We present a passive and robust mode-locking scheme for a Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VECSEL). We placed the semiconductor gain medium and the semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) strategically in a ring cavity to provide a stable colliding pulse operation. With this cavity geometry, the two counter propagating pulses synchronize on the SESAM to saturate the absorber together. This minimizes the energy lost and creates a transient carrier grating due to the interference of the two beams. The interaction of the two counter-propagating pulses in the SESAM is shown to extend the range of the modelocking regime and to enable higher output power when compared to the conventional VECSEL cavity geometry. In this configuration, we demonstrate a pulse duration of 195fs with an average power of 225mW per output beam at a repetition rate of 2.2GHz, giving a peak power of 460W per beam. The remarkable robustness of the modelocking regime is discussed and a rigorous pulse characterization is presented.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Ultra-short laser pulses are useful in materials processing like melting and cutting metals, and medical applications such as surgery and many other fields. In this study, we characterize and control the temporal shape of the ultra-short pulses generated from a Ti:Sapphire femtosecond laser. It operates in the near infra-red spectral region, with a centre wavelength of 800 nm. The 4f pulse shaper is the main setup used to modulate spectral shape and characterize the laser pulse. The shaper consists of two diffraction gratings, two cylindrical lenses and a computer controlled liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM). Gratings, lenses and LC-SLM are arranged in a 4f geometry, f being the focal length of the lenses. This setup is first analysed analytically and numerically using Fourier transform and the results obtained are then compared to those obtained from the experiment. The characterization of ultra-short pulses was done using three different autocorrelation techniques such as the intensity autocorrelation, the interferometric autocorrelation, and the pulse shaping autocorrelation which can act as interferometric autocorrelation when a nonlinear crystal ß-barium borate (BBO) is placed exactly at the position of the experiment. These characterization techniques are based on the interaction between the laser pulse and a replica of it with a nonlinear crystal. The setups were implemented and measurements using the last two techniques were successfully conducted, with the pulse duration result in the range from 80-86 fs. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ultrakort laserpulse het baie nut in verskeie velde waaronder materiaalprosessering (soos die smelt en sny van metale) en mediese toepassings (soos chirurgie) maar net twee voorbeelde is. In hierdie studie karakteriseer en beheer ons die vorm van n ultrakort laserpuls, afkomstig vanaf n Ti:Saffier femtosekonde laser, in tyd. Die laser straal in die nabyinfrarooi spektrale gebied uit met n sentrale golflengte van 800 nm. Ons gebruik n sogenaamde 4f-pulsvormer om die spektrum van die laserpuls te moduleer en die laserpuls te karakteriseer. Die vormer bestaan uit twee diffraksieroosters, twee silindriese lense en n rekenaarbeheerde vloeibare kristal ruimtelike-lig-modulator (LC-SLM). Die diffraksieroosters, lense en LC-SLM is in n 4f-geometrie gerangskik, met f die brandpunt van die lense. Die opstelling is eers analities en numeries beskou deur van Fourier-transformasies gebruik te maak waarna die resultate wat verkry is met die van n eksperiment vergelyk is. Die karakterisering van ultrakort laserpulse was met drie verskillende outokorrelasie tegnieke gedoen, naamlik n intensiteits-outokorrelasie, n interferometriese-outokorrelasie en n pulsvormer-outokorrelasie. Die pulsvormer kan as n interferometriese-outokorrelator optree indien n nie-lineêre kristal ß-bariumboraat (BBO) by die uitset van die pulsvormer geplaas word. Hierdie karakteriseringstegnieke is gebaseer op die interaksie tussen die oorspronklike laserpuls en n kopie van die laserpuls in n nie-lineêre kristal. Die nodige opstellings virdie metings is gemaak en die metings was suksesvol uitgevoer. Die pulslengte wat gemeet is, is in die orde van 80-86 fs.

