Propagation delay of femtosecond pulses in an optical amplifier

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poel, Mike van der; Mørk, Jesper; Hvam, Jørn Märcher

of 2.6 THz, through a quantum-dot (QD) semiconductor amplifier (SOA) at room temperature. This extremely large bandwidth, on the other hand, is at the cost of a rather small group index change of ?ng=4*10-3. We have performed two types of femtosecond pulse slow-down and advancement experiments....... In the first experiment, we prepare a narrow peak or dip in the SOA gain spectrum by injection of a strong pump pulse4. The resulting dispersion feature is then probed by a weak pulse. In the second experiment, we measure self-slowdown or advancement as pulse energy isincreased5. In both cases, we perform...

Laser parameters, focusing optics, and side effects in femtosecond laser corneal surgery

Science.gov (United States)

Plamann, Karsten; Nuzzo, Valeria; Peyrot, Donald A.; Deloison, Florent; Savoldelli, Michèle; Legeais, Jean-Marc

2008-02-01

Nowadays, femtosecond lasers are routinely used in refractive eye surgery. Until recently, commercialised clinical systems were exclusively based on ytterbium or neodymium-doped solid state lasers emitting sub-picosecond pulses at a wavelength of about 1 μm and repetition rates of a few 10 kHz. These systems use pulse energies in the μJ range and focussing optics of NA = 0.3 to 0.5. Recent developments have provided a variety of alternative and equally viable approaches: systems are now available using nJ pulses at high numerical apertures and MHz repetition rates - an approach so far only used for femtosecond cell surgery - and fibre laser technology is now being used for femtosecond laser corneal surgery. Recent research has also provided more insight in side effects occurring in present systems: self focusing phenomena and so far unexplained periodical structures have been observed even at high numerical apertures (NA >> 0.5) and moderate pulse energies. The interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with strongly scattering tissue has been studied in view of extending the application of femtosecond lasers to keratoplasty for opaque corneas and to glaucoma surgery. The use of new laser wavelengths and adaptive optics has been proposed. Despite the reputation of femtosecond surgical systems for their precision, repeatability and the absence of secondary effects or complications, a closer examination reveals the presence of subtle phenomena which merit further investigation. We present three of these phenomena: the influence of optical aberration on the quality of the incision, the occurrence of filamentation effects, and the deposit of microscopic glass fragments when performing penetrating incisions.

Electron dynamics and optical properties modulation of monolayer MoS{sub 2} by femtosecond laser pulse: a simulation using time-dependent density functional theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Su, Xiaoxing; Jiang, Lan [Beijing Institute of Technology, Laser Micro/Nano Fabrication Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing (China); Wang, Feng [Beijing Institute of Technology, School of Physics, Beijing (China); Su, Gaoshi [Beijing Institute of Technology, School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing (China); Qu, Liangti [Beijing Institute of Technology, Key Laboratory of Cluster Science, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Beijing (China); Lu, Yongfeng [University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Electrical Engineering, Lincoln, NE (United States)

2017-07-15

In this study, we adopted time-dependent density functional theory to investigate the optical properties of monolayer MoS{sub 2} and the effect of intense few-cycle femtosecond laser pulses on these properties. The electron dynamics of monolayer MoS{sub 2} under few-cycle and multi-cycle laser irradiation were described. The polarization direction of the laser had a marked effect on the energy absorption and electronic excitation of monolayer MoS{sub 2} because of anisotropy. Change in the polarization direction of few-cycle pulse changed the absorbed energy by a factor over 4000. Few-cycle pulse showed a higher sensitivity to the electronic property of material than multi-cycle pulse. The modulation of the dielectric properties of the material was observed on the femtosecond time scale. The negative divergence appeared in the real part of the function at low frequencies and photoinduced blue shift occurred due to Burstein-Moss effect. The irradiation of femtosecond laser caused the dielectric response within the infrared region and introduced anisotropy to the in-plane optical properties. Laser-based engineering of optical properties through controlling transient electron dynamics expands the functionality of MoS{sub 2} and has potential applications in direction-dependent optoelectronic devices. (orig.)

Single-pulse and multi-pulse femtosecond laser damage of optical single films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Lei; Zhao Yuan'an; He Hongbo; Shao Jianda; Fan Zhengxiu

2006-01-01

Laser-induced damage of a single 500 nm HfO 2 film and a single 500 nm ZrO 2 film were studied with single- and multi-pulse femtosecond laser. The laser-induced damage thresholds (LIDT) of both samples by the 1-on-1 method and the 1000-on-1 method were reported. It was discovered that the LIDT of the HfO 2 single film was higher than that of the ZrO 2 single film by both test methods, which was explained by simple Keldysh's multiphoton ionization theory. The LIDT of multi-pulse was lower than that of single-pulse for both samples as a result of accumulative effect. (authors)

Generation of Femtosecond Electron and Photon Pulses

CERN Document Server

Thongbai, Chitrlada; Kangrang, Nopadol; Kusoljariyakul, Keerati; Rhodes, Michael W; Rimjaem, Sakhorn; Saisut, Jatuporn; Vilaithong, Thiraphat; Wichaisirimongkol, Pathom; Wiedemann, Helmut

2005-01-01

Femtosecond electron and photon pulses become a tool of interesting important to study dynamics at molecular or atomic levels. Such short pulses can be generated from a system consisting of an RF-gun with a thermionic cathode, an alpha magnet as a magnetic bunch compressor, and a linear accelerator. The femtosecond electron pulses can be used directly or used as sources to produce electromagnetic radiation of equally short pulses by choosing certain kind of radiation pruduction processes. At the Fast Neutron Research Facility (Thailand), we are especially interested in production of radiation in Far-infrared and X-ray regime. In the far-infrared wavelengths which are longer than the femtosecond pulse length, the radiation is emitted coherently producing intense radiation. In the X-ray regime, development of femtosecond X-ray source is crucial for application in ultrafast science.

Femtosecond Optical Frequency Comb Technology Principle, Operation and Application

CERN Document Server

Ye, Jun

2005-01-01

Over the last few years, there has been a remarkable convergence among the fields of ultrafast optics, optical frequency metrology, and precision laser spectroscopy. This convergence has enabled unprecedented advances in control of the electric field of the pulses produced by femtosecond mode-locked lasers. The resulting spectrum consists of a comb of sharp spectral lines with well-defined frequencies. These new techniques and capabilities are generally known as "femtosecond comb technology." They have had dramatic impact on the diverse fields of precision measurement and extreme nonlinear optical physics. This book provides an introductory description of mode-locked lasers, the connection between time and frequency descriptions of their output and the physical origins of the electric field dynamics, together with an overview of applications of femtosecond comb technology. Individual chapters go into more detail on mode-locked laser development, spectral broadening in microstructure fiber, optical parametric ...

Optical cell cleaning with NIR femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Uchugonova, Aisada; Breunig, Hans Georg; Batista, Ana; König, Karsten

2015-03-01

Femtosecond laser microscopes have been used as both micro and nanosurgery tools. The optical knock-out of undesired cells in multiplex cell clusters shall be further reported on in this study. Femtosecond laser-induced cell death is beneficial due to the reduced collateral side effects and therefore can be used to selectively destroy target cells within monolayers, as well as within 3D tissues, all the while preserving cells of interest. This is an important characteristic for the application in stem cell research and cancer treatment. Non-precise damage compromises the viability of neighboring cells by inducing side effects such as stress to the cells surrounding the target due to the changes in the microenvironment, resulting from both the laser and laser-exposed cells. In this study, optimum laser parameters for optical cleaning by isolating single cells and cell colonies are exploited through the use of automated software control. Physiological equilibrium and cellular responses to the laser induced damages are also investigated. Cell death dependence on laser focus, determination and selectivity of intensity/dosage, controllable damage and cell recovery mechanisms are discussed.

Near-field-optical-microscopy studies of micro-modifications caused by femtosecond laser irradiation in lithium niobate crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamela, J.; Jaque, D.; Rodenas, A.; Jaque, F.; Torchia, G.A.; Vazquez, J.R.; Mendez, C.; Roso, L.

2008-01-01

Near-field-optical-microscopy has been used to study the micro-modifications caused by femtosecond laser pulses focused at the surface and in the volume of lithium niobate crystals. We have found experimental evidence of the existence, close to femtosecond ablation craters, of periodic modifications in the surface reflectivity. In addition, the potential application of near-field-optical microscopy for the spatial location of permanent modifications caused by femtosecond pulses focused inside lithium niobate crystals has been also demonstrated. (orig.)

Bragg grating photo-inscription in doped microstructured polymer optical fiber by 400 nm femtosecond laser pulses.

OpenAIRE

Hu, X.; Woyessa, Getinet; Kinet, D.; Janting, Jakob; Nielsen, Kristian; Bang, Ole; Mégret, P.; Caucheteur, C.

2016-01-01

In this paper, we report the manufacturing of high-quality endlessly single-mode doped microstructured poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) optical fibers. Bragg gratings are photo-inscribed in such fibers by means of 400 nm femtosecond laser pulses through a 1060-nm-period uniform phase mask. Preliminary results show a rapid growing process of the reflection band. To preserve a good spectral shape, the photo-inscription process was limited to ~20 seconds, yielding an FBG reflectivity close to 40 %.

Femto-second pulses of synchrotron radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zholents, A.A.; Zolotorev, M.S.

1995-07-01

A method capable of producing femto-second pulses of synchrotron radiation is proposed. It is based on the interaction of femto-second light pulses with electrons in a storage ring. The application of the method to the generation of ultra-short x-ray pulses at the Advance Light Source of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been considered. The same method can also be used for extraction of electrons from a storage ring in ultra-short series of microbunches spaced by the periodicity of light wavelength

Synchronized femtosecond laser pulse switching system based nano-patterning technology

Science.gov (United States)

Sohn, Ik-Bu; Choi, Hun-Kook; Yoo, Dongyoon; Noh, Young-Chul; Sung, Jae-Hee; Lee, Seong-Ku; Ahsan, Md. Shamim; Lee, Ho

2017-07-01

This paper demonstrates the design and development of a synchronized femtosecond laser pulse switching system and its applications in nano-patterning of transparent materials. Due to synchronization, we are able to control the location of each irradiated laser pulse in any kind of substrate. The control over the scanning speed and scanning step of the laser beam enables us to pattern periodic micro/nano-metric holes, voids, and/or lines in various materials. Using the synchronized laser system, we pattern synchronized nano-holes on the surface of and inside various transparent materials including fused silica glass and polymethyl methacrylate to replicate any image or pattern on the surface of or inside (transparent) materials. We also investigate the application areas of the proposed synchronized femtosecond laser pulse switching system in a diverse field of science and technology, especially in optical memory, color marking, and synchronized micro/nano-scale patterning of materials.

Research for robust femtosecond chirped-pulse amplification laser with an identical positive dispersive media as pulse stretcher and compressor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akahane, Yutaka; Ogawa, Kanade; Tsuji, Koichi; Aoyama, Makoto; Yamakawa, Koichi

2011-01-01

We have proposed and demonstrated a simple and robust femtosecond optical-parametric chirped-pulse amplification scheme in which an even order dispersion of an idler pulse is compensated by passing through an identical positive dispersive material used for temporal stretching a signal pulse. By compressing the idler pulses having a negatively chirp in this manner, high power sub-100 fs pulses were successfully obtained with only a transparent glass block used for the stretcher and compressor. (author)

Generating shaped femtosecond pulses in the far infrared using a spatial light modulator and difference frequency generation

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Botha, N

2010-08-31

Full Text Available Femtosecond pulse shaping can be done by different kinds of pulse shapers, such as liquid crystal spatial light modulators (LC SLM), acousto optic modulators (AOM) and deformable and movable mirrors. A few applications where pulse shaping...

Femtosecond Nanofocusing with Full Optical Waveform Control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berweger, Samuel; Atkin, Joanna M.; Xu, Xiaoji G.; Olmon, Robert L.; Raschke, Markus Bernd

2011-01-01

The simultaneous nanometer spatial confinement and femtosecond temporal control of an optical excitation has been a long-standing challenge in optics. Previous approaches using surface plasmon polariton (SPP) resonant nanostructures or SPP waveguides have suffered from, for example, mode mismatch, or possible dependence on the phase of the driving laser field to achieve spatial localization. Here we take advantage of the intrinsic phase- and amplitude-independent nanofocusing ability of a conical noble metal tip with weak wavelength dependence over a broad bandwidth to achieve a 10 nm spatially and few-femtosecond temporally confined excitation. In combination with spectral pulse shaping and feedback on the second-harmonic response of the tip apex, we demonstrate deterministic arbitrary optical waveform control. In addition, the high efficiency of the nanofocusing tip provided by the continuous micro- to nanoscale mode transformation opens the door for spectroscopy of elementary optical excitations in matter on their natural length and time scales and enables applications from ultrafast nano-opto-electronics to single molecule quantum coherent control.

Femtosecond Timekeeping: Slip-Free Clockwork for Optical Timescales

Science.gov (United States)

Herman, D.; Droste, S.; Baumann, E.; Roslund, J.; Churin, D.; Cingoz, A.; Deschênes, J.-D.; Khader, I. H.; Swann, W. C.; Nelson, C.; Newbury, N. R.; Coddington, I.

2018-04-01

The generation of true optical time standards will require the conversion of the highly stable optical-frequency output of an optical atomic clock to a high-fidelity time output. We demonstrate a comb-based clockwork that phase-coherently integrates ˜7 ×1020 optical cycles of an input optical frequency to create a coherent time output. We verify the underlying stability of the optical timing system by comparing two comb-based clockworks with a common input optical frequency and show time drift over the 37-day measurement period. Both clockworks also generate traditional timing signals including an optical pulse per second and a 10-MHz rf reference. The optical pulse-per-second time outputs remain synchronized to 240 attoseconds (240 as) at 1000 s. The phase-coherent 10-MHz rf outputs are stable to near a part in 1019 . Fault-free timekeeping from an optical clock to femtosecond level over months is an important step in replacing the current microwave time standard by an optical standard.

Amorphization of silicon by femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia, Jimmy; Li Ming; Thompson, Carl V.

