Optical characterization of semiconductor saturable absorbers

Haiml, M.; Grange, Rachel; Keller, U.

doi:10.1007/s00340-004-1535-1

Cited by 232 publications

(140 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(60 reference statements)

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“…However, at the time of the experiment, the maximum thickness available was 7 mm, therefore, two plates were introduced at the expense of a small loss in output power. We used an output coupler with 2.6% transmission and an uncoated SESAM with the following measured parameters [28]: saturation fluence F sat = 36 µJ/cm 2 , a modulation depth R = 3.3%, nonsaturable losses R ns = 0.7%, and a fast recovery time of τ 1/e = 1.9 ps.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sub-100 femtosecond pulses from a SESAM modelocked thin disk laser

et al. 2012

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We present the first passively modelocked thin disk laser (TDL) with sub-100-fs pulse duration using the broadband sesquioxide gain material Yb:LuScO 3 and an optimized SEmiconductor Saturable Absorber Mirror (SESAM). In this proof-of-principle experiment, we obtained 5.1 W of average power at a repetition rate of 77.5 MHz and a pulse duration of 96 fs. We carefully explored and optimized the different parameters on the soliton pulse formation process for the generation of short pulses. In particular, SESAMs combining fast recovery time, high modulation depth and low nonsaturable losses proved crucial to achieve this result even though they are expected to only play a minor role in soliton modelocking. To our knowledge, these are the shortest pulses ever obtained with a modelocked TDL, reaching for the first time the sub-100-fs milestone. This result opens the door to sub-100-fs oscillators with substantially higher power levels in the near future.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sub-100 femtosecond pulses from a SESAM modelocked thin disk laser

et al. 2012

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“…This allows us to directly investigate the influence of these parameters on the pulse buildup with only a few assumptions, since most of the parameters are well known and can be easily measured [28][29][30].…”

Section: Numerical Modeling Of the Pulse Formation In Sesam-modelockementioning

confidence: 99%

“…All used parameters are listed in Table 1. The recovery dynamics as well as the saturation behavior of the SESAM are well known and can be measured in our laboratory [29,30]. Cavity parameters are usually well known from the resonator design.…”

Section: Input Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimentally verified pulse formation model for high-power femtosecond VECSELs

et al. 2013

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Optically pumped vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (OP-VECSELs), passively modelocked with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM), have generated the highest average output power from any sub-picosecond semiconductor laser. Many applications, including frequency comb synthesis and coherent supercontinuum generation, require pulses in the sub-300-fs regime. A quantitative understanding of the pulse formation mechanism is required in order to reach this regime while maintaining stable, high-average-power performance. We present a numerical model with which we have obtained excellent quantitative agreement with two recent experiments in the femtosecond regime, and we have been able to correctly predict both the observed pulse duration and the output power for the first time. Our numerical model not only confirms the soliton-like pulse formation in the femtosecond regime, but also allows us to develop several clear guidelines to scale the performance toward shorter pulses and higher average output power. In particular, we show that a key VECSEL design parameter is a high gain saturation fluence. By optimizing this parameter, 200-fs pulses with an average output power of more than 1 W should be possible.

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“…The A-FPSA also exhibits negligible group delay dispersion (GDD) with less than 20 fs 2 over the entire high-reflectivity bandwidth (800-1100 nm). Consequently, A-FPSAs have been extensively investigated and developed [3][4][5][6][7][8][9] for application in passively mode-locked solid-state lasers [7,9,10], while the R-FPSAs or near R-FPSAs [10] introduce considerable GDD in the laser cavity and they are incompatible with solid-state laser technology. However, the longer effective interaction length of the optical field in the R-FPSA leads to greater nonlinearity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical switching in a resonant Fabry–Perot saturable absorber

Tang¹,

Siahmakoun²,

Granieri³

et al. 2006

J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt.

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We experimentally demonstrate optical switching in a Fabry-Perot saturable absorber using a pump-probe technique. The saturable absorbers are multiple quantum wells, 35 and 42 pairs of alternating layers of 7 nm thick compressively strained Ga 0.42 In 0.58 AsP. These quantum wells are separated by 8 nm thick InP barriers. The reflectivity of these samples as a function of the input optical power is theoretically and experimentally investigated. A switching rate of better than 20 MHz is observed. This optical switching is based on the mechanism of controlling the reflectivity of the Fabry-Perot saturable absorber, while operating at its resonant wavelength, by the pump power. Optical switching speed of 10 ns is possible.

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Optical characterization of semiconductor saturable absorbers

Cited by 232 publications

References 40 publications

Sub-100 femtosecond pulses from a SESAM modelocked thin disk laser

Sub-100 femtosecond pulses from a SESAM modelocked thin disk laser

Experimentally verified pulse formation model for high-power femtosecond VECSELs

Optical switching in a resonant Fabry–Perot saturable absorber

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