This thesis describes an investigation into the performance of different schemes for generating short x-rays pulses via synchrotron radiation emission. A review is given of the methods that have been previously proposed for this task. From this review, three leading schemes are selected for in-depth investigations, each of which explores the boundary of what is presently achievable in accelerator-based light sources. The first scheme generates short x-ray pulses by operating an electron storage ring in a quasi-isochronous state using a ‘low-alpha’ lattice. High and low emittance lattices are developed, studied through simulation and then implemented on the Diamond storage ring. Beam dynamics and bunch length measurements are presented for a variety of machine conditions, and an assessment is made of the minimum practically achievable bunch length for stable user operation. Radiation pulses of 1 ps r.m.s. are demonstrated using this scheme. The second and third schemes investigate performance limits for a linac-based light source through numerical simulations. The first of these generates ultra-short pulses by passing a highly compressed electron bunch through a long undulator to radiate in the ‘single-spike’ regime. A comparison is made with theoretical predictions for the required electron bunch length to operate in this way, which highlights the need for accurate start-to-end simulations. The final scheme generates ultra-short x-ray pulses through laser manipulation of the electron bunches. The modulated electrons pass through a long undulator with tapered gap, such that only the centre of the modulated portion experiences high free-electron laser (FEL) gain. A method to enhance the FEL output from this scheme using a wavelength filter and grating-compressor is investigated. The sensitivity of the two schemes to jitter sources is determined, and it is demonstrated both schemes are capable of generating GW-level, fully coherent sub-fs soft x-ray pulses. Such pulses would open up the development of time-resolved science to new regimes.

Existe uma família de centros de cor e cristais dopados com íons metálicos que absorvem na região de emissão do laser de neodímio. Dentre estes, os que são laser ativos são normalmente bombeados em um esquema de cavidades colineares. Eles podem também ser usados como absorvedores saturáveis para o chaveamento Q passivo, C.W. Porém, neste caso a absorção máxima intracavidade que pode ser introduzida é limitada de forma a permitir que a ação laser ocorra. Assim, no caso de ser simultaneamente utilizado como absorvedor e meio ativo existe uma limitação do ganho máximo que o meio ativamente bombeado pode alcançar. Usando-se um esquema de cavidades acopladas, estudamos o desempenho dos centros de cor KCl:T1° (1) e LiF: F POT - IND 2 , para gerar chaveamento Q c.w. passivo (Q- switching) e o travamento de modos (mode-locking) com o esquema de cavidades acima mencionada, na região espectral do infravermelho. Em particular estudamos a ação laser simultânea dos centros KCl: Tl° (1) e do laser de Nd:YAG com o esquema de cavidades acopladas citado, onde o centro de cor tinha o papel dual de absorvedor saturável e meio de ganho. Obteve-se uma alta extração do laser de KCl:Tl° (1), atingindo o limite teórico de 40%, no regime Q-switched c.w.pois a única fonte de perdas do laser de bombeio é o absorvedor saturável. Devido ao baixo ganho dos materiais mencionados e a alta intensidade de saturação foram exploradas as propriedades da cavidade com compensação astigmática, que permite uma grande focalização do feixe sobre o cristal, num regime de cavidades acopladas. Além deste esquema, usamos também um método de bombeamento colinear para a obtenção do travamento de modos ativo-passivo no regime C. W. do laser de Nd: YAG 1 usando o LiF: F POT IND 2 como elemento de modulação passiva dos pulsos. Como um absorvedor saturável lento este necessita de cavidades longas para a obtenção deste regime de operação. Os pulsos modulados (ativamente) sofrem um processo de modulação passiva, o que é dado pela mudança do seu perfil de intensidade de gaussiano para exponencial simétrica, caracterizando a mudança do travamento de modos ativo para passivo. / In general, tunable lasers are colinearlly pumped by other powerfull lasers. In the particular case of color centers, that cover the near infrared spectral region, there is a shortcoming due to the difficulty of creating high densities of centers to efficiently extract output energy. One possible way to circumvent this