2004-01-01

We have used femtosecond laser pulses to drill submicron holes in single crystal silicon films in silicon-on-insulator structures. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis of material adjacent to the ablated holes indicates the formation of a layer of amorphous Si. This demonstrates that even when material is ablated using femtosecond pulses near the single pulse ablation threshold, sufficient heating of the surrounding material occurs to create a molten zone which solidifies so rapidly that crystallization is bypassed

Femtosecond pulse radiolysis based on photocathode electron accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, Y.; Yang, Jinfeng; Kondoh, T.; Kozawa, T.; Tagawa, S.

2006-01-01

Pulse radiolysis is a powerful tool for studying chemical kinetics and primary processes or reactions of radiation chemistry. In the pulse radiolysis, a short electron beam, which is almost produced by radio-frequency (RF) electron linear accelerator with energy from a few MeV to a few tens MeV, is used as an irradiative source. The electron-induced reactions or phenomena in matter are analyzed by a short-pulse analyzing light (e.g. synchronized lasers) with the time-resolved stroboscopic technique. The time resolution of pulse radiolysis is not only dependent on the electron bunch length, the analyzing light pulse width, the time jitter between the electron bunch and the analyzing light, but also determined by degradation due to the velocity difference between light and the electron in the sample because of the refractive index. In order to improve the time resolution into femtosecond time region, we have develop a new pulse radiolysis based on a concept of 'Equivalent Velocity Spectroscopy (EVS)' to avoid the degradation of the time resolution caused by the velocity difference between the light and the electron beam in sample. In EVS as shown in Fig.1, a femtosecond electron beam produced by a photocathode electron linear accelerator was used, and a synchronized femtosecond laser was used as the analyzing light source. The electron beam and the laser light were injected into sample with an angle (θ), which is determined by the refractive index (n) of the sample. The electron bunch was also rotated with a same angle to make an overlap of the electron bunch with the laser pulse. The degradation of the time resolution caused by the velocity difference between the light and the electron beam can be calculated as g(L)=L[n/c-1/(vcos θ)], where L is the optical path length and v is the velocity of the electron in sample (we can assume v=c for a few tens MeV electron beam).We can thus obtained g(L)=0 by adjusting the incident angle to cos θ=1/n. However, the rotation

Femtosecond pulse self-shortening in Kerr media: role of modulational instability in the spectrum formation

Science.gov (United States)

Grudtsyn, Ya. V.; Koribut, A. V.; Mikheev, L. D.; Trofimov, V. A.

2018-04-01

The mechanism of femtosecond pulse self-shortening in thin optical materials with Kerr nonlinearity is investigated. The experimentally observed spectral-angular distribution of the radiation intensity on the exit surface of a 1-mm-thick fused silica sample is compared with the results of numerical simulation based on solving the nonlinear Schrödinger equation for an electromagnetic wave with a transverse perturbation on the axis. Qualitative agreement between the calculated and experimental results confirms the hypothesis about the transient regime of multiple filamentation as a mechanism of femtosecond pulse self-shortening.

Miniature fiber-optic multiphoton microscopy system using frequency-doubled femtosecond Er-doped fiber laser.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Lin; Mills, Arthur K; Zhao, Yuan; Jones, David J; Tang, Shuo

2016-05-01

We report on a miniature fiber-optic multiphoton microscopy (MPM) system based on a frequency-doubled femtosecond Er-doped fiber laser. The femtosecond pulses from the laser source are delivered to the miniature fiber-optic probe at 1.58 µm wavelength, where a standard single mode fiber is used for delivery without the need of free-space dispersion compensation components. The beam is frequency-doubled inside the probe by a periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 crystal. Frequency-doubled pulses at 786 nm with a maximum power of 80 mW and a pulsewidth of 150 fs are obtained and applied to excite intrinsic signals from tissues. A MEMS scanner, a miniature objective, and a multimode collection fiber are further used to make the probe compact. The miniature fiber-optic MPM system is highly portable and robust. Ex vivo multiphoton imaging of mammalian skins demonstrates the capability of the system in imaging biological tissues. The results show that the miniature fiber-optic MPM system using frequency-doubled femtosecond fiber laser can potentially bring the MPM imaging for clinical applications.

Formation of array microstructures on silicon by multibeam interfered femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Quanzhong; Qiu Jianrong; Zhao Chongjun; Jiang Xiongwei; Zhu Congshan

2005-01-01

We report on an optical interference method to fabricate array microstructures on the surface of silicon wafers by means of five-beam interference of femtosecond laser pulses. Optical microscope and scanning electron microscope observations revealed microstructures with micrometer-order were fabricated. The diffraction characteristics of the fabricated structures were evaluated. The present technique allows one-step realization of functional optoelectronic devices on silicon surface

Measurements of femtosecond pulse temporal profile by means of a Michelson interferometer with a Schottky junction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, Yan; Lu, Fang

2006-12-20

We introduce a new method for femtosecond pulse shape measurement. The interference of two pulses is employed rather than the second-harmonic generation (SHG). Usually, the measurements of the femtosecond pulse is realized by an interferometer in combination with a nonlinear optical material, while the measurement that we describe is realized by means of a Michelson interferometer with a Schottky junction. Only a metal-semiconductor junction (Schottky junction) is needed, and neither the nonlinear optical material nor a photodetector is included. The two-photon absorption arises when the light is strong enough, while there is only a one-photon absorption when the light is weak. And the calculations are in good agreement with the experimental results. In principle, the new technique could be used for the measuring of pulses with any duration and with very low power. Unlike the SHG scheme, in the new method the quality of optics, mechanics, and other elements of the scheme are not essential, and the measurement is easily realized, but the results are quite precise and very sensitive to the light.

Adaptive optics for reduced threshold energy in femtosecond laser induced optical breakdown in water based eye model

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Anja; Krueger, Alexander; Ripken, Tammo

2013-03-01

In ophthalmic microsurgery tissue dissection is achieved using femtosecond laser pulses to create an optical breakdown. For vitreo-retinal applications the irradiance distribution in the focal volume is distorted by the anterior components of the eye causing a raised threshold energy for breakdown. In this work, an adaptive optics system enables spatial beam shaping for compensation of aberrations and investigation of wave front influence on optical breakdown. An eye model was designed to allow for aberration correction as well as detection of optical breakdown. The eye model consists of an achromatic lens for modeling the eye's refractive power, a water chamber for modeling the tissue properties, and a PTFE sample for modeling the retina's scattering properties. Aberration correction was performed using a deformable mirror in combination with a Hartmann-Shack-sensor. The influence of an adaptive optics aberration correction on the pulse energy required for photodisruption was investigated using transmission measurements for determination of the breakdown threshold and video imaging of the focal region for study of the gas bubble dynamics. The threshold energy is considerably reduced when correcting for the aberrations of the system and the model eye. Also, a raise in irradiance at constant pulse energy was shown for the aberration corrected case. The reduced pulse energy lowers the potential risk of collateral damage which is especially important for retinal safety. This offers new possibilities for vitreo-retinal surgery using femtosecond laser pulses.

A stabilized optical frequency comb based on an Er-doped fiber femtosecond laser

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Chuanqing; Wu, Tengfei; Zhao, Chunbo; Xing, Shuai

2018-03-01

An optical frequency comb based on a 250 MHz home-made Er-doped fiber femtosecond laser is presented in this paper. The Er-doped fiber laser has a ring cavity and operates mode-locked in femtosecond regime with the technique of nonlinear polarization rotation. The pulse duration is 118 fs and the spectral width is 30 nm. A part of the femtosecond laser is amplified in Er-doped fiber amplifier before propagating through a piece of highly nonlinear fiber for expanding the spectrum. The carrier-envelope offset frequency of the comb which has a signal-to-noise ratio more than 35 dB is extracted by means of f-2f beating. It demonstrates that both carrier-envelope offset frequency and repetition frequency keep phase locked to a Rubidium atomic clock simultaneously for 2 hours. The frequency stabilized fiber combs will be increasingly applied in optical metrology, attosecond pulse generation, and absolute distance measurement.

Investigation of diffractive optical element femtosecond laser machining

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chabrol, Grégoire R., E-mail: g.chabrol@ecam-strasbourg.eu [ECAM Strasbourg-Europe, Espace Européen de l’entreprise, 2, rue de Madrid – 67300 SCHILTIGHEIM, CS. 20013, 67012 Strasbourg CEDEX (France); Laboratoire des Sciences de l’Ingénieur, de l’Informatique et de l’Imagerie (ICube), UDS-CNRS, UMR 7357, 300 bld Sébastien Brant, CS 10413, 67412 Illkirch cedex (France); Ciceron, Adline [ECAM Strasbourg-Europe, Espace Européen de l’entreprise, 2, rue de Madrid – 67300 SCHILTIGHEIM, CS. 20013, 67012 Strasbourg CEDEX (France); Laboratoire des Sciences de l’Ingénieur, de l’Informatique et de l’Imagerie (ICube), UDS-CNRS, UMR 7357, 300 bld Sébastien Brant, CS 10413, 67412 Illkirch cedex (France); Twardowski, Patrice; Pfeiffer, Pierre [Laboratoire des Sciences de l’Ingénieur, de l’Informatique et de l’Imagerie (ICube), UDS-CNRS, UMR 7357, 300 bld Sébastien Brant, CS 10413, 67412 Illkirch cedex (France); Télécom Physique Strasbourg – Pôle API – 300 Bd Sébastien Brant – CS 10413, Illkirch Graffenstaden F 67400 (France); and others

2016-06-30

Highlights: • A method for rapid manufacturing of optical diffractive element in BK7 is proposed. • A binary grating in BK7 was successfully machined by femtosecond laser pulses. • Process relying on nonlinear absorption in the dielectric due to photoionization. • The binary grating was analysed by SEM and interferometric microscopy. • Simulations by Fourier modal method supported the measured diffractive efficiency. - Abstract: This paper presents an explorative study on the machining of diffractive optical elements (DOEs) in transparent materials using a femtosecond laser source. A simple form of DOE, a binary phase grating with a period of 20.85 μm (σ = 0.5 μm), a groove depth and width of 0.7 μm (σ = 0.2 μm) and 8.8 μm (σ = 0.5 μm) respectively, was successfully machined in BK7. The topographic characteristics were measured by white light interferometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The processing was carried out on high precision stages with an ultrafast fibre laser (350 fs) emitting a 343 nm pulse focused onto the sample with a stationary microscope objective. A diffracted efficiency of 27%, obtained with a spectro goniometer, was corroborated by the theoretical results obtained by the Fourier modal method (FMM), taking into account the measured topographic values. These encouraging results demonstrate that high-speed femtosecond laser manufacturing of DOE in bulk glasses can be achieved, opening the way to rapid prototyping of multi-layered-DOEs.

Extended ABCD matrix formalism for the description of femtosecond diffraction patterns; application to femtosecond digital in-line holography with anamorphic optical systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Brunel, Marc; Shen, Huanhuan; Coetmellec, Sebastien; Lebrun, Denis

2012-03-10

We present a new model to predict diffraction patterns of femtosecond pulses through complex optical systems. The model is based on the extension of an ABCD matrix formalism combined with generalized Huygens-Fresnel transforms (already used in the CW regime) to the femtosecond regime. The model is tested to describe femtosecond digital in-line holography experiments realized in situ through a cylindrical Plexiglas pipe. The model allows us to establish analytical relations that link the holographic reconstruction process to the experimental parameters of the pipe and of the incident beam itself. Simulations and experimental results are in good concordance. Femtosecond digital in-line holography is shown to allow significant coherent noise reduction, and this model will be particularly efficient to describe a wide range of optical geometries. More generally, the model developed can be easily used in any experiment where the knowledge of the precise evolution of femtosecond transverse patterns is required.

Research on spectrum broadening covering visible light of a fiber femtosecond optical frequency comb for absolute frequency measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Shuai; Wu, Tengfei; Li, Shuyi; Xia, Chuanqing; Han, Jibo; Zhang, Lei; Zhao, Chunbo

2018-03-01

As a bridge connecting microwave frequency and optical frequency, femtosecond laser has important significance in optical frequency measurement. Compared with the traditional Ti-sapphire femtosecond optical frequency comb, with the advantages of compact structure, strong anti-interference ability and low cost, the fiber femtosecond optical frequency comb has a wider application prospect. An experiment of spectrum broadening in a highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber pumped by an Er-fiber mode-locked femtosecond laser is studied in this paper. Based on optical amplification and frequency doubling, the central wavelength of the output spectrum is 780nm and the average power is 232mW. With the femtosecond pulses coupled into two different photonic crystal fibers, the coverage of visible spectrum is up to 500nm-960nm. The spectral shape and width can be optimized by changing the polarization state for satisfying the requirments of different optical frequencies measurement.

High repetition rate tunable femtosecond pulses and broadband amplification from fiber laser pumped parametric amplifier.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, T V; Schmidt, O; Bruchmann, C; Limpert, J; Aguergaray, C; Cormier, E; Tünnermann, A

2006-05-29

We report on the generation of high energy femtosecond pulses at 1 MHz repetition rate from a fiber laser pumped optical parametric amplifier (OPA). Nonlinear bandwidth enhancement in fibers provides the intrinsically synchronized signal for the parametric amplifier. We demonstrate large tunability extending from 700 nm to 1500 nm of femtosecond pulses with pulse energies as high as 1.2 muJ when the OPA is seeded by a supercontinuum generated in a photonic crystal fiber. Broadband amplification over more than 85 nm is achieved at a fixed wavelength. Subsequent compression in a prism sequence resulted in 46 fs pulses. With an average power of 0.5 W these pulses have a peak-power above 10 MW. In particular, the average power and pulse energy scalability of both involved concepts, the fiber laser and the parametric amplifier, will enable easy up-scaling to higher powers.

