside the laser cavity. The path toward TDL oscillators directly delivering high average power at ultrafast pulse duration required for many scientific applications has, however, been tangled and is still ongoing. A decade ago, the first sub‐100‐fs laser oscillator is demonstrated, initiating the pursuit of even shorter pulses. Since then, many gain materials have been investigated in the thin‐disk geometry as well as various mode‐locking mechanisms for their suitability for efficient short‐pulse operation. In this review, the fast‐evolving development trends of TDL oscillators, as well as their scientific applications and prospects will be discussed.

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“…Another development direction of TDL oscillators leads toward operation at longer wavelength of 2 µm based on Ho:YAG [44,54]. The 2-µm TDLs have been recently reviewed in detail in [69] and will not be discussed further in the context of this review. A great challenge for gain materials in the thin-disk geometry is not only the gain bandwidth but equally important the thermal properties, achievable doping concentration, and homogeneity.…”

Section: Gain Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Think-disk lasers and their applications for nonlinear frequency conversion toward THz and XUV

Drs¹

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This thesis is devoted to the development of ultrafast thin-disk lasers (TDL) oscillators and their use for intra-oscillator high-harmonic generation (HHG). The main motivation was to develop a simple and compact source of coherent extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light. Conventionally, coherent XUV radiation can be found in large scale synchrotron or free-electron laser facilities. Laser driven HHG systems have long strived to become a lab-scale alternative to these sources. The major challenge has been the low conversion efficiency of the HHG process and the high demands on the driving laser. With the advancing laser technology, this situation is rapidly improving and several state-of-the-art HHG systems can nowadays reach an XUV flux which is in certain aspects comparable to synchrotrons. The intra-laser-oscillator HHG approach is inspired by femtosecond enhancement cavities. Driving HHG inside an enhancement cavity allows for recycling the unconverted pulse energy, while increasing the available power by the cavity enhancement factor. An enhancement cavity, however, requires coherent coupling of the femtosecond pulses into the cavity which is a demanding task. The intra-oscillator HHG approach offers a simplified concept using directly the cavity of the laser instead of an external enhancement cavity. To achieve sufficiently high driving power for efficient intra-oscillator HHG, the existing TDL technology had to be significantly improved and optimized for intracavity performance. Within the scope of this thesis, a strong focus was placed on the development of the driving laser and significant progress has been achieved. To this purpose, we investigated and demonstrated Kerr lens modelocked TDL oscillators based on the gain material Yb:YAG, which achieved several records in terms of their output performance. Using our system we have demonstrated the shortest pulse duration of any TDL oscillator of 27 fs, as well as the highest average power in the sub-100-fs regime of 100 W and the highest peak power of 100 MW. The corresponding increase of intracavity performance of our laser allowed us to significantly improve the HHG operation in terms of the generated XUV flux and photon energies. Starting from 0.5 nW generated at 13 eV demonstrated five years ago, we have improved the XUV flux to 10 μW at 30 eV at the current state. Although this is not yet the highest performance among other HHG systems, the flux value is becoming competitive to the results of enhancement cavities operating at similar photon energy. The improved output performance of the demonstrated TDLs is also highly attractive for nonlinear conversion toward longer wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. A part of this thesis is, thus, dedicated to terahertz generation. We have demonstrated the first TDL driven terahertz generation in 2018, through optical rectification in GaP. Later, we used the tunability and the high average power of our self-built TDL oscillator to experimentally investigate in detail the properties of optical rectification in GaP driven by 1- μm high-power Yb-based lasers. Finally, having the experience from intra-oscillator HHG, we have shown that the high-power driving laser can be replaced by driving the THz generation directly inside the cavity of a small KLM bulk laser oscillator.

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High-power modelocked thin-disk oscillators as potential technology for high-rate material processing

Cited by 9 publications

References 123 publications

Ultrashort pulse lasers in high-rate laser micro processing – Quo vadis?

Ultrashort pulse lasers in high-rate laser micro processing – Quo vadis?

A Decade of Sub‐100‐fs Thin‐Disk Laser Oscillators

Think-disk lasers and their applications for nonlinear frequency conversion toward THz and XUV

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