problem is to use intracavity pumping, but there is a limiting factor that is the maximum available gain of the pumping laser, that limits the maximum absortion that can be introduced in the pump laser cavity. A coupled cavities scheme is a solution to solve this problem. In this sense, this scheme was studied using a simple theoretical model. Two sets of experiments were performed, using LiF:F2 and KCl:T1°(1) color centers. In the first case, in which the LiF: F-2 centers were used only as saturable absorber, it was demonstrated that the coupled cavity is responsable for the temporal behavior of the main laser, and operation in the Q-switched mode was obtained, wi th pulses of 1 SJ..S duration. In the second case, KCl:Tl° (1) color centers are also laser active and simultaneous laser operation were achieved, in the Q-switched regime. The remarkable fact was that the pumping efficiency was close to the maximum theoretically allowed and the pulse duration was also totally dependent on the control cavi ty. In both cases, the pulse time duration was in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. The mode-locking regime in these scheme was also studied, using LiF: F-2 color centers, that has a decay time much longer than the cavity round trip time. By the reducing gain a partial modulation in the couple cavity scheme, we only observed a partial modulation of the laser power, indicating that other effects prevent the full modulation. In these case, the effective absortion used was 0,6 % .In order to explore the role of the saturable absorbers in the mode-locking regime, a active modulator was used to start and sustain the regime, besides the presence of the crystal inside the cavity. We clearly observed a change in the shape of the pulses from gaussian to hyperbolic secant squared that is a characteristic of the passivily mode-locked system. In the optimum case the pulse duration was reduced by a factor of 2,4.

Two colour pumping was used to investigate the short-pulse technique of Multifrequency Raman Generation (MRG) in the transient regime of Raman scattering. In the course of this study we have demonstrated the ability to generate over thirty Raman orders spanning from the infrared to the ultraviolet, investigated the dependence of this generation on the pump intensities and the dispersion characteristics of the hollow-fibre system in which the experiment was conducted, and developed a simple computer model to help understand the exhibited behaviours. These dependence studies have revealed some characteristics that have been previously mentioned in the literature, such as the competition between MRG and self-phase modulation, but have also demonstrated behaviours that are dramatically different than anything reported on the subject. Furthermore, through a simple modification of the experimental apparatus we have demonstrated the ability to scatter a probe pulse into many Raman orders, generating bandwidth comparable to the best pump-probe experiments of MRG. By using a numeric fast Fourier transform, we predict that our spectra can generate pulses as short as 3. 3fs, with energies an order of magnitude larger than pulses of comparable duration that are made using current techniques.

Two colour pumping was used to investigate the short-pulse technique of Multifrequency Raman Generation (MRG) in the transient regime of Raman scattering. In the course of this study we have demonstrated the ability to generate over thirty Raman orders spanning from the infrared to the ultraviolet, investigated the dependence of this generation on the pump intensities and the dispersion characteristics of the hollow-fibre system in which the experiment was conducted, and developed a simple computer model to help understand the exhibited behaviours. These dependence studies have revealed some characteristics that have been previously mentioned in the literature, such as the competition between MRG and self-phase modulation, but have also demonstrated behaviours that are dramatically different than anything reported on the subject. Furthermore, through a simple modification of the experimental apparatus we have demonstrated the ability to scatter a probe pulse into many Raman orders, generating bandwidth comparable to the best pump-probe experiments of MRG. By using a numeric fast Fourier transform, we predict that our spectra can generate pulses as short as 3. 3fs, with energies an order of magnitude larger than pulses of comparable duration that are made using current techniques.