Development of a new picosecond pulse radiolysis system by using a femtosecond laser synchronized with a picosecond linac. A step to femtosecond pulse radiolysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoshida, Yoichi; Yamamoto, Tamotsu; Miki, Miyako; Seki, Shu; Okuda, Shuichi; Honda, Yoshihide; Kimura, Norio; Tagawa, Seiichi [Osaka Univ., Ibaraki (Japan). Inst. of Scientific and Industrial Research; Ushida, Kiminori

1997-03-01

A new picosecond pulse radiolysis system by using a Ti sapphire femtosecond laser synchronized with a 20 ps electron pulse from the 38 MeV L-band linac has been developed for the research of the ultra fast reactions in primary processes of radiation chemistry. The timing jitter in the synchronization of the laser pulse with the electron pulse is less than several picosecond. The technique can be used in the next femtosecond pulse radiolysis. (author)

Femtosecond Pulse Characterization as Applied to One-Dimensional Photonic Band Edge Structures

Science.gov (United States)

Fork, Richard L.; Gamble, Lisa J.; Diffey, William M.

1999-01-01

The ability to control the group velocity and phase of an optical pulse is important to many current active areas of research. Electronically addressable one-dimensional photonic crystals are an attractive candidate to achieve this control. This report details work done toward the characterization of photonic crystals and improvement of the characterization technique. As part of the work, the spectral dependence of the group delay imparted by a GaAs/AlAs photonic crystal was characterized. Also, a first generation an electrically addressable photonic crystal was tested for the ability to electronically control the group delay. The measurement technique, using 100 femtosecond continuum pulses was improved to yield high spectral resolution (1.7 nanometers) and concurrently with high temporal resolution (tens of femtoseconds). Conclusions and recommendations based upon the work done are also presented.

Characteristics and Applications of Spatiotemporally Focused Femtosecond Laser Pulses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chenrui Jing

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Simultaneous spatial and temporal focusing (SSTF of femtosecond laser pulses gives rise to strong suppression of nonlinear self-focusing during the propagation of the femtosecond laser beam. In this paper, we begin with an introduction of the principle of SSTF, followed by a review of our recent experimental results on the characterization and application of the spatiotemporally focused pulses for femtosecond laser micromachining. Finally, we summarize all of the results and give a future perspective of this technique.

Optimally shaped narrowband picosecond pulses for femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, David P; Valley, David; Ellis, Scott R; Creelman, Mark; Mathies, Richard A

2013-09-09

A comparison between a Fabry-Pérot etalon filter and a conventional grating filter for producing the picosecond (ps) Raman pump pulses for femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) is presented. It is shown that for pulses of equal energy the etalon filter produces Raman signals twice as large as that of the grating filter while suppressing the electronically resonant background signal. The time asymmetric profile of the etalon-generated pulse is shown to be responsible for both of these observations. A theoretical discussion is presented which quantitatively supports this hypothesis. It is concluded that etalons are the ideal method for the generation of narrowband ps pulses for FSRS because of the optical simplicity, efficiency, improved FSRS intensity and reduced backgrounds.

Selective ablation of dental enamel and dentin using femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lizarelli, R F Z; Costa, M M; Carvalho-Filho, E; Bagnato, V S; Nunes, F D

2008-01-01

The study of the interaction of intense laser light with matter, as well as transient response of atoms and molecules is very appropriated because of the laser energy concentration in a femtosecond optical pulses. The fundamental problem to be solved is to find tools and techniques which allow us to observe and manipulate on a femtosecond time scale the photonics events on and into the matter. Six third human extracted molars were exposed to a femtosecond Ti:Sapphire Q-switched and mode locked laser (Libra-S, Coherent, Palo Alto, CA, USA), emitting pulses with 70 fs width, radiation wavelength of 801 nm, at a constant pulse repetition rate of 1 KHz. The laser was operated at different power levels (70 to 400 mW) with constant exposition time of 10 seconds, at focused and defocused mode. Enamel and dentin surfaces were evaluated concerned ablation rate and morphological aspects under scanning electron microscopic. The results in this present experiment suggest that at the focused mode and under higher average power, enamel tissues present microcavities with higher depth and very precise edges, but, while dentin shows a larger melt-flushing, lower depth and melting and solidification aspect. In conclusion, it is possible to choose hard or soft ablation, under lower and higher average power, respectively, revealing different aspects of dental enamel and dentin, depending on the average power, fluence and distance from the focal point of the ultra-short pulse laser on the tooth surface

Computational Modeling of Ultrafast Pulse Propagation in Nonlinear Optical Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Goorjian, Peter M.; Agrawal, Govind P.; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

1996-01-01

There is an emerging technology of photonic (or optoelectronic) integrated circuits (PICs or OEICs). In PICs, optical and electronic components are grown together on the same chip. rib build such devices and subsystems, one needs to model the entire chip. Accurate computer modeling of electromagnetic wave propagation in semiconductors is necessary for the successful development of PICs. More specifically, these computer codes would enable the modeling of such devices, including their subsystems, such as semiconductor lasers and semiconductor amplifiers in which there is femtosecond pulse propagation. Here, the computer simulations are made by solving the full vector, nonlinear, Maxwell's equations, coupled with the semiconductor Bloch equations, without any approximations. The carrier is retained in the description of the optical pulse, (i.e. the envelope approximation is not made in the Maxwell's equations), and the rotating wave approximation is not made in the Bloch equations. These coupled equations are solved to simulate the propagation of femtosecond optical pulses in semiconductor materials. The simulations describe the dynamics of the optical pulses, as well as the interband and intraband.

Characterization and modulation of femtosecond laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dorrer, Christophe

1999-01-01

This work brings some solutions to the characterization and control of femtosecond laser pulses. Spectral interferometry has been extensively studied; whereas this is a rather old technique, it has found new specific applications to short pulses. Several important points concerning the experimental implementation of this technique are treated. Sources of errors have been tracked and simple solutions have been found to enhance its reliability. A recently demonstrated technique for the complete characterization of short pulses has been used to characterize short pulses from Chirped Pulse Amplification Systems. This transposition of shearing interferometry to the optical frequency domain, known as Spectral Phase Interferometry for Direct Electric-field Reconstruction (SPlDER), is conceptually very interesting: for example, the inversion from the experimental data to the electric field to be characterized is completely algebraic. A reliable tool for the characterization and optimization of Chirped pulse amplification systems has been built on this principle. This is the first single-shot real-time characterization implementation of this technique. An improvement of the method has also allowed the first single-shot real-time characterization of a short pulse using a single mono-dimensional integrative detector and an algebraic inversion of the experimental data. The control of these pulses is also of prior interest. Through a collaboration with Thomson CSF-LCR, the demonstration of the use of an optically addressed light valve at the Fourier plane of a zero-dispersion line for spectral phase modulation has been made. This device allows a high-resolution control of the spectral phase of a short pulse. It is a well-adapted tool for the correction of the residual spectral phase, at the output of Chirped Pulse Amplification systems and the temporal synthesis of shaped pulses for specific experiments. (author) [fr

Femtosecond Photon-Counting Receiver

Science.gov (United States)

Krainak, Michael A.; Rambo, Timothy M.; Yang, Guangning; Lu, Wei; Numata, Kenji

2016-01-01

An optical correlation receiver is described that provides ultra-precise distance and/or time/pulse-width measurements even for weak (single photons) and short (femtosecond) optical signals. A new type of optical correlation receiver uses a fourth-order (intensity) interferometer to provide micron distance measurements even for weak (single photons) and short (femtosecond) optical signals. The optical correlator uses a low-noise-integrating detector that can resolve photon number. The correlation (range as a function of path delay) is calculated from the variance of the photon number of the difference of the optical signals on the two detectors. Our preliminary proof-of principle data (using a short-pulse diode laser transmitter) demonstrates tens of microns precision.

The wavelength dependence of gold nanorod-mediated optical breakdown during infrared ultrashort pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davletshin, Yevgeniy R.; Kumaradas, J. Carl [Department of Physics, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON (Canada)

2017-04-15

This paper investigates the wavelength dependence of the threshold of gold nanorod-mediated optical breakdown during picosecond and femtosecond near infrared optical pulses. It was found that the wavelength dependence in the picosecond regime is governed solely by the changes of a nanorod's optical properties. On the other hand, the optical breakdown threshold during femtosecond pulse exposure falls within one of two regimes. When the ratio of the maximum electric field from the outside to the inside of the nanorod is less then 7 (the absorption regime) the seed electrons are initiated by photo-thermal emission, and the wavelength dependence in the threshold of optical breakdown is the result of optical properties of the nanoparticle. When the ratio is greater than 7 (the near-field regime) more seed electrons are initiated by multiphoton ionization, and the wavelength dependence of the threshold of optical breakdown results from a combination of nanorod's optical properties and transitions in the order of multiphoton ionization. The findings of this study can guide the design of nanoparticle based optical breakdown applications. This analysis also deepens the understanding of nanoparticle-mediated laser induced breakdown for picosecond and femtosecond pulses at near infrared wavelengths. (copyright 2017 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Femtosecond laser spectroscopy

CERN Document Server

Hannaford, Peter

2005-01-01

As concepts and methodologies have evolved over the past two decades, the realm of ultrafast science has become vast and exciting and has impacted many areas of chemistry, biology and physics, and other fields such as materials science, electrical engineering, and optical communication. The field has recently exploded with the announcement of a series of remarkable new developments and advances. This volume surveys this recent growth in eleven chapters written by leading international researchers in the field. It includes sections on femtosecond optical frequency combs, soft x-ray femtosecond laser sources, and attosecond laser sources. In addition, the contributors address real-time spectroscopy of molecular vibrations with sub-5-fs pulses and multidimensional femtosecond coherent spectroscopies for studying molecular and electron dynamics. Novel methods for measuring and characterizing ultrashort laser pulses and ultrashort pulses of light are also described. The topics covered are revolutionizing the field...

Optical Synchronization Systems for Femtosecond X-raySources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilcox, Russell; Staples, John W.; Holzwarth, Ronald

2004-05-09

In femtosecond pump/probe experiments using short X-Ray and optical pulses, precise synchronization must be maintained between widely separated lasers in a synchrotron or FEL facility. We are developing synchronization systems using optical signals for applications requiring different ranges of timing error over 100 meter of glass fiber. For stabilization in the hundred femtosecond range a CW laser is amplitude modulated at 1 10 GHz, the signal retroreflected from the far end, and the relative phase used to correct the transit time with a piezoelectric phase modulator. For the sub-10 fsec range the laser frequency itself is upshifted 55 MHz with an acousto-optical modulator, retroreflected, upshifted again and phase compared at the sending end to a 110 MHz reference. Initial experiments indicate less than 1 fsec timing jitter. To lock lasers in the sub-10 fs range we will lock two single-frequency lasers separated by several tera Hertz to a master modelocked fiber laser, transmit the two frequencies over fiber, and lock two comb lines of a slave laser to these frequencies, thus synchronizing the two modelocked laser envelopes.

Optical Synchronization Systems for Femtosecond X-ray Sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilcox, Russell; Staples, John W.; Holzwarth, Ronald

2004-01-01

In femtosecond pump/probe experiments using short X-Ray and optical pulses, precise synchronization must be maintained between widely separated lasers in a synchrotron or FEL facility. We are developing synchronization systems using optical signals for applications requiring different ranges of timing error over 100 meter of glass fiber. For stabilization in the hundred femtosecond range a CW laser is amplitude modulated at 1 10 GHz, the signal retroreflected from the far end, and the relative phase used to correct the transit time with a piezoelectric phase modulator. For the sub-10 fsec range the laser frequency itself is upshifted 55 MHz with an acousto-optical modulator, retroreflected, upshifted again and phase compared at the sending end to a 110 MHz reference. Initial experiments indicate less than 1 fsec timing jitter. To lock lasers in the sub-10 fs range we will lock two single-frequency lasers separated by several tera Hertz to a master modelocked fiber laser, transmit the two frequencies over fiber, and lock two comb lines of a slave laser to these frequencies, thus synchronizing the two modelocked laser envelopes

Acousto-optic replication of ultrashort laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Yushkov, Konstantin B.; Molchanov, Vladimir Ya.; Ovchinnikov, Andrey V.; Chefonov, Oleg V.

2017-10-01

Precisely controlled sequences of ultrashort laser pulses are required in various scientific and engineering applications. We developed a phase-only acousto-optic pulse shaping method for replication of ultrashort laser pulses in a TW laser system. A sequence of several Fourier-transform-limited pulses is generated from a single femtosecond laser pulse by means of applying a piecewise linear phase modulation over the whole emission spectrum. Analysis demonstrates that the main factor which limits maximum delay between the pulse replicas is spectral resolution of the acousto-optic dispersive delay line used for pulse shaping. In experiments with a Cr:forsterite laser system, we obtained delays from 0.3 to 3.5 ps between two replicas of 190 fs transform-limited pulses at the central wavelength of laser emission, 1230 nm.

Pulse shaping for all-optical signal processing of ultra-high bit rate serial data signals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Palushani, Evarist

The following thesis concerns pulse shaping and optical waveform manipulation for all-optical signal processing of ultra-high bit rate serial data signals, including generation of optical pulses in the femtosecond regime, serial-to-parallel conversion and terabaud coherent optical time division...

Optical synchronization system for femtosecond X-ray sources

Science.gov (United States)

Wilcox, Russell B [El Cerrito, CA; Holzwarth, Ronald [Munich, DE

2011-12-13

Femtosecond pump/probe experiments using short X-Ray and optical pulses require precise synchronization between 100 meter-10 km separated lasers in a various experiments. For stabilization in the hundred femtosecond range a CW laser is amplitude modulated at 1-10 GHz, the signal retroreflected from the far end, and the relative phase used to correct the transit time with various implementations. For the sub-10 fsec range the laser frequency itself is upshifted 55 MHz with an acousto-optical modulator, retroreflected, upshifted again and phase compared at the sending end to a 110 MHz reference. Initial experiments indicate less than 1 fsec timing jitter. To lock lasers in the sub-10 fs range two single-frequency lasers separated by several teraHertz will be lock to a master modelocked fiber laser, transmit the two frequencies over fiber, and lock two comb lines of a slave laser to these frequencies, thus synchronizing the two modelocked laser envelopes.

