Abstract: This disclosed subject matter allows short pulses with high peak powers to be obtained from seed pulses generated by a gain-switched diode. The gain-switched diode provides a highly stable source for optical systems such as nonlinear microscopy. The disclosed system preserves the ability to generate pulses at arbitrary repetition rates, or even pulses on demand, which can help reduce sample damage in microscopy experiments or control deliberate damage in material processing.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices are disclosed for divided-pulse lasers. In one aspect, a pulsed laser is provided to include a laser cavity including an optical amplifier and a plurality of optical dividing elements and configured to direct a laser pulse of linearly polarized light into the plurality of optical dividing elements to divide the light of the laser pulse into a sequence of divided pulses each having a pulse energy being a portion of the energy of the laser pulse before entry of the optical dividing elements, to subsequently direct the divided pulses into the optical amplifier to produce amplified divided pulses. The laser cavity is configured to direct the amplified divided pulses back into the plurality of optical dividing elements for a second time in an opposite direction to recombine the amplified divided pulses into a single laser pulse with greater pulse energy as an output pulse of the laser cavity.

Abstract: This disclosed subject matter allows short pulses with high peak powers to be obtained from seed pulses generated by a gain-switched diode. The gain-switched diode provides a highly stable source for optical systems such as nonlinear microscopy. The disclosed system preserves the ability to generate pulses at arbitrary repetition rates, or even pulses on demand, which can help reduce sample damage in microscopy experiments or control deliberate damage in material processing.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices are disclosed for divided-pulse lasers. In one aspect, a pulsed laser is provided to include a laser cavity including an optical amplifier and a plurality of optical dividing elements and configured to direct a laser pulse of linearly polarized light into the plurality of optical dividing elements to divide the light of the laser pulse into a sequence of divided pulses each having a pulse energy being a portion of the energy of the laser pulse before entry of the optical dividing elements, to subsequently direct the divided pulses into the optical amplifier to produce amplified divided pulses. The laser cavity is configured to direct the amplified divided pulses back into the plurality of optical dividing elements for a second time in an opposite direction to recombine the amplified divided pulses into a single laser pulse with greater pulse energy as an output pulse of the laser cavity.

Abstract: This disclosed subject matter allows short pulses with high peak powers to be obtained from seed pulses generated by a gain-switched diode. The gain-switched diode provides a highly stable source for optical systems such as nonlinear microscopy. The disclosed system preserves the ability to generate pulses at arbitrary repetition rates, or even pulses on demand, which can help reduce sample damage in microscopy experiments or control deliberate damage in material processing.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices are disclosed for divided-pulse lasers. In one aspect, a pulsed laser is provided to include a laser cavity including an optical amplifier and a plurality of optical dividing elements and configured to direct a laser pulse of linearly polarized light into the plurality of optical dividing elements to divide the light of the laser pulse into a sequence of divided pulses each having a pulse energy being a portion of the energy of the laser pulse before entry of the optical dividing elements, to subsequently direct the divided pulses into the optical amplifier to produce amplified divided pulses. The laser cavity is configured to direct the amplified divided pulses back into the plurality of optical dividing elements for a second time in an opposite diection to recombine the amplified divided pulses into a single laser pulse with greater pulse energy as an output pulse of the laser cavity.

Abstract: Implementations and examples of fiber lasers based on fiber laser cavity designs that produce self-similar pulses (“similaritons”) to achieve a pulse spectral bandwidth greater than a gain spectral bandwidth based on a spectral broadening fiber segment and a spectral filter to ensure the proper similariton conditions.

Abstract: A normal-dispersion fiber laser is operated using parameters in which dissipative solitons exist with remarkably large pulse duration and chirp, along with large pulse energy. A low-repetition-rate oscillator that generates pulses with large and linear chirp can thus replace the standard oscillator, stretcher, pulse-picker and preamplifier in a chirped-pulse fiber amplifier.

Abstract: Implementations and examples of fiber lasers based on fiber laser cavity designs that produce self-similar pulses (“similaritons”) to achieve a pulse spectral bandwidth greater than a gain spectral bandwidth based on a spectral broadening fiber segment and a spectral filter to ensure the proper similariton conditions.

Abstract: To avoid harmful nonlinear effects in the amplification of short optical pulses, an initial pulse is divided into a sequence of lower-energy temporally spaced pulses that are otherwise identical to the original pulse. The low-intensity pulses are amplified and then recombined to create a final amplified output pulse.

Abstract: A saturable absorber (SA) is constructed using a fiber taper embedded in a carbon nanotube/polymer composite. A fiber taper is made by heating and pulling a small part of standard optical fiber. At the taper's waist light is guided by the glass-air interface, with an evanescent field protruding out of the taper. Carbon nanotubes mixed with an appropriate polymer host material are then wrapped around the fiber taper to interact with the evanescent field. Saturable absorption is possible due to the unique optical properties of the carbon nanotubes. The device can be used in mode-locked lasers where it initiates and stabilizes the pulses circulating around the laser cavity. The SA can be used in various laser cavities, and can enable different pulse evolutions such as solitons, self-similar pulses and dissipative solitons. Other applications include but are not limited to optical switching, pulse cleanup and pulse compression.