Existe uma família de centros de cor e cristais dopados com íons metálicos que absorvem na região de emissão do laser de neodímio. Dentre estes, os que são laser ativos são normalmente bombeados em um esquema de cavidades colineares. Eles podem também ser usados como absorvedores saturáveis para o chaveamento Q passivo, C.W. Porém, neste caso a absorção máxima intracavidade que pode ser introduzida é limitada de forma a permitir que a ação laser ocorra. Assim, no caso de ser simultaneamente utilizado como absorvedor e meio ativo existe uma limitação do ganho máximo que o meio ativamente bombeado pode alcançar. Usando-se um esquema de cavidades acopladas, estudamos o desempenho dos centros de cor KCl:T1° (1) e LiF: F POT - IND 2 , para gerar chaveamento Q c.w. passivo (Q- switching) e o travamento de modos (mode-locking) com o esquema de cavidades acima mencionada, na região espectral do infravermelho. Em particular estudamos a ação laser simultânea dos centros KCl: Tl° (1) e do laser de Nd:YAG com o esquema de cavidades acopladas citado, onde o centro de cor tinha o papel dual de absorvedor saturável e meio de ganho. Obteve-se uma alta extração do laser de KCl:Tl° (1), atingindo o limite teórico de 40%, no regime Q-switched c.w.pois a única fonte de perdas do laser de bombeio é o absorvedor saturável. Devido ao baixo ganho dos materiais mencionados e a alta intensidade de saturação foram exploradas as propriedades da cavidade com compensação astigmática, que permite uma grande focalização do feixe sobre o cristal, num regime de cavidades acopladas. Além deste esquema, usamos também um método de bombeamento colinear para a obtenção do travamento de modos ativo-passivo no regime C. W. do laser de Nd: YAG 1 usando o LiF: F POT IND 2 como elemento de modulação passiva dos pulsos. Como um absorvedor saturável lento este necessita de cavidades longas para a obtenção deste regime de operação. Os pulsos modulados (ativamente) sofrem um processo de modulação passiva, o que é dado pela mudança do seu perfil de intensidade de gaussiano para exponencial simétrica, caracterizando a mudança do travamento de modos ativo para passivo. / In general, tunable lasers are colinearlly pumped by other powerfull lasers. In the particular case of color centers, that cover the near infrared spectral region, there is a shortcoming due to the difficulty of creating high densities of centers to efficiently extract output energy. One possible way to circumvent this problem is to use intracavity pumping, but there is a limiting factor that is the maximum available gain of the pumping laser, that limits the maximum absortion that can be introduced in the pump laser cavity. A coupled cavities scheme is a solution to solve this problem. In this sense, this scheme was studied using a simple theoretical model. Two sets of experiments were performed, using LiF:F2 and KCl:T1°(1) color centers. In the first case, in which the LiF: F-2 centers were used only as saturable absorber, it was demonstrated that the coupled cavity is responsable for the temporal behavior of the main laser, and operation in the Q-switched mode was obtained, wi th pulses of 1 SJ..S duration. In the second case, KCl:Tl° (1) color centers are also laser active and simultaneous laser operation were achieved, in the Q-switched regime. The remarkable fact was that the pumping efficiency was close to the maximum theoretically allowed and the pulse duration was also totally dependent on the control cavi ty. In both cases, the pulse time duration was in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. The mode-locking regime in these scheme was also studied, using LiF: F-2 color centers, that has a decay time much longer than the cavity round trip time. By the reducing gain a partial modulation in the couple cavity scheme, we only observed a partial modulation of the laser power, indicating that other effects prevent the full modulation. In these case, the effective absortion used was 0,6 % .In order to explore the role of the saturable absorbers in the mode-locking regime, a active modulator was used to start and sustain the regime, besides the presence of the crystal inside the cavity. We clearly observed a change in the shape of the pulses from gaussian to hyperbolic secant squared that is a characteristic of the passivily mode-locked system. In the optimum case the pulse duration was reduced by a factor of 2,4.