Tunable femtosecond laser in the visible range with an intracavity frequency-doubled optical parametric oscillator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Jiang-Feng; Xu Liang; Lin Qing-Feng; Zhong Xin; Han Hai-Nian; Wei Zhi-Yi

2013-01-01

We demonstrated experimentally a synchronously pumped intracavity frequency-doubled femtosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO) using a periodically-poled lithium niobate (PPLN) as the nonlinear material in combination with a lithium triborate (LBO) as the doubling crystal. A Kerr-lens-mode-locked (KLM) Ti:sapphire oscillator at the wavelength of 790 nm was used as the pump source, which was capable of generating pulses with a duration as short as 117 fs. A tunable femtosecond laser covering the 624–672 nm range was realized by conveniently adjusting the OPO cavity length. A maximum average output power of 260 mW in the visible range was obtained at the pump power of 2.2 W, with a typical pulse duration of 205 fs assuming a sech 2 pulse profile. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

Probing spatial properties of electronic excitation in water after interaction with temporally shaped femtosecond laser pulses: Experiments and simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winkler, Thomas; Sarpe, Cristian; Jelzow, Nikolai [Institute of Physics and CINSaT, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, D-34132 Kassel (Germany); Lillevang, Lasse H. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Götte, Nadine; Zielinski, Bastian [Institute of Physics and CINSaT, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, D-34132 Kassel (Germany); Balling, Peter [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Senftleben, Arne [Institute of Physics and CINSaT, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, D-34132 Kassel (Germany); Baumert, Thomas, E-mail: baumert@physik.uni-kassel.de [Institute of Physics and CINSaT, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, D-34132 Kassel (Germany)

2016-06-30

Highlights: • Temporally asymmetric shaped femtosecond laser pulses lead to excitation over smaller area and larger depth in water. • Transient optical properties are measured radially resolved by spectral interference in an imaging geometry. • Radially resolved spectral interference shows indications of nonlinear propagation effects at high fluences. - Abstract: In this work, laser excitation of water under ambient conditions is investigated by radially resolved common-path spectral interferometry. Water, as a sample system for dielectric materials, is excited by ultrashort bandwidth-limited and temporally asymmetric shaped femtosecond laser pulses, where the latter start with an intense main pulse followed by a decaying pulse sequence, i.e. a temporal Airy pulse. Spectral interference in an imaging geometry allows measurements of the transient optical properties integrated along the propagation through the sample but radially resolved with respect to the transverse beam profile. Since the optical properties reflect the dynamics of the free-electron plasma, such measurements reveal the spatial characteristics of the laser excitation. We conclude that temporally asymmetric shaped laser pulses are a promising tool for high-precision laser material processing, as they reduce the transverse area of excitation, but increase the excitation inside the material along the beam propagation.

Femtosecond laser pulses for fast 3-D surface profilometry of microelectronic step-structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Joo, Woo-Deok; Kim, Seungman; Park, Jiyong; Lee, Keunwoo; Lee, Joohyung; Kim, Seungchul; Kim, Young-Jin; Kim, Seung-Woo

2013-07-01

Fast, precise 3-D measurement of discontinuous step-structures fabricated on microelectronic products is essential for quality assurance of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, and photovoltaic cells. Optical surface profilers of low-coherence interferometry have long been used for the purpose, but the vertical scanning range and speed are limited by the micro-actuators available today. Besides, the lateral field-of-view extendable for a single measurement is restricted by the low spatial coherence of broadband light sources. Here, we cope with the limitations of the conventional low-coherence interferometer by exploiting unique characteristics of femtosecond laser pulses, i.e., low temporal but high spatial coherence. By scanning the pulse repetition rate with direct reference to the Rb atomic clock, step heights of ~69.6 μm are determined with a repeatability of 10.3 nm. The spatial coherence of femtosecond pulses provides a large field-of-view with superior visibility, allowing for a high volume measurement rate of ~24,000 mm3/s.

Femtosecond profiling of shaped x-ray pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, M. C.; Grguraš, I.; Behrens, C.; Bostedt, C.; Bozek, J.; Bromberger, H.; Coffee, R.; Costello, J. T.; DiMauro, L. F.; Ding, Y.; Doumy, G.; Helml, W.; Ilchen, M.; Kienberger, R.; Lee, S.; Maier, A. R.; Mazza, T.; Meyer, M.; Messerschmidt, M.; Schorb, S.; Schweinberger, W.; Zhang, K.; Cavalieri, A. L.

2018-03-01

Arbitrary manipulation of the temporal and spectral properties of x-ray pulses at free-electron lasers would revolutionize many experimental applications. At the Linac Coherent Light Source at Stanford National Accelerator Laboratory, the momentum phase-space of the free-electron laser driving electron bunch can be tuned to emit a pair of x-ray pulses with independently variable photon energy and femtosecond delay. However, while accelerator parameters can easily be adjusted to tune the electron bunch phase-space, the final impact of these actuators on the x-ray pulse cannot be predicted with sufficient precision. Furthermore, shot-to-shot instabilities that distort the pulse shape unpredictably cannot be fully suppressed. Therefore, the ability to directly characterize the x-rays is essential to ensure precise and consistent control. In this work, we have generated x-ray pulse pairs via electron bunch shaping and characterized them on a single-shot basis with femtosecond resolution through time-resolved photoelectron streaking spectroscopy. This achievement completes an important step toward future x-ray pulse shaping techniques.

High-power femtosecond pulse generation in a passively mode-locked Nd:SrLaAlO4 laser

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shan-De; Dong, Lu-Lu; Zheng, Li-He; Berkowski, Marek; Su, Liang-Bi; Ren, Ting-Qi; Peng, Yan-Dong; Hou, Jia; Zhang, Bai-Tao; He, Jing-Liang

2016-07-01

A high optical quality Nd:SrLaAlO4 (Nd:SLA) crystal was grown using the Czochralski method and showed broad fluorescence spectrum with a full width at half maximum value of 34 nm, which is beneficial for generating femtosecond laser pulses. A stable diode-pumped passively mode-locked femtosecond Nd:SLA laser with 458 fs pulse duration was achieved for the first time at a central wavelength of 1077.9 nm. The average output power of the continuous-wave mode-locked laser was 520 mW and the repetition rate was 78.5 MHz.

Intensity Correlation Analysis on Blue-Violet FemtosecondPulses from a Dispersion-Compensated GaInN Mode-LockedSemiconductor Laser Diode

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shunsuke Kono

2015-09-01

Full Text Available We investigated the spectral and temporal characteristics of blue-violetfemtosecond optical pulses generated by a passively mode-locked GaInN laser diode ina dispersion-compensated external cavity. The output optical pulses at 400 nm wereanalyzed in detail by intensity auto- and cross-correlation measurements using secondharmonic generation on the surface of a β-BaB2O4 crystal. The obtained results clarifiedwavelength-dependent chirp characteristics of the optical pulses. The analysis suggestedthat a large frequency shift due to saturation in the saturable absorber and gain sectionsplayed an important role in the generation of femtosecond optical pulses.

Femtosecond Laser Filamentation

CERN Document Server

Chin, See Leang

2010-01-01

Femtosecond Laser Filamentation gives a comprehensive review of the physics of propagation of intense femtosecond laser pulses in optical media (principally air) and the applications and challenges of this new technique. This book presents the modern understanding of the physics of femtosecond laser pulse propagation, including unusual new effects such as the self-transformation of the pulse into a white light laser pulse, intensity clamping, the physics of multiple filamentation and competition, and how filaments’ ability to melt glass leads to wave guide writing. The potential applications of laser filamentation in atmospheric sensing and the generation of other electromagnetic pulses from the UV to the radio frequency are treated, together with possible future challenges in the excitation of super-excited states of molecules. Exciting new phenomena such as filament induced ultrafast birefringence and the excitation of molecular rotational wave packets and their multiple revivals in air (gases) will also ...

Study and realisation of a femtosecond dye laser operating at different wavelengths. Ultrashort pulses compression and amplification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Georges, Patrick

1989-01-01

We present the study and the realization of a passively mode-locked dye laser producing pulses shorter than 100 femto-seconds (10 -13 s). In a ring cavity with an amplifier medium (Rhodamine 60) and a saturable absorber (DODCI), a sequence of four prisms controls the group velocity dispersion and allows the generation of very short pulses. Then we have studied the production of femtosecond pulses at other wavelengths directly from the femtosecond dye laser. For the first rime, 60 fs pulses at 685 nm and pulses shorter than 50 fs between 775 nm and 800 nm have been produced by passive mode locking. These near infrared pulses have been used to study the absorption saturation kinetics in semiconductors multiple quantum wells GaAs/GaAlAs. We have observed a singular behavior of the laser operating at 685 nm and analyzed the produced pulses in terms of optical solitons. To perform time resolved spectroscopy with shortest pulses, we have studied a pulse compressor and a multipass amplifier to increase the pulses energy. Pulses of 20 fs and 10 micro-joules (peak power: 0.5 GW) have been obtained at low repetition rate (10 Hz) and pulses of 16 fs and 0.6 micro-joules pulses have been generated at high repetition rate (11 kHz) using a copper vapor laser. These pulses have been used to study the absorption saturation kinetics of an organic dye (the Malachite Green). (author) [fr

Techniques of surface optical breakdown prevention for low-depths femtosecond waveguides writing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bukharin, M A; Skryabin, N N; Ganin, D V; Khudyakov, D V; Vartapetov, S.K.

2016-01-01

We demonstrated technique of direct femtosecond waveguide writing at record low depth (2-15 μm) under surface of lithium niobate, that play a key role in design of electrooptical modulators with low operating voltage. To prevent optical breakdown of crystal surface we used high numerical aperture objectives for focusing of light and non-thermal regime of inscription in contrast to widespread femtosecond writing technique at depths of tens micrometers or higher. Surface optical breakdown threshold was measured for both x- and z- cut crystals. Inscribed waveguides were examined for intrinsic microstructure. It also reported sharp narrowing of operating pulses energy range with writing depth under the surface of crystal, that should be taken in account when near-surface waveguides design. Novelty of the results consists in reduction of inscription depth under the surface of crystals that broadens applications of direct femtosecond writing technique to full formation of near-surface waveguides and postproduction precise geometry correction of near-surfaces optical integrated circuits produced with proton-exchanged technique. (paper)

Measurement of ablation threshold of oxide-film-coated aluminium nanoparticles irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chefonov, O V; Ovchinnikov, A V; Il'ina, I V; Agranat, M B

2016-01-01

We report the results of experiments on estimation of femtosecond laser threshold intensity at which nanoparticles are removed from the substrate surface. The studies are performed with nanoparticles obtained by femtosecond laser ablation of pure aluminium in distilled water. The attenuation (or extinction, i.e. absorption and scattering) spectra of nanoparticles are measured at room temperature in the UV and optical wavelength ranges. The size of nanoparticles is determined using atomic force microscopy. A new method of scanning photoluminescence is proposed to evaluate the threshold of nanoparticle removal from the surface of a glass substrate exposed to IR femtosecond laser pulses with intensities 10 11 – 10 13 W cm -2 . (interaction of laser radiation with matter)

Generating Efficient Femtosecond Mid-infrared Pulse by Single Near-infrared Pump Wavelength in Bulk Nonlinear Crystal Without Phase-matching

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Binbin; Guo, Hairun; Bache, Morten

2014-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate efficient mid-infrared pulse generation by dispersive wave radiation in bulk lithium niobate crystal. Femtosecond mid-IR pulses centering from 2.8-2.92 μm are generated using the single pump wavelengths from 1.25-1.45 μm. © 2014 Optical Society of America...

Ultrashort pulse-propagation effects in a semiconductor optical amplifier: Microscopic theory and experiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hughes, S.; Borri, P.; Knorr, A.

2001-01-01

We present microscopic modeling and experimental measurements of femtosecond-pulse interactions in a semiconductor optical amplifier. Two novel nonlinear propagation effects are demonstrated: pulse breakup in the gain regime and pulse compression in the transparency regime. These propagation phen...... phenomena highlight the microscopic origin and important role of adiabatic following in semiconductor optical amplifiers. Fundamental light-matter interactions are discussed in detail and possible applications are highlighted....

Ultra-short laser pulse ablation using shear-force feedback: Femtosecond laser induced breakdown spectroscopy feasibility study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samek, Ota; Kurowski, Andre; Kittel, Silke; Kukhlevsky, Sergei; Hergenroeder, Roland

2005-01-01

This work reports on a feasibility study of proximity ablation using femtosecond pulses. Ultra-short pulses were launched to a bare tapered optical fiber and delivered to the sample. The tip-sample distance was controlled by means of shear-force feedback. Consequently, ablation craters with submicrometer dimensions were obtained. Potential analytical applications for Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technique, such as e.g. inclusions in steel or bio cells, are suggested

Influence of wave-front curvature on supercontinuum energy during filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses in water

Science.gov (United States)

Potemkin, F. V.; Mareev, E. I.; Smetanina, E. O.

2018-03-01

We demonstrate that using spatially divergent incident femtosecond 1240-nm laser pulses in water leads to an efficient supercontinuum generation in filaments. Optimal conditions were found when the focal plane is placed 100 -400 μ m before the water surface. Under sufficiently weak focusing conditions [numerical aperture (NA )laser pulses, the supercontinuum energy generated in divergent beams is higher than the supercontinuum energy generated in convergent beams. Analysis by means of the unidirectional pulse propagation equation shows a dramatic difference between filamentation scenarios of divergent and convergent beams, that explains corresponding features of the supercontinuum generation. Under strong focusing conditions (NA ⩾0.2 ) and high-energy laser pulses, the supercontinuum generation is suppressed for convergent beams in contrast to divergent beams that nevertheless are shown experimentally to allow supercontinuum generation. The presented technique of the supercontinuum generation in divergent beams in water is highly demanded in a development of femtosecond optical parametric amplifiers.

Observation of coherent optical phonons excited by femtosecond laser radiation in Sb films by ultrafast electron diffraction method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mironov, B. N.; Kompanets, V. O.; Aseev, S. A., E-mail: isanfemto@yandex.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Spectroscopy (Russian Federation); Ischenko, A. A. [Moscow Technological University, Institute of High Chemical Technologies (Russian Federation); Kochikov, I. V. [Moscow State University (Russian Federation); Misochko, O. V. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Solid State Physics (Russian Federation); Chekalin, S. V.; Ryabov, E. A. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Spectroscopy (Russian Federation)

2017-03-15

The generation of coherent optical phonons in a polycrystalline antimony film sample has been investigated using femtosecond electron diffraction method. Phonon vibrations have been induced in the Sb sample by the main harmonic of a femtosecond Ti:Sa laser (λ = 800 nm) and probed by a pulsed ultrashort photoelectron beam synchronized with the pump laser. The diffraction patterns recorded at different times relative to the pump laser pulse display oscillations of electron diffraction intensity corresponding to the frequencies of vibrations of optical phonons: totally symmetric (A{sub 1g}) and twofold degenerate (E{sub g}) phonon modes. The frequencies that correspond to combinations of these phonon modes in the Sb sample have also been experimentally observed.

Thermally controlled femtosecond pulse shaping using metasurface based optical filters

Science.gov (United States)

Rahimi, Eesa; Şendur, Kürşat

2018-02-01

Shaping of the temporal distribution of the ultrashort pulses, compensation of pulse deformations due to phase shift in transmission and amplification are of interest in various optical applications. To address these problems, in this study, we have demonstrated an ultra-thin reconfigurable localized surface plasmon (LSP) band-stop optical filter driven by insulator-metal phase transition of vanadium dioxide. A Joule heating mechanism is proposed to control the thermal phase transition of the material. The resulting permittivity variation of vanadium dioxide tailors spectral response of the transmitted pulse from the stack. Depending on how the pulse's spectrum is located with respect to the resonance of the band-stop filter, the thin film stack can dynamically compress/expand the output pulse span up to 20% or shift its phase up to 360°. Multi-stacked filters have shown the ability to dynamically compensate input carrier frequency shifts and pulse span variations besides their higher span expansion rates.

FY 1999 report on the results of the R and D of femtosecond technology. Development of ultra-short pulse optoelectronics technology; 1999 nendo femutobyo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Chotan pulse hikari electronics gijutsu kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

The paper described the FY 1999 results of the R and D of femtosecond technology. For the purpose of creating new industrial basement technology which supports the highly information-oriented society in the 21st century, the ultra-high speed electronics technology is indispensable which is beyond speed limits of the existing electronics technology and has new functionality. The ultra-high speed electronics basement technology is established through the R and D of the technology to control the state of light and electronics in the femtosecond time domain (10{sup -15} - 10{sup -12} second). Themes of the R and D are technology to generate/transmit femtosecond optical pulse, technology for control/distribution, and ultra-short pulse optoelectronics common basement technology. In FY 1999, a lot of results were obtained in the following: generation of the pulse train highly repeated at 500GHz in semiconductor laser; 139km transmission of 250fs optical pulse; switching movement at ultra-high speed of 150fs-1.2ps in transition among subbands of GaN base and Sb base materials; DEMUXA movement toward 160-10Gb/s in Mach-Zehnder type optical switch. (NEDO)

Interaction of femtosecond X-ray pulses with periodical multilayer structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ksenzov, Dmitry

2010-01-01

The VUV Free Electron Laser FLASH operates in soft X-ray range and produces high-intensive pulse trains with few tens femtoseconds duration. The transversely fully coherent beam will open new experiments in solid state physics which can not be studied with present radiation sources. The study of the time dependent response of the multilayer to the X-ray pulse can provide insights into the process of interaction of highly intense FEL radiation with matter. To test the influence of electron excitation on the optical properties of boron carbide, the refractive index of B 4 C was measured near B K-edge by energy-resolved photon-in-photon-out method probing a Bragg reflection from periodical multilayers. The measured data clearly show that the variation of the fine structure of the Kabsorption edges due to the chemical nature of the absorber element. The knowledge obtained from experiments with continuous radiation was used to design the respective experiments with pulse from the FEL. In my thesis, it is proposed that the geometrical setup, where the incident pulse arrives from the FEL under the angle close to the 1st order ML Bragg peak, provides the most valuable information. Preliminary simulation considering form factors of neutral and ionized boron showed that due to ionization, pronounced changes in the reflectivity curve are expected. The proposed scheme can be the powerful tool to study the various processes within the electronic subsystem of the FEL pulse interaction with matter. This type of investigations gives a deep understanding of the nature of the electronic excitation and the recombination at the femtosecond scale. (orig.)

Interaction of femtosecond X-ray pulses with periodical multilayer structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ksenzov, Dmitry

2010-07-01

The VUV Free Electron Laser FLASH operates in soft X-ray range and produces high-intensive pulse trains with few tens femtoseconds duration. The transversely fully coherent beam will open new experiments in solid state physics which can not be studied with present radiation sources. The study of the time dependent response of the multilayer to the X-ray pulse can provide insights into the process of interaction of highly intense FEL radiation with matter. To test the influence of electron excitation on the optical properties of boron carbide, the refractive index of B{sub 4}C was measured near B K-edge by energy-resolved photon-in-photon-out method probing a Bragg reflection from periodical multilayers. The measured data clearly show that the variation of the fine structure of the Kabsorption edges due to the chemical nature of the absorber element. The knowledge obtained from experiments with continuous radiation was used to design the respective experiments with pulse from the FEL. In my thesis, it is proposed that the geometrical setup, where the incident pulse arrives from the FEL under the angle close to the 1st order ML Bragg peak, provides the most valuable information. Preliminary simulation considering form factors of neutral and ionized boron showed that due to ionization, pronounced changes in the reflectivity curve are expected. The proposed scheme can be the powerful tool to study the various processes within the electronic subsystem of the FEL pulse interaction with matter. This type of investigations gives a deep understanding of the nature of the electronic excitation and the recombination at the femtosecond scale. (orig.)

Femtosecond and Subfemtosecond X-Ray Pulses from a SASE Based Free-Electron Laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Emma, P

2004-03-10

We propose a novel method to generate femtosecond and sub-femtosecond photon pulses in a free electron laser by selectively spoiling the transverse emittance of the electron beam. Its merits are simplicity and ease of implementation. When the system is applied to the Linac Coherent Light Source, it can provide x-ray pulses the order of 1 femtosecond in duration containing about 1010 transversely coherent photons.

Fast pulses and slow atoms: making microKelvin molecules using femtosecond lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Walmsley, Ian

2008-05-01

We discuss a general approach to the formation of ultracold ground state molecules by synthesis from pairs of cold atoms using shaped ultrashort optical pulses. This method combines an effective and widely applicable control technology to the problem of preparing molecules is the ground state of all their degrees of freedom. The broad bandwidth of femtosecond pulses provides and number of options for removing energy from a pair of colliding atoms, and binding them with little or no vibrational energy. We shall give examples of possible strategies, and report on experiments demonstrating photoassocation using coherent control, and measuring wavepacket dynamics by femtosecond pump probe molecular ionization. Prospects for stabilizing the molecules by protecting them from further collisions, and for increasing the range of internuclear separations that can be associated will be pointed out. This work is funded by the UK EPSRC, and has contributions from J. Petrovic, A. Wyatt, A. Dicks, D. McCabe, D. England, M. Friedman, H. Martay, T. Koehler, C. Foot and collaborations with F. Masnou-Seeuws and J. Mur-Petit.

Self-slowdown and -advancement of fs pulses in a quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifier

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poel, Mike van der; Mørk, Jesper; Hvam, Jørn Märcher

2005-01-01

We demonstrate changes in the propagation time of 180 femtosecond pulses in a quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifier as function of pulse input power and bias current. The results interpreted as a result of pulse reshaping by gain saturation but are also analogous to coherent population osci...

Thermally controlled femtosecond pulse shaping using metasurface based optical filters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahimi Eesa

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Shaping of the temporal distribution of the ultrashort pulses, compensation of pulse deformations due to phase shift in transmission and amplification are of interest in various optical applications. To address these problems, in this study, we have demonstrated an ultra-thin reconfigurable localized surface plasmon (LSP band-stop optical filter driven by insulator-metal phase transition of vanadium dioxide. A Joule heating mechanism is proposed to control the thermal phase transition of the material. The resulting permittivity variation of vanadium dioxide tailors spectral response of the transmitted pulse from the stack. Depending on how the pulse’s spectrum is located with respect to the resonance of the band-stop filter, the thin film stack can dynamically compress/expand the output pulse span up to 20% or shift its phase up to 360°. Multi-stacked filters have shown the ability to dynamically compensate input carrier frequency shifts and pulse span variations besides their higher span expansion rates.

Dynamics of focused femtosecond laser pulse during photodisruption of crystalline lens

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Pradeep Kumar; Singh, Ram Kishor; Sharma, R. P.

2018-04-01

Propagation of laser pulses of femtosecond time duration (focused through a focusing lens inside the crystalline lens) has been investigated in this paper. Transverse beam diffraction, group velocity dispersion, graded refractive index structure of the crystalline lens, self-focusing, and photodisruption in which plasma is formed due to the high intensity of laser pulses through multiphoton ionization have been taken into account. The model equations are the modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation along with a rate equation that takes care of plasma generation. A close analysis of model equations suggests that the femtosecond laser pulse duration is critical to the breakdown in the lens. Our numerical simulations reveal that the combined effect of self-focusing and multiphoton ionization provides the breakdown threshold. During the focusing of femtosecond laser pulses, additional spatial pulse splitting arises along with temporal splitting. This splitting of laser pulses arises on account of self-focusing, laser induced breakdown, and group velocity distribution, which modifies the shape of laser pulses. The importance of the present study in cavitation bubble generation to improve the elasticity of the eye lens has also been discussed in this paper.

Broadband Optical Active Waveguides Written by Femtosecond Laser Pulses in Lithium Fluoride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiamenti, Ismael; Costa, Larissa N. da; Kalinowski, Hypolito J.; Bonfigli, Francesca; Montereali, Rosa Maria; Gomes Anderson, S. L.

2014-01-01

Broadband waveguiding through light-emitting strips directly written in a blank lithium fluoride crystal with a femtosecond laser is reported. Light guiding was observed at several optical wavelengths, from blue, 458 nm, to near-infrared, at 1550 nm. Visible photoluminescence spectra of the optically active F 2 and F 3 + color centers produced by the fs laser writing process were measured. The wavelength-dependent refractive index increase was estimated to be in the order of 10 −3 −10 −4 in the visible and near-infrared spectral intervals, which is consistent with the stable formation of point defects in LiF

Broadband Optical Active Waveguides Written by Femtosecond Laser Pulses in Lithium Fluoride

Science.gov (United States)

Ismael, Chiamenti; Francesca, Bonfigli; Anderson, S. L. Gomes; Rosa, Maria Montereali; Larissa, N. da Costa; Hypolito, J. Kalinowski

2014-01-01

Broadband waveguiding through light-emitting strips directly written in a blank lithium fluoride crystal with a femtosecond laser is reported. Light guiding was observed at several optical wavelengths, from blue, 458 nm, to near-infrared, at 1550 nm. Visible photoluminescence spectra of the optically active F2 and F3+ color centers produced by the fs laser writing process were measured. The wavelength-dependent refractive index increase was estimated to be in the order of 10-3-10-4 in the visible and near-infrared spectral intervals, which is consistent with the stable formation of point defects in LiF.

Chirp analysis of high-order harmonics from atoms driven by intense femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyung Taek; Kim, I Jong; Hong, Kyung-Han; Lee, Dong Gun; Kim, Jung-Hoon; Nam, Chang Hee

2004-01-01

The spectral structure of harmonics was experimentally controlled by changing the chirp of femtosecond laser pulses, and the dependence of harmonic chirp on atomic species was analysed using harmonics from neon and helium. Experimental results and theoretical analysis based on the Wigner distribution function showed that the spectral structure varied sensitively to laser chirp and the harmonic chirp was determined by the competition between dynamically induced negative chirp and self-phase modulation induced positive chirp. The generation of sharp and bright harmonics was achieved with appropriately chirped laser pulses under given experimental conditions, especially negatively chirped pulses in the case of laser intensity above the saturation intensity for optical-field ionization

Moving picture recording and observation of femtosecond light pulse propagation using a rewritable holographic material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamamoto, Seiji; Takimoto, Tetsuya; Tosa, Kazuya; Kakue, Takashi [Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8585 (Japan); Awatsuji, Yasuhiro, E-mail: awatsuji@kit.ac.jp [Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8585 (Japan); Nishio, Kenzo [Advanced Technology Center, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8585 (Japan); Ura, Shogo [Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8585 (Japan); Kubota, Toshihiro [Kubota Holography Laboratory, Corporation, Nishihata 34-1-609, Ogura, Uji 611-0042 (Japan)

2011-08-01

We succeeded in recording and observing femtosecond light pulse propagation as a form of moving picture by means of light-in-flight recording by holography using a rewritable holographic material, for the first time. We used a femtosecond pulsed laser whose center wavelength and duration were 800 nm and {approx}120 fs, respectively. A photo-conductor plastic hologram was used as a rewritable holographic material. The femtosecond light pulse was collimated and obliquely incident to the diffuser plate. The behavior of the cross-section between the collimated femtosecond light pulse and the diffuser plate was recorded on the photo-conductor plastic hologram. We experimentally obtained a spatially and temporally continuous moving picture of the femtosecond light pulse propagation for 58.3 ps. Meanwhile, we also investigated the rewritable performance of the photo-conductor plastic hologram. As a result, we confirmed that ten-time rewriting was possible for a photo-conductor plastic hologram.

Ferroelectric domain engineering by focused infrared femtosecond pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Xin; Shvedov, Vladlen; Sheng, Yan, E-mail: yan.sheng@anu.edu.au [Laser Physics Centre, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200 (Australia); Karpinski, Pawel [Laser Physics Centre, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200 (Australia); Wroclaw University of Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego, Wroclaw (Poland); Koynov, Kaloian [Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, D-55128 Mainz (Germany); Wang, Bingxia; Trull, Jose; Cojocaru, Crina [Departament de Fisica i Enginyeria Nuclear, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Rambla Sant Nebridi, 08222 Terrassa, Barcelona (Spain); Krolikowski, Wieslaw [Laser Physics Centre, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200 (Australia); Texas A& M University at Qatar, Doha (Qatar)

2015-10-05

We demonstrate infrared femtosecond laser-induced inversion of ferroelectric domains. This process can be realised solely by using tightly focused laser pulses without application of any electric field prior to, in conjunction with, or subsequent to the laser irradiation. As most ferroelectric crystals like LiNbO{sub 3}, LiTaO{sub 3}, and KTiOPO{sub 4} are transparent in the infrared, this optical poling method allows one to form ferroelectric domain patterns much deeper inside a ferroelectric crystal than by using ultraviolet light and hence can be used to fabricate practical devices. We also propose in situ diagnostics of the ferroelectric domain inversion process by monitoring the Čerenkov second harmonic signal, which is sensitive to the appearance of ferroelectric domain walls.

Enhancement of peak intensity in a filament core with spatiotemporally focused femtosecond laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zeng Bin; Chu Wei; Li Guihua; Zhang Haisu; Ni Jielei [State Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800 (China); Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080 (China); Gao Hui; Liu Weiwei [Institute of Modern Optics, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071 (China); Yao Jinping; Cheng Ya; Xu Zhizhan [State Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800 (China); Chin, See Leang [Center for Optics, Photonics and Laser (COPL) and Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Optics, Universite Laval, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6 (Canada)

2011-12-15

We demonstrate that the peak intensity in the filament core, which is inherently limited by the intensity clamping effect during femtosecond laser filamentation, can be significantly enhanced using spatiotemporally focused femtosecond laser pulses. In addition, the filament length obtained by spatiotemporally focused femtosecond laser pulses is {approx}25 times shorter than that obtained by a conventional focusing scheme, resulting in improved high spatial resolution.

Single-pulse CARS based multimodal nonlinear optical microscope for bioimaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Sunil; Kamali, Tschackad; Levitte, Jonathan M; Katz, Ori; Hermann, Boris; Werkmeister, Rene; Považay, Boris; Drexler, Wolfgang; Unterhuber, Angelika; Silberberg, Yaron

2015-05-18

Noninvasive label-free imaging of biological systems raises demand not only for high-speed three-dimensional prescreening of morphology over a wide-field of view but also it seeks to extract the microscopic functional and molecular details within. Capitalizing on the unique advantages brought out by different nonlinear optical effects, a multimodal nonlinear optical microscope can be a powerful tool for bioimaging. Bringing together the intensity-dependent contrast mechanisms via second harmonic generation, third harmonic generation and four-wave mixing for structural-sensitive imaging, and single-beam/single-pulse coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering technique for chemical sensitive imaging in the finger-print region, we have developed a simple and nearly alignment-free multimodal nonlinear optical microscope that is based on a single wide-band Ti:Sapphire femtosecond pulse laser source. Successful imaging tests have been realized on two exemplary biological samples, a canine femur bone and collagen fibrils harvested from a rat tail. Since the ultra-broad band-width femtosecond laser is a suitable source for performing high-resolution optical coherence tomography, a wide-field optical coherence tomography arm can be easily incorporated into the presented multimodal microscope making it a versatile optical imaging tool for noninvasive label-free bioimaging.

Transient photoconductivity and femtosecond nonlinear optical properties of a conjugated polymer-graphene oxide composite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nalla, Venkatram; Ji Wei [Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117542 (Singapore); Polavarapu, Lakshminarayana; Manga, Kiran Kumar; Goh, Bee Min; Loh, Kian Ping; Xu Qinghua, E-mail: chmxqh@nus.edu.sg, E-mail: phyjiwei@nus.edu.sg [Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543 (Singapore)

2010-10-15

A water soluble conjugated thiophene polymer, sodium salt of poly[2-(3-thienyl)ethoxy-4-butylsulfonate] (TPP), and graphene oxide (GO) composite film (GO-TPP) device was prepared. Transient photoconductivity measurements were carried out on the GO-TPP composite film using 150 ns laser pulses of 527 nm wavelength. Highly efficient photocurrent generation was observed from the GO-TPP film. The relationships of the film photoconductivity, photocurrent decay time and electron decay times with the incident light intensity were investigated. The photoconductive gain of the film was determined to be greater than 40% and to be independent of the light intensity. Furthermore, the femtosecond nonlinear optical properties of the GO-TPP film were measured using 800 nm femtosecond laser pulses and the composite film exhibited high nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction coefficients.

Transient photoconductivity and femtosecond nonlinear optical properties of a conjugated polymer-graphene oxide composite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nalla, Venkatram; Ji Wei; Polavarapu, Lakshminarayana; Manga, Kiran Kumar; Goh, Bee Min; Loh, Kian Ping; Xu Qinghua

2010-01-01

A water soluble conjugated thiophene polymer, sodium salt of poly[2-(3-thienyl)ethoxy-4-butylsulfonate] (TPP), and graphene oxide (GO) composite film (GO-TPP) device was prepared. Transient photoconductivity measurements were carried out on the GO-TPP composite film using 150 ns laser pulses of 527 nm wavelength. Highly efficient photocurrent generation was observed from the GO-TPP film. The relationships of the film photoconductivity, photocurrent decay time and electron decay times with the incident light intensity were investigated. The photoconductive gain of the film was determined to be greater than 40% and to be independent of the light intensity. Furthermore, the femtosecond nonlinear optical properties of the GO-TPP film were measured using 800 nm femtosecond laser pulses and the composite film exhibited high nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction coefficients.

Study on Writing Transmission Metal Grating with Pulse Shaping of Femtosecond Laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ni, X C; Sun, Q; Wang, Ch Y; Yang, L; Wu, Y Z; Jia, W; Chai, L

2006-01-01

Pulse shaping in femtosecond(fs) laser micromachining is different from that of traditional laser, whose main purpose is to reduce focal scale size, wipe off fluorescence around laser beam, decrease pulse distortion, and fabricate all kinds of figures. To describe the spatial form of laser pulse around focal scale, the synchronous moving of focal objective and accepting material is presented. When a pinhole mask is placed in front of focal objective, the changing trend of laser spatial form around focal point with the laser beam diameter will be obtained by the diameter changing of the hole mask. Experimental results show that the diameter of laser pulse around focal point trends smoothly when the pinhole diameter is modulated to smaller, even the position of beam waist is changed. These phenomena can be explained by optical imaging theory. Finally, the transmission metal grating is written successfully with a selected parameter

FY 2000 report on the results of the R and D of femtosecond technology. R and D of high intensity X-ray pulse use power generation facility monitoring system; 2000 nendo femto byo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Kokido X sen pulse riyo hatsuden shisetsu monitoring system no kenkyu kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

This project aims at creating new industrial basement technology which supports the highly information-oriented society in the 21st century, conducts the R and D of technology to control the state of light and electron in the femtosecond time domain (10{sup -15} - 10{sup -12} sec), and establishes the basement technology which exceeds the speed limit of the conventional electronics technology and also includes new functionality. Especially, in the R and D of the high intensity X-ray pulse use power generation facility monitoring system, the establishment is aimed at of the basement technology toward the realization of non-stop inspection of high speed moving objects of power generation facilities, etc. using femtosecond high intensity X-ray pulse generated in the interaction between femtosecond optical pulse and high density electron beam pulse. In this fiscal year, femtosecond X-ray was successfully generated. The pulse width of X-ray: 400fs, the wavelength: 6 angstroms, the X-ray dose generated in one collision: 10{sup 4} photons/pulse or more, and the energy of electron beam colliding with laser optical pulse: 12 MeV. Moreover, developed were the laser amplifying system and the stabilized high power femtosecond laser system. (NEDO)

Femtosecond optical injection of intact plant cells using a reconfigurable platform

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Claire A.; Kalies, Stefan; Cizmar, Tomas; Bellini, Nicola; Kubasik-Thayil, Anisha; Heisterkamp, Alexander; Torrance, Lesley; Roberts, Alison G.; Gunn-Moore, Frank J.; Dholakia, Kishan

2014-03-01

The use of ultrashort-pulsed lasers for molecule delivery and transfection has proved to be a non-invasive and highly efficient technique for a wide range of mammalian cells. This present study investigates the effectiveness of femtosecond photoporation in plant cells, a hard-to-manipulate yet agriculturally relevant cell type, specifically suspension tobacco BY-2 cells. Both spatial and temporal shaping of the light field is employed to optimise the delivery of membrane impermeable molecules into plant cells using a reconfigurable optical system designed to be able to switch easily between different spatial modes and pulse durations. The use of a propagation invariant Bessel beam was found to increase the number of cells that could be viably optoinjected, when compared to the use of a Gaussian beam. Photoporation with a laser producing sub-12 fs pulses, coupled with a dispersion compensation system to retain the pulse duration at focus, reduced the power required for efficient optical injection by 1.5-1.8 times when compared to a photoporation with a 140 fs laser output.

Achieving few-femtosecond time-sorting at hard X-ray free-electron lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Harmand, M.; Coffee, R.; Bionta, M. R.; Chollet, M.; French, D.; Zhu, D.; Fritz, D. M.; Lemke, H. T.; Medvedev, N.; Ziaja, B.; Toleikis, S.; Cammarata, M.

2013-03-01

Recently, few-femtosecond pulses have become available at hard X-ray free-electron lasers. Coupled with the available sub-10 fs optical pulses, investigations into few-femtosecond dynamics are not far off. However, achieving sufficient synchronization between optical lasers and X-ray pulses continues to be challenging. We report a `measure-and-sort' approach, which achieves sub-10 fs root-mean-squared (r.m.s.) error measurement at hard X-ray FELs, far beyond the 100-200 fs r.m.s. jitter limitations. This timing diagnostic, now routinely available at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), is based on ultrafast free-carrier generation in optically transparent materials. Correlation between two independent measurements enables unambiguous demonstration of ~6 fs r.m.s. error in reporting the optical/X-ray delay, with single shot error suggesting the possibility of reaching few-femtosecond resolution.

Femtosecond all-optical parallel logic gates based on tunable saturable to reverse saturable absorption in graphene-oxide thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Sukhdev; Yadav, Chandresh

2013-01-01

A detailed theoretical analysis of ultrafast transition from saturable absorption (SA) to reverse saturable absorption (RSA) has been presented in graphene-oxide thin films with femtosecond laser pulses at 800 nm. Increase in pulse intensity leads to switching from SA to RSA with increased contrast due to two-photon absorption induced excited-state absorption. Theoretical results are in good agreement with reported experimental results. Interestingly, it is also shown that increase in concentration results in RSA to SA transition. The switching has been optimized to design parallel all-optical femtosecond NOT, AND, OR, XOR, and the universal NAND and NOR logic gates

Generating femtosecond X-ray pulses using an emittance-spoiling foil in free-electron lasers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ding, Y., E-mail: ding@slac.stanford.edu; Coffee, R.; Decker, F.-J.; Emma, P.; Field, C.; Huang, Z.; Krejcik, P.; Krzywinski, J.; Loos, H.; Lutman, A.; Marinelli, A.; Maxwell, T. J.; Turner, J. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025 (United States); Behrens, C. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestr. 85, 22607 Hamburg (Germany); Helml, W. [Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching (Germany)

2015-11-09

Generation of femtosecond to sub-femtosecond pulses is attracting much attention in X-ray free-electron laser user community. One method is to use a slotted, emittance-spoiling foil which was proposed before (P. Emma et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 074801 (2004)) and has been widely used at the Linac Coherent Light Source. Direct experimental characterization of the slotted-foil performance was previously unfeasible due to a lack of appropriate diagnostics. With a recently installed X-band radio-frequency transverse deflector, we are able to characterize the electron bunch spoiling effect and X-ray pulse when using the slotted foil. We show that few-femtosecond X-ray pulses are generated with flexible control of the single-pulse duration or double-pulse separation with comparison to the theoretical model.

Femtosecond Non-Markovian Optical Dynamics in Solution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nibbering, Erik T.J.; Wiersma, Douwe A.; Duppen, Koos

1991-01-01

Femtosecond photon-echo experiments on sodium resorufin in dimethylsulfoxide at room temperature show that optical dephasing in solution is of non-Markovian character. A single Gauss-Markov stochastic modulation process is used to interpret both the femtosecond light-scattering results and the

Nonlinear Maxwell's and Schrodinger equations for describing the volumetric interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with transparent solid dielectrics: effect of the boundary conditions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Zhukov, V.P.; Bulgakova, Nadezhda M.; Fedoruk, M.P.

2017-01-01

Roč. 84, č. 7 (2017), s. 439-446 ISSN 1070-9762 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LO1602; GA ČR GA16-12960S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : glass * femtosecond laser pulses * Maxwell's and Schrdinger equations Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers OBOR OECD: Optics (including laser optics and quantum optics) Impact factor: 0.299, year: 2016

Combined Yb/Nd driver for optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers.

Science.gov (United States)

Michailovas, Kirilas; Baltuska, Andrius; Pugzlys, Audrius; Smilgevicius, Valerijus; Michailovas, Andrejus; Zaukevicius, Audrius; Danilevicius, Rokas; Frankinas, Saulius; Rusteika, Nerijus

2016-09-19

We report on the developed front-end/pump system for optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers. The system is based on a dual output fiber oscillator/power amplifier which seeds and assures all-optical synchronization of femtosecond Yb and picosecond Nd laser amplifiers operating at a central wavelength of 1030 nm and 1064 nm, respectively. At the central wavelength of 1030 nm, the fiber oscillator generates partially stretched 4 ps pulses with the spectrum supporting a scaling currently is prevented by limited dimensions of the diffraction gratings, which, because of the fast progress in MLD grating manufacturing technologies is only a temporary obstacle.

Optimization methods of pulse-to-pulse alignment using femtosecond pulse laser based on temporal coherence function for practical distance measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yang; Yang, Linghui; Guo, Yin; Lin, Jiarui; Cui, Pengfei; Zhu, Jigui

2018-02-01

An interferometer technique based on temporal coherence function of femtosecond pulses is demonstrated for practical distance measurement. Here, the pulse-to-pulse alignment is analyzed for large delay distance measurement. Firstly, a temporal coherence function model between two femtosecond pulses is developed in the time domain for the dispersive unbalanced Michelson interferometer. Then, according to this model, the fringes analysis and the envelope extraction process are discussed. Meanwhile, optimization methods of pulse-to-pulse alignment for practical long distance measurement are presented. The order of the curve fitting and the selection of points for envelope extraction are analyzed. Furthermore, an averaging method based on the symmetry of the coherence function is demonstrated. Finally, the performance of the proposed methods is evaluated in the absolute distance measurement of 20 μ m with path length difference of 9 m. The improvement of standard deviation in experimental results shows that these approaches have the potential for practical distance measurement.

Fiscal 1998 R and D report on femtosecond technology (ultra-short pulse optoelectronics technology); 1998 nendo femuto byo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu (chotan pulse hikari electronics gijutsu kaihatsu) seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-03-01

This report reports the result of the fiscal 1998 R and D on femtosecond technology supported by NEDO. For creation of industrial basic technologies supporting the advanced information society in the 21st century, ultra-high speed electronics technology including new functions beyond the speed limit of conventional electronics technologies is indispensable. From such viewpoint, this R and D aims at establishment of the basic technology necessary for ultra- high speed electronics technology through R and D of technology controlling conditions of beams and electrons in a femtosecond (10{sup -15}-10{sup -12} seconds) region. In fiscal 1998, this project first succeeded in fabrication of a prototype pulse compressor by using semiconductors, and developed a new pulse compressing method by using fibers to generate ultra-short pulse of 38fs. By developing new materials for intersubband transition where ultra-high speed responses can be expected, optical absorption by intersubband transition was first confirmed at optical communication wavelength. The main result for every theme is reported and explained. (NEDO)

Erbium:ytterbium fiber-laser system delivering watt-level femtosecond pulses using divided pulse amplification

Science.gov (United States)

Herda, Robert; Zach, Armin

2015-03-01

We present an Erbium:Ytterbium codoped fiber-amplifer system based on Divided-Pulses-Amplification (DPA) for ultrashort pulses. The output from a saturable-absorber mode-locked polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber oscillator is amplified in a PM normal-dispersion Erbium-doped fiber. After this stage the pulses are positively chirped and have a duration of 2.0 ps at an average power of 93 mW. A stack of 5 birefringent Yttrium-Vanadate crystals divides these pulses 32 times. We amplify these pulses using a double-clad Erbium:Ytterbium codoped fiber pumped through a multimode fiber combiner. The pulses double pass the amplifier and recombine in the crystals using non-reciprocal polarization 90° rotation by a Faraday rotating mirror. Pulses with a duration of 144 fs are obtained after separation from the input beam using a polarizing beam splitter cube. These pulses have an average power of 1.85 W at a repetition rate of 80 MHz. The generation of femtosecond pulses directly from the amplifier was enabled by a positively chirped seed pulse, normally dispersive Yttrium-Vanadate crystals, and anomalously dispersive amplifier fibers. Efficient frequency doubling to 780 nm with an average power of 725 mW and a pulse duration of 156 fs is demonstrated. In summary we show a DPA setup that enables the generation of femtosecond pulses at watt-level at 1560 nm without the need for further external dechirping and demonstrate a good pulse quality by efficient frequency doubling. Due to the use of PM fiber components and a Faraday rotator the setup is environmentally stable.

Efficient femtosecond mid-infrared pulse generation by dispersivewave radiation in bulk lithium niobate crystal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Binbin; Guo, Hairun; Bache, Morten

2014-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate efficient mid-infrared pulse generation by dispersive wave radiation in bulk lithium niobate crystal. Femtosecond mid-IR pulses centering from 2.8–2.92 µm are generated using the single pump wavelengths from 1.25–1.45 µm.......We experimentally demonstrate efficient mid-infrared pulse generation by dispersive wave radiation in bulk lithium niobate crystal. Femtosecond mid-IR pulses centering from 2.8–2.92 µm are generated using the single pump wavelengths from 1.25–1.45 µm....

Coherent scatter-controlled phase-change grating structures in silicon using femtosecond laser pulses.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuentes-Edfuf, Yasser; Garcia-Lechuga, Mario; Puerto, Daniel; Florian, Camilo; Garcia-Leis, Adianez; Sanchez-Cortes, Santiago; Solis, Javier; Siegel, Jan

2017-07-04

Periodic structures of alternating amorphous-crystalline fringes have been fabricated in silicon using repetitive femtosecond laser exposure (800 nm wavelength and 120 fs duration). The method is based on the interference of the incident laser light with far- and near-field scattered light, leading to local melting at the interference maxima, as demonstrated by femtosecond microscopy. Exploiting this strategy, lines of highly regular amorphous fringes can be written. The fringes have been characterized in detail using optical microscopy combined modelling, which enables a determination of the three-dimensional shape of individual fringes. 2D micro-Raman spectroscopy reveals that the space between amorphous fringes remains crystalline. We demonstrate that the fringe period can be tuned over a range of 410 nm - 13 µm by changing the angle of incidence and inverting the beam scan direction. Fine control over the lateral dimensions, thickness, surface depression and optical contrast of the fringes is obtained via adjustment of pulse number, fluence and spot size. Large-area, highly homogeneous gratings composed of amorphous fringes with micrometer width and millimeter length can readily be fabricated. The here presented fabrication technique is expected to have applications in the fields of optics, nanoelectronics, and mechatronics and should be applicable to other materials.

Determination of ablation threshold for composite resins and amalgam irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freitas, A Z; Samad, R E; Zezell, D M; Vieira Jr, N D; Freschi, L R; Gouw-Soares, S C

2010-01-01

The use of laser for caries removal and cavity preparation is already a reality in the dental clinic. The objective of the present study was to consider the viability of ultrashort laser pulses for restorative material selective removal, by determining the ablation threshold fluence for composite resins and amalgam irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses. Lasers pulses centered at 830 nm with 50 fs of duration and 1 kHz of repetition rate, with energies in the range of 300 to 770 μJ were used to irradiate the samples. The samples were irradiated using two different geometrical methods for ablation threshold fluence determinations and the volume ablation was measured by optical coherence tomography. The shape of the ablated surfaces were analyzed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The determined ablation threshold fluence is 0.35 J/cm 2 for the composite resins Z-100 and Z-350, and 0.25 J/cm 2 for the amalgam. These values are half of the value for enamel in this temporal regime. Thermal damages were not observed in the samples. Using the OCT technique (optical coherence tomography) was possible to determine the ablated volume and the total mass removed

Femtosecond few-cycle mid-infrared laser pulses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Xing

The few-cycle pulses of mid-infrared (mid-IR, wavelength 2-10 microns) have attracted increasing attention owing to their great potentials for high order harmonic generation, time-resolved spectroscopy, precision of cutting and biomedical science.In this thesis, mid-IR frequency conversion.......2 - 5.5 μm with only one fixed pump wavelength, a feature absent in Kerr media. Finally, we experimentally observe supercontinuum generation spanning 1.5 octaves, generated in a 10 mm long silicon-rich nitride waveguide pumped by 100 pJ femtosecond pulses from an erbium fiber laser. The waveguide has...

Femtosecond laser pulse written Volume Bragg Gratings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richter Daniel

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Femtosecond laser pulses can be applied for structuring a wide range of ransparent materials. Here we want to show how to use this ability to realize Volume-Bragg-Gratings in various- mainly non-photosensitive - glasses. We will further present the characteristics of the realized gratings and a few elected applications that have been realized.

Applications of ultrashort laser pulses in science and technology; Proceedings of the Meeting, The Hague, Netherlands, Mar. 12, 13, 1990

Science.gov (United States)

Antonetti, Andre (Editor)

1990-01-01

Topics discussed are on the generation of high-intensity femtosecond lasers, the high-repetition and infrared femtosecond pulses, and physics of semiconductors and applications. Papers are presented on the femtosecond pulse generation at 193 nm; the generation of intense subpicosecond and femtosecond pulses; intense tunable subpicosecond and femtosecond pulses in the visible and infrared, generated by optical parametric oscillators; a high-efficiency high-energy optical amplifier for femtosecond pulses; and the generation of solitons, periodic pulsing, and nonlinearities in GaAs. Other papers are on ultrafast relaxation dynamics of photoexcited carriers in GaAs, high-order optical nonlinear susceptibilities of transparent glasses, subnanosecond risetime high-power pulse generation using photoconductive bulk GaAs devices, femtosecond studies of plasma formation in crystalline and amorphous silicon, and subpicosecond dynamics of hot carrier relaxation in InP and GaAs.

Visible to Infrared Diamond Photonics Enabled by Focused Femtosecond Laser Pulses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belén Sotillo

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Diamond’s nitrogen-vacancy (NV centers show great promise in sensing applications and quantum computing due to their long electron spin coherence time and because they can be found, manipulated, and read out optically. An important step forward for diamond photonics would be connecting multiple diamond NVs together using optical waveguides. However, the inertness of diamond is a significant hurdle for the fabrication of integrated optics similar to those that revolutionized silicon photonics. In this work, we show the fabrication of optical waveguides in diamond, enabled by focused femtosecond high repetition rate laser pulses. By optimizing the geometry of the waveguide, we obtain single mode waveguides from the visible to the infrared. Additionally, we show the laser writing of individual NV centers within the bulk of diamond. We use µ-Raman spectroscopy to gain better insight on the stress and the refractive index profile of the optical waveguides. Using optically detected magnetic resonance and confocal photoluminescence characterization, high quality NV properties are observed in waveguides formed in various grades of diamond, making them promising for applications such as magnetometry, quantum information systems, and evanescent field sensors.

Simulation of condensed matter dynamics in strong femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wachter, G.

2014-01-01

Ultrashort custom-tailored laser pulses can be employed to observe and control the motion of electrons in atoms and small molecules on the (sub-) femtosecond time scale. Very recently, efforts are underway to extend these concepts to solid matter. This monograph theoretically explores first applications of electron control by ultrashort laser pulses in three paradigmatic systems of solid-state density: a metal nano-structure (nanometric metal tip), a bulk dielectric (quartz glass), and the buckminsterfullerene molecule (C60) as arguably the smallest possible nano-particle. The electron motion is resolved on the atomic length and time scale by ab-initio simulations based on time-dependent density functional theory. Our quantum simulations are complemented by classical and semi-classical models elucidating the underlying mechanisms. We compare our results to experiments where already available and find good agreement. With increasing laser intensity, we find a transition from vertical photoexcitation to tunneling-like excitation. For nanostructures, that leads to temporally confined electron photoemission and thereby to quantum interferences in the energy spectra of emitted electrons. Similarly, tunneling can be induced between neighboring atoms inside an insulator. This provides a mechanism for ultrafast light-field controlled currents and modification of the optical properties of the solid, promising to eventually realize light-field electronic devices operating on the femtosecond time scale and nanometer length scale. Electron-electron interaction leads to near field enhancement and spatial localization of the non-linear response and is investigated both classically by solving the Maxwell equations near a nanostructure as well as quantum mechanically for the fullerene molecule. For the latter, we discuss scrutiny of the molecular near-field by the attosecond streaking technique. Our results demonstrate that ultrashort laser pulses can be employed to steer the

Simultaneous fabrication of laser-active colour centres and permanent microgratings in lithium fluoride by a single femtosecond pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurobori, Toshio; Kawamura, Ken-ichi; Hirano, Masahiro; Hosono, Hideo

2003-01-01

We report, for the first time, simultaneous fabrication of laser-active F 2 and F 3 + colour centres in lithium fluoride and permanent periodic gratings with fringe spacings as fine as sub-micron size by two interfering infrared femtosecond (fs) laser pulses. In particular, the optical properties (absorption and luminescence) of F 2 and F 3 + colour centres produced by a single fs laser pulse are compared with those created by damage from radiation such as x-rays. The present technique of simultaneously fabricating laser-active colour centres and functional fine-periodic structures in photo-insensitive transparent materials may well be a useful method for making miniaturized optical devices. (letter to the editor)

Effect of nonlinear crystal thickness on the parameters of the autocorrelator of femtosecond light pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masalov, Anatolii V; Chudnovsky, Aleksandr V

2004-01-01

It is shown that the finite thickness of the second-harmonic crystal distorts the results of measurements in nonlinear autocorrelators intended for measuring the durations and fields of femtosecond light pulses mainly due to dispersive broadening (or compression) of the pulses being measured, as well as due to the group velocity mismatch between the fundamental and sum-frequency pulses. The refractive index dispersion of the crystal, scaled by half its thickness, distorts the pulse duration to a certain extent depending on its initial chirp and thus determines the width of the energy distribution recorded in the autocorrelator. As the crystal thickness increases, the group velocity mismatch leads to a transformation of the recorded distribution from the correlation function of intensity to the squared modulus of the field correlation function. In the case of Gaussian pulses, such a transformation does not affect significantly the recorded distribution. Errors of pulse duration measurements are estimated. (nonlinear optical phenomena)

Femtosecond laser irradiation-induced infrared absorption on silicon surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qinghua Zhu

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The near-infrared (NIR absorption below band gap energy of crystalline silicon is significantly increased after the silicon is irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses at a simple experimental condition. The absorption increase in the NIR range primarily depends on the femtosecond laser pulse energy, pulse number, and pulse duration. The Raman spectroscopy analysis shows that after the laser irradiation, the silicon surface consists of silicon nanostructure and amorphous silicon. The femtosecond laser irradiation leads to the formation of a composite of nanocrystalline, amorphous, and the crystal silicon substrate surface with microstructures. The composite has an optical absorption enhancement at visible wavelengths as well as at NIR wavelength. The composite may be useful for an NIR detector, for example, for gas sensing because of its large surface area.

Guiding of laser pulses in plasma waveguides created by linearly-polarized femtosecond laser pulses

OpenAIRE

Lemos, N.; Cardoso, L.; Geada, J.; Figueira, G.; Albert, F.; Dias, J. M.

2018-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate that plasma waveguides produced with ultra-short laser pulses (sub-picosecond) in gas jets are capable of guiding high intensity laser pulses. This scheme has the unique ability of guiding a high-intensity laser pulse in a plasma waveguide created by the same laser system in the very simple and stable experimental setup. A hot plasma column was created by a femtosecond class laser that expands into an on-axis parabolic low density profile suitable to act as a wav...

