Ersen Beyatli

Efficient and low-threshold Alexandrite laser pumped by a single-mode diode

We report a low-threshold and efficient Alexandrite laser that is pumped by only one state-of-the-art single-spatial-mode diode. The pump diode provided 170 mW of output power at 635 nm. In continuous wave (cw) laser experiments, we demonstrated lasing thresholds as low as 13 mW, slope efficiencies as high as 36%, output powers up to 48 mW, and a tuning range extending from 736 nm to 823 nm. Laser slope efficiency, laser output power, fluorescence lifetime, and emission intensity were further shown to decrease monotonically with increasing temperature. Pure cw operation could be obtained under most circumstances. However, self-Q-switching (SQS) was also observed in slightly misaligned laser cavities. During SQS, stable pulses with pulsewidths in the 5-15 μs range and pulse repetition rates in the 10-35 kHz range have been obtained. We believe that this compact and efficient Alexandrite laser system may be an attractive source for several applications.

Gain-Matched Output Couplers for Efficient Kerr-Lens Mode-Locking of Low-Cost and High Peak-Power Cr:LiSAF Lasers

We present a detailed investigation of Kerr-lens mode-locking in diode-pumped Cr:LiSAF lasers employing gain-matched output couplers (GMOCs). Single-mode diodes (660 nm, 130 mW) and tapered diodes (685 nm, 1 W) were investigated as diode pump sources. We have shown that, by reducing the gain-filtering effect, GMOC enhances the effective self-amplitude modulation depth and provides a significant improvement in both efficiency and robustness of KLM operation. From the single-mode diode pumped system, 13 fs pulses with an average power of 25 mW and a peak power 25 kW have been generated at an incident pump power of only 120 mW (21% optical-to-optical conversion efficiency). The tapered diode pumped Cr:LiSAF oscillator provided pulses as short as 14.5 fs with 106-mW average power and 60-kW peak power at an incident pump power of 940 mW (11% optical-to-optical conversion efficiency). A femtosecond tuning range extending from 807 to 919 nm was also realized with sub-50-fs long pulses. To our knowledge, demonstrated optical-to-optical conversion efficiencies, peak powers and fs tuning ranges are record results for Cr:LiSAF laser oscillators. The obtainable pulsewidth and fs tuning range are currently limited by the dispersion/reflectivity bandwidth of the available optics.

Highly efficient and robust operation of Kerr-lens mode-locked Cr:LiSAF lasers using gain-matched output couplers.

We present efficient and robust Kerr-lens mode locking (KLM) of a diode-pumped Cr:LiSAF laser using a gain-matched output coupler (GMOC). An inexpensive, battery-powered 660 nm single-spatial-mode diode was used as the pump source. GMOC enhances the effective self-amplitude modulation depth by reducing the gain-filtering effect in broadband KLM operation to provide significant improvement in efficiency and robustness. Pulsing can be initiated without careful cavity alignment and is sustained for hours. 13 fs pulses with an average power of 25 mW have been generated using only 120 mW of pump power. The corresponding pulse energy and peak power is 200 pJ and 15 kW for the 126 MHz repetition rate cavity. Optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of the system is 21%, which represents an order of magnitude improvement in reported efficiencies for such diode-pumped ultrashort-pulse KLM Cr:LiSAF lasers. The obtainable pulse width is currently limited by the dispersion bandwidth of the available optics and can be potentially reduced to below 7 fs.

Injection-seeded, gain-switched tunable Cr:ZnSe laser

We report a narrow-linewidth, tunable, gain-switched Cr:ZnSe laser operating between 2255 and 2455 nm. The spectral width of the laser was reduced from 125 nm to 0.3 nm by using injection seeding. Seeding was achieved with a second tunable CW Cr:ZnSe laser. The output wavelength was varied by tuning the wavelength of the seed laser. The seeded oscillator produced as high as 157 µJ pulses with 598 µJ incident pump pulse energy at a repetition rate of 1 kHz. The slope efficiency was determined to be 26%.

Self-Q-switched Cr:LiCAF laser near 800 nm

Self-Q-switching (SQS) of lasers enable the generation of Q-switched pulses from simple laser cavities without using any additional saturable absorbers or active modulators. Earlier studies have reported SQS in ruby, Nd:YAG, and Cr:LiSAF lasers. However, these systems were mostly flashlamp pumped and required cooling of the crystal and/or misalignment of the laser cavity for the observation of SQS. In this presentation, for the first time to our knowledge, we report SQS operation of a Cr:LiCAF laser. SQS was achieved in an astigmatically compensated x-cavity containing only a Cr:LiCAF crystal that was end-pumped with a 140-mW continuous-wave (cw) diode at 660 nm. During regular cw operation, the laser produced a diffraction-limited beam with 50 mW of output power and had a spectral width of 0.5 nm near 795 nm. SQS operation of the Cr:LiCAF laser could be initiated by fine adjustment of the separation between the curved mirrors of the cavity and was observed at several mirror separations within the stability range of the resonator. During SQS operation, the laser generated saw-tooth-shaped pulses with 20-30 microsecond duration in the 780-800 nm wavelength range, at repetition rates between 10 and 30 kHz. SQS operation was further accompanied with a decrease in the output power to the 30-45 mW range. In this regime, the output beam became multimode and spectral broadening up to 12.5 nm (FWHM) was observed.

Injection-seeded, narrow-line gain-switched Cr:ZnSe laser

Injection seeding with a continuous-wave Cr:ZnSe seed laser reduced the output spectral width of a second gain-switched Cr:ZnSe laser from 125 nm to 0.65 nm and enabled its tuning from 2255 nm to 2455 nm.