Ce travail est consacré à l’étude des interactions d’un grand nombre de solitons dans un laser à fibre dopée erbium/ytterbium. Les impulsions interagissent entre elles et se structurent pour former des distributions plus ou moins organisées. Deux cavités ont été réalisées, l’une basée sur la rotation non-linéaire de la polarisation (RNLP) et l’autre sur le miroir optique à boucle non-linéaire (NOLM) en configuration de laser en forme de huit. Avec la RNLP, nous nous sommes intéressés d’abord à une distribution où les impulsions sont liées (cristal de solitons). Ce cristal, stable pour des puissances moyennes, devient instable lorsque la puissance augmente : il se disloque. Les solitons se réorganisent pour former un régime de verrouillage harmonique (HLM) de 50 cristaux. Nous avons ensuite cherché s’il était possible de contrôler les distributions de solitons par l’injection d’une composante continue externe. Nous avons montré que le HLM peut être forcé par l’injection de cette composante. Nous avons développé deux approches afin de modéliser un laser verrouillé en phase et soumis à l'injection d'une composante continue, l'une est scalaire et l'autre vectorielle. Ces modèles démontrent que le signal injecté peut modifier les interactions entre les solitons. Enfin, le NOLM a permis d’observer plusieurs dynamiques : pluie de solitons, gaz de solitons, liquide de solitons, poly-cristal de solitons, multi-cristal de solitons, cristal de solitons, états liés et verrouillage harmonique d’états liés. Ce laser a permis également d’observer une émission laser continue et impulsionnelle autour de 1600 nm. / This work has been devoted to study the interaction of the large number of solitons in the erbium/ytterbium doped fiber laser. The interaction of pulses with each other causes to form more or less organized distribution. Two laser cavities have been constructed, one based on the non-linear polarization rotation (NLPR) and the other based on the nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) in a figure-eight laser configuration. With the NLPR, we were interested to the distribution of coherent pulses (crystal solitons). This crystal, stable for moderate power, becomes unstable at high power, which means to get loose from the initial soliton. These solitons rearrange their relative position to form one harmonic-mode locking regime (HML) of 50 crystals. Afterward, we have investigated the possibility of controlling the solitons distribution by injecting an external continuous wave (cw). It has been observed that cw could force the laser to operate at HLM regime. Moreover, we have developed two theoretical approaches, such as scalar and vectorial, to model the passively mode-locked fiber laser submitted to the cw. Both models confirm that the injected signal could modify the interactions between the solitons. Finally, the NOLM allowed us to observe several dynamics, including rain solitons, gas solitons, liquid solutions, poly-crystal solitons, multi-crystal solitons, crystal solitons, bound states and harmonic-mode locking of bound states. Furthermore, it made possible to observe the continuous as well as pulsed laser emission around 1600 nm.

Šioje disertacijoje tiriami nuolatinai kaupinami regeneraciniai stiprintuvai su ilgos relaksacijos trukmės lazerine terpe. Tikslas buvo išanalizuoti bendrus tokių sistemų sudėtingos dinamikos dėsningumus pasireiškiančios aukštų dažnių diapazone ir surasti būdą pasiekti maksimalias išėjimo impulsų energijas išlaikant jų stabilumą. Analitiškai aprašomos pagrindinės optimizuotų ir stabiliame režime veikiančių stiprintuvų charakteristikos, tokios kaip optimalūs pradinis ir galutinis stiprinimo koeficientai, maksimali išėjimo impulso energija, rezonatoriuje išsklaidytoji galia, daugelio praėjimų B-integralas ir rezonatoriaus apėjimų skaičius, su kuriuo gaunama maksimali išėjimo impulso energija. Nustatytos egzistuojančių dinaminių režimų (stabilaus, kvaziperiodinio ir chaotinio) sritys valdančiųjų parametrų erdvėje. Išsiaiškinta, kad nestabilaus veikimo sritis mažėja, kai užkrato impulso energija didėja. Sukurtas ir išplėtotas stabilumo diagramų metodas, kuris ne tik suformuoja sisteminį požiūrį į regeneracinio stiprinimo dinamikos optimizavimą, bet ir leidžia nustatyti užkrato energijos dydį, pakankamą stabiliam veikimui palaikyti. Nustatytos darbinės charakteristikos kritiniame impulsų pasikartojimo dažnių diapazone, kur neegzistuoja analitiniai sprendiniai ir nestabilumai yra labiausiai tikėtini. Teoriniai rezultatai patvirtinti eksperimentiškai diodais kaupinamoje pikosekundinėje Nd:YVO4 lazerinėje sistemoje. Pademonstruota, kad užkrato impulso energijos padidinimas susiaurina... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This thesis presents a detailed study of continuously pumped regenerative amplifiers based on long-relaxation-time laser media. The goal of the research was to develop a general pattern of complex dynamics peculiar to such systems at high repetition rates and to find a way to improve performance characteristics affected by instabilities. Basic parameters of the optimally coupled regenerative amplifier operating in stable regime were derived in analytical form. They include optimum initial and final gains, the maximum output pulse energy, the power dissipation, the multi-pass B-integral and the roundtrip number providing the maximum output energy. A comprehensive pattern of existing dynamic regimes (stable, quasi-periodic and chaotic) was represented in space of controlling parameters. It has been found that the space of unstable operation decreases as the seed pulse energy increases. A method of stability diagrams, which forms a systematic approach to the optimization of regenerative amplification dynamics and in particular allows one to determine the seed pulse level sufficient to maintain the operation stable, has been developed. Performance characteristics were determined in the critical range of repetition rates, where instabilities are pronounced at the most and analytical solutions are unavailable. The experiments, carried out using the diode pumped picosecond Nd:YVO4 laser system, exhibited a good agreement with theoretical inferences. It has been demonstrated that... [to full text]

This thesis presents a detailed study of continuously pumped regenerative amplifiers based on long-relaxation-time laser media. The goal of the research was to develop a general pattern of complex dynamics peculiar to such systems at high repetition rates and to find a way to improve performance characteristics affected by instabilities. Basic parameters of the optimally coupled regenerative amplifier operating in stable regime were derived in analytical form. They include optimum initial and final gains, the maximum output pulse energy, the power dissipation, the multi-pass B-integral and the roundtrip number providing the maximum output energy. A comprehensive pattern of existing dynamic regimes (stable, quasi-periodic and chaotic) was represented in space of controlling parameters. It has been found that the space of unstable operation decreases as the seed pulse energy increases. A method of stability diagrams, which forms a systematic approach to the optimization of regenerative amplification dynamics and in particular allows one to determine the seed pulse level sufficient to maintain the operation stable, has been developed. Performance characteristics were determined in the critical range of repetition rates, where instabilities are pronounced at the most and analytical solutions are unavailable. The experiments, carried out using the diode pumped picosecond Nd:YVO4 laser system, exhibited a good agreement with theoretical inferences. It has been demonstrated that... [to full text] / Šioje disertacijoje tiriami nuolatinai kaupinami regeneraciniai stiprintuvai su ilgos relaksacijos trukmės lazerine terpe. Tikslas buvo išanalizuoti bendrus tokių sistemų sudėtingos dinamikos dėsningumus pasireiškiančios aukštų dažnių diapazone ir surasti būdą pasiekti maksimalias išėjimo impulsų energijas išlaikant jų stabilumą. Analitiškai aprašomos pagrindinės optimizuotų ir stabiliame režime veikiančių stiprintuvų charakteristikos, tokios kaip optimalūs pradinis ir galutinis stiprinimo koeficientai, maksimali išėjimo impulso energija, rezonatoriuje išsklaidytoji galia, daugelio praėjimų B-integralas ir rezonatoriaus apėjimų skaičius, su kuriuo gaunama maksimali išėjimo impulso energija. Nustatytos egzistuojančių dinaminių režimų (stabilaus, kvaziperiodinio ir chaotinio) sritys valdančiųjų parametrų erdvėje. Išsiaiškinta, kad nestabilaus veikimo sritis mažėja, kai užkrato impulso energija didėja. Sukurtas ir išplėtotas stabilumo diagramų metodas, kuris ne tik suformuoja sisteminį požiūrį į regeneracinio stiprinimo dinamikos optimizavimą, bet ir leidžia nustatyti užkrato energijos dydį, pakankamą stabiliam veikimui palaikyti. Nustatytos darbinės charakteristikos kritiniame impulsų pasikartojimo dažnių diapazone, kur neegzistuoja analitiniai sprendiniai ir nestabilumai yra labiausiai tikėtini. Teoriniai rezultatai patvirtinti eksperimentiškai diodais kaupinamoje pikosekundinėje Nd:YVO4 lazerinėje sistemoje. Pademonstruota, kad užkrato impulso energijos padidinimas susiaurina... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]