Abstract: A chirped-pulse fiber amplification method and system operates with large nonlinear phase shifts (as large as ˜20? or more). In this regime, the pulse spectrum is modified by strong self-phase modulation and gain shaping. With large-enough nonlinear phase shift, substantial spectral broadening occurs. The amplified spectrum can therefore be much broader than the spectrum that is obtained with small nonlinear phase shifts. The broader spectrum enables the formation of a shorter pulse, and the bandwidth generated in nonlinear chirped-pulse amplification can in fact be exploited to generate shorter pulses. Ultimately, this allows the generation of pulses shorter than the gain-narrowing limit of a fiber amplifier.

Abstract: A pulse compressor for compressing many-cycle femtosecond-duration high-energy pulses to near-single-cycle durations uses a single quadratic nonlinear crystal. A pulsed laser beam is controlled and its passage is aligned through the quadratic nonlinear crystal such that the detrimental effects of group-velocity mismatch are avoided, while still allowing enough nonlinear phase accumulation for compression to near-single-cycle pulse durations. To do so, the perturbation to nonlinear Schrödinger-type soliton compression due to group-velocity mismatch is minimized which requires that the soliton order must not exceed an optimal value set by the amount of group-velocity mismatch.

Abstract: A normal-dispersion fiber laser is operated using parameters in which dissipative solitons exist with remarkably large pulse duration and chirp, along with large pulse energy. A low-repetition-rate oscillator that generates pulses with large and linear chirp can thus replace the standard oscillator, stretcher, pulse-picker and preamplifier in a chirped-pulse fiber amplifier.

Abstract: A short-pulse fiber amplifier system (10) is designed so that nonlinear phase shifts and third-order dispersion are purposely introduced that compensate each other. In particular, the nonlinear phase shift accumulated in the amplifier is compensated by the third-order dispersion of the combination of a fiber stretcher (12) and a grating compressor (16). In the presence of third-order dispersion, an optimal nonlinear phase shift reduces the pulse duration, and enhances the peak power and pulse contrast compared to the pulse produced in linear propagation.

Abstract: A saturable absorber (SA) is constructed using a fiber taper embedded in a carbon nanotube/polymer composite. A fiber taper is made by heating and pulling a small part of standard optical fiber. At the taper's waist light is guided by the glass-air interface, with an evanescent field protruding out of the taper. Carbon nanotubes mixed with an appropriate polymer host material are then wrapped around the fiber taper to interact with the evanescent field. Saturable absorption is possible due to the unique optical properties of the carbon nanotubes. The device can be used in mode-locked lasers where it initiates and stabilizes the pulses circulating around the laser cavity. The SA can be used in various laser cavities, and can enable different pulse evolutions such as solitons, self-similar pulses and dissipative solitons. Other applications include but are not limited to optical switching, pulse cleanup and pulse compression.

Abstract: To avoid harmful nonlinear effects in the amplification of short optical pulses, an initial pulse is divided into a sequence of lower-energy temporally spaced pulses that are otherwise identical to the original pulse. The low-intensity pulses are amplified and then recombined to create a final amplified output pulse.

Abstract: A pulse compressor for compressing many-cycle femtosecond-duration high-energy pulses to near-single-cycle durations uses a single quadratic nonlinear crystal. A pulsed laser beam is controlled and its passage is aligned through the quadratic nonlinear crystal such that the detrimental effects of group-velocity mismatch are avoided, while still allowing enough nonlinear phase accumulation for compression to near-single-cycle pulse durations. To do so, the perturbation to nonlinear Schrödinger-type soliton compression due to group-velocity mismatch is minimized which requires that the soliton order must not exceed an optimal value set by the amount of group-velocity mismatch.

Abstract: A pulse compression technique for compressing femtosecond-duration high-energy pulses first linearly chirps and thus broadens an input pulse before compressing it by nonlinear soliton compression. The technique simultaneously decreases the final compressed pulse duration and improves of the compressed pulse quality. In the preferred embodiment, a linear dispersive delay (12) is employed for chirping the pulse and a single quadratic nonlinear crystal (14) is employed for nonlinear soliton compression of the pulse.

Abstract: A short-pulse fiber amplifier system (10) is designed so that nonlinear phase shifts and third-order dispersion are purposely introduced that compensate each other. In particular, the nonlinear phase shift accumulated in the amplifier is compensated by the third-order dispersion of the combination of a fiber stretcher (12) and a grating compressor (16). In the presence of third-order dispersion, an optimal nonlinear phase shift reduces the pulse duration, and enhances the peak power and pulse contrast compared to the pulse produced in linear propagation.