Optical spectroscopy using gas-phase femtosecond laser filamentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Odhner, Johanan; Levis, Robert

2014-01-01

Femtosecond laser filamentation occurs as a dynamic balance between the self-focusing and plasma defocusing of a laser pulse to produce ultrashort radiation as brief as a few optical cycles. This unique source has many properties that make it attractive as a nonlinear optical tool for spectroscopy, such as propagation at high intensities over extended distances, self-shortening, white-light generation, and the formation of an underdense plasma. The plasma channel that constitutes a single filament and whose position in space can be controlled by its input parameters can span meters-long distances, whereas multifilamentation of a laser beam can be sustained up to hundreds of meters in the atmosphere. In this review, we briefly summarize the current understanding and use of laser filaments for spectroscopic investigations of molecules. A theoretical framework of filamentation is presented, along with recent experimental evidence supporting the established understanding of filamentation. Investigations carried out on vibrational and rotational spectroscopy, filament-induced breakdown, fluorescence spectroscopy, and backward lasing are discussed.

Half-period optical pulse generation using a free-electron laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaroszynski, D.A.; Chaix, P.; Piovella, N.

1995-01-01

Recently there has been growth, in interest in non-equilibrium interaction of half-period long optical pulses with matter. To date the optical pulses have been produced by chopping out a half-period long segment from a longer pulse using a semiconductor switch driven by a femtosecond laser. In this paper we present new methods for producing tunable ultra-short optical pulses as short as half an optical period using a free-electron laser driven by electron bunches with a duration a fraction of an optical period. Two different methods relying on the production of coherent spontaneous emission will be described. In the first method we show that when a train of ultra-short optical pulses as short as one half period. We present calculations which show that the small signal gain is unimportant in the early stages of radiation build up in the cavity when the startup process is dominated by coherent spontaneous emission. To support our proposed method we present encouraging experimental results from the FELIX experiment in the Netherlands which show that interference effects between the coherent spontaneous optical pulses at start-up are very important. The second proposed method relies on the fact that coherent spontaneous emission mimics the undulations of electrons as they pass through the undulator. We show that ultra-short optical pulses are produced by coherent spontaneous emission when ultra-short electron bunches pass through an ultra-short undulator. We discuss the interesting case of such undulator radiation in the presence of an optical cavity and show that the optical pulse can be open-quotes tayloredclose quotes by simply adjusting the optical cavity desynchronism. The proposed methods may be realisable using existing rf driven FELs in the far-infrared

Coherent Femtosecond Spectroscopy and Nonlinear Optical Imaging on the Nanoscale

Science.gov (United States)

Kravtsov, Vasily

four-wave mixing response from the tip apex and investigate its microscopic mechanism. Our results reveal a significant contribution to the third order nonlinearity of plasmonic structures due to large near-field gradients associated with nanofocused plasmons. In combination with scanning probe imaging and femtosecond pulse shaping, the nanofocused four-wave mixing response provides a basis for a novel type of ultrafast optical microscopy on the nanoscale. We demonstrate its capabilities by nano-imaging the coherent dynamics of localized plasmonic modes in a rough gold film edge with simultaneous sub-50 nm spatial and sub-5 fs temporal resolution. We capture the coherent decay and extract the dephasing times of individual plasmonic modes. Lastly, we apply our technique to study nanoscale spatial heterogeneity of the nonlinear optical response in novel two-dimensional materials: monolayer and few-layer graphene. An enhanced four-wave mixing signal is revealed on the edges of graphene flakes. We investigate the mechanism of this enhancement by performing nano-imaging on a graphene field-effect transistor with the variable carrier density controlled by electrostatic gating.

Properties of optical breakdown in BK7 glass induced by an extended-cavity femtosecond laser oscillator.

Science.gov (United States)

Do, Binh T; Phillips, Mark C; Miller, Paul A; Kimmel, Mark W; Britsch, Justin; Cho, Seong-Ho

2009-02-16

Using an extended-cavity femtosecond oscillator, we investigated optical breakdown in BK7 glass caused by the accumulated action of many laser pulses. By using a pump-probe experiment and collecting the transmitted pump along with the reflected pump and the broadband light generated by the optical breakdown, we measured the build-up time to optical breakdown as a function of the pulse energy, and we also observed the instability of the plasma due to the effect of defocusing and shielding created by the electron gas. The spectrum of the broadband light emitted by the optical breakdown and the origin of the material modification in BK7 glass was studied. We developed a simple model of electromagnetic wave propagation in plasma that is consistent with the observed behavior of the reflection, absorption, and transmission of the laser light.

Nonlinear self-reflection of intense ultra-wideband femtosecond pulses in optical fiber

Science.gov (United States)

Konev, Leonid S.; Shpolyanskiy, Yuri A.

2013-05-01

We simulated propagation of few-cycle femtosecond pulses in fused silica fiber based on the set of first-order equations for forward and backward waves that generalizes widely used equation of unidirectional approximation. Appearance of a weak reflected field in conditions default to the unidirectional approach is observed numerically. It arises from nonmatched initial field distribution with the nonlinear medium response. Besides additional field propagating forward along with the input pulse is revealed. The analytical solution of a simplified set of equations valid over distances of a few wavelengths confirms generation of reflected and forward-propagating parts of the backward wave. It allowed us to find matched conditions when the reflected field is eliminated and estimate the amplitude of backward wave via medium properties. The amplitude has the order of the nonlinear contribution to the refractive index divided by the linear refractive index. It is small for the fused silica so the conclusions obtained in the unidirectional approach are valid. The backward wave should be proportionally higher in media with stronger nonlinear response. We did not observe in simulations additional self-reflection not related to non-matched boundary conditions.

Femtosecond time-resolved impulsive stimulated Raman spectroscopy using sub-7-fs pulses: Apparatus and applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuramochi, Hikaru [Molecular Spectroscopy Laboratory, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako 351-0198 (Japan); Takeuchi, Satoshi; Tahara, Tahei, E-mail: tahei@riken.jp [Molecular Spectroscopy Laboratory, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako 351-0198 (Japan); Ultrafast Spectroscopy Research Team, RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics (RAP), 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako 351-0198 (Japan)

2016-04-15

We describe details of the setup for time-resolved impulsive stimulated Raman spectroscopy (TR-ISRS). In this method, snapshot molecular vibrational spectra of the photoreaction transients are captured via time-domain Raman probing using ultrashort pulses. Our instrument features transform-limited sub-7-fs pulses to impulsively excite and probe coherent nuclear wavepacket motions, allowing us to observe vibrational fingerprints of transient species from the terahertz to 3000-cm{sup −1} region with high sensitivity. Key optical components for the best spectroscopic performance are discussed. The TR-ISRS measurements for the excited states of diphenylacetylene in cyclohexane are demonstrated, highlighting the capability of our setup to track femtosecond dynamics of all the Raman-active fundamental molecular vibrations.

Microfiber-based gold nanorods as saturable absorber for femtosecond pulse generation in a fiber laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Xu-De [Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006 (China); School of Physics and Electronic Information, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, Anhui 235000 (China); Luo, Zhi-Chao; Liu, Hao; Liu, Meng; Luo, Ai-Ping, E-mail: luoaiping@scnu.edu.cn; Xu, Wen-Cheng, E-mail: xuwch@scnu.edu.cn [Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006 (China)

2014-10-20

We reported on the femtosecond pulse generation from an erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser by using microfiber-based gold nanorods (GNRs) as saturable absorber (SA). By virtue of the geometric characteristic of microfiber-based GNRs, the optical damage threshold of GNRs-SA could be greatly enhanced. The microfiber-based GNRs-SA shows a modulation depth of 4.9% and a nonsaturable loss of 21.1%. With the proposed GNRs-SA, the fiber laser emitted a mode-locked pulse train with duration of ∼887 fs. The obtained results demonstrated that the GNRs deposited microfiber could indeed serve as a high-performance SA towards the practical applications in the field of ultrafast photonics.

Parametric study on femtosecond laser pulse ablation of Au films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ni Xiaochang; Wang Chingyue; Yang Li; Li Jianping; Chai Lu; Jia Wei; Zhang Ruobing; Zhang Zhigang

2006-01-01

Ablation process of 1 kHz rate femtosecond lasers (pulse duration 148 fs, wavelength 775 nm) with Au films on silica substrates has been systemically studied. The single-pulse threshold can be obtained directly. For the multiple pulses the ablation threshold varies with the number of pulses applied to the surface due to the incubation effect. From the plot of accumulated laser fluence N x φ th (N) and the number of laser pulses N, incubation coefficient of Au film can be obtained (s = 0.765). As the pulse energy is increased, the single pulse ablation rate is increasing following two ablation logarithmic regimes, which can be explained by previous research

High aspect ratio nanoholes in glass generated by femtosecond laser pulses with picosecond intervals

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Sanghoon; Choi, Jiyeon; Noh, Jiwhan; Cho, Sung-Hak

2018-02-01

Because of its potential uses, high aspect ratio nanostructures have been interested for last few decades. In order to generate nanostructures, various techniques have been attempted. Femtosecond laser ablation is one of techniques for generating nanostructures inside a transparent material. For generating nanostructures by femtosecond laser ablation, previous studies have been attempted beam shaping such as Bessel beam and temporal tailored beam. Both methods suppress electron excitation at near surface and initiate interference of photons at certain depth. Recent researches indicate that shape of nanostructures is related with temporal change of electron density and number of self-trapped excitons. In this study, we try to use the temporal change of electron density induced by femtosecond laser pulse for generating high aspect ratio nanoholes. In order to reveal the effect of temporal change of electron density, secondary pulses are irradiated from 100 to 1000 ps after the irradiation of first pulse. Our result shows that diameter of nanoholes is increasing and depth of nanoholes is decreasing as pulse to pulse interval is getting longer. With manipulating of pulse to pulse interval, we could generate high aspect ratio nanoholes with diameter of 250-350 nm and depth of 4∼6 μm inside a glass.

Creating large second-order optical nonlinearity in optical waveguides written by femtosecond laser pulses in boro-aluminosilicate glass

Science.gov (United States)

An, Hong-Lin; Arriola, Alexander; Gross, Simon; Fuerbach, Alexander; Withford, Michael J.; Fleming, Simon

2014-01-01

The thermal poling technique was applied to optical waveguides embedded in a commercial boro-aluminosilicate glass, resulting in high levels of induced second-order optical nonlinearity. The waveguides were fabricated using the femtosecond laser direct-write technique, and thermally poled samples were characterized with second harmonic optical microscopy to reveal the distribution profile of the induced nonlinearity. It was found that, in contrast to fused silica, the presence of waveguides in boro-aluminosilicate glass led to an enhancement of the creation of the second-order nonlinearity, which is larger in the laser written waveguiding regions when compared to the un-modified substrate. The magnitude of the nonlinear coefficient d33 achieved in the core of the laser-written waveguides, up to 0.2 pm/V, was comparable to that in thermally poled fused silica, enabling the realization of compact integrated electro-optic devices in boro-aluminosilicate glasses.

Generation of electromagnetic pulses from plasma channels induced by femtosecond light strings

OpenAIRE

Cheng, Chung-Chieh; Wright, E. M.; Moloney, J. V.

2000-01-01

We present a model that elucidates the physics underlying the generation of an electromagnetic pulse from a femtosecond laser induced plasma channel. The radiation pressure force from the laser pulse spatially separates the ionized electrons from the heavier ions and the induced dipole moment subsequently oscillates at the plasma frequency and radiates an electromagnetic pulse.

Femtosecond laser ablation of dielectric materials in the optical breakdown regime: Expansion of a transparent shell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia-Lechuga, M.; Siegel, J.; Hernandez-Rueda, J.; Solis, J.

2014-01-01

Phase transition pathways of matter upon ablation with ultrashort laser pulses have been considered to be understood long-since for metals and semiconductors. We provide evidence that also certain dielectrics follow the same pathway, even at high pulse energies triggering optical breakdown. Employing femtosecond microscopy, we observe a characteristic ring pattern within the ablating region that dynamically changes for increasing time delays between pump and probe pulse. These transient Newton rings are related to optical interference of the probe beam reflected at the front surface of the ablating layer with the reflection at the interface of the non-ablating substrate. Analysis of the ring structure shows that the ablation mechanism is initiated by a rarefaction wave leading within a few tens of picoseconds to the formation of a transparent thin shell of reduced density and refractive index, featuring optically sharp interfaces. The shell expands and eventually detaches from the solid material at delays of the order of 100 ps.

Femtosecond laser ablation of dielectric materials in the optical breakdown regime: Expansion of a transparent shell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Lechuga, M.; Siegel, J., E-mail: j.siegel@io.cfmac.csic.es; Hernandez-Rueda, J.; Solis, J. [Laser Processing Group, Instituto de Optica, Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid (Spain)

2014-09-15

Phase transition pathways of matter upon ablation with ultrashort laser pulses have been considered to be understood long-since for metals and semiconductors. We provide evidence that also certain dielectrics follow the same pathway, even at high pulse energies triggering optical breakdown. Employing femtosecond microscopy, we observe a characteristic ring pattern within the ablating region that dynamically changes for increasing time delays between pump and probe pulse. These transient Newton rings are related to optical interference of the probe beam reflected at the front surface of the ablating layer with the reflection at the interface of the non-ablating substrate. Analysis of the ring structure shows that the ablation mechanism is initiated by a rarefaction wave leading within a few tens of picoseconds to the formation of a transparent thin shell of reduced density and refractive index, featuring optically sharp interfaces. The shell expands and eventually detaches from the solid material at delays of the order of 100 ps.

Fabrication of micro-optical components using femtosecond oscillator pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, Vanessa R. M.; Ramachandran, Hema; Chidangil, Santhosh; Mathur, Deepak

2017-06-01

With a penchant for integrated photonics and miniaturization, the fabrication of micron sized optical elements using precision laser pulse management is drawing attention due to the possibility of minimizing tolerances for collateral material damage. The work presented here deals with the design, fabrication and characterization of a range of diffractive optics - gratings, grids and Fresnel zone plates - on transparent and metallic samples. Their low volume, light weight, transmission bandwidth, high damage threshold and flexible design make them suited for replacing conventional refractive optical elements. Our one-step, mask-less, 3-D laser direct writing process is a green fabrication technique which is in stark contrast to currently popular Photo-lithography based micro-structuring. Our method provides scope for modifications on the surface as well as within the bulk of the material. The mechanism involved in the fabrication of these optics on transparent and thin metallic substrates differ from each other. Our studies show that both amplitude and phase versions of micro-structures were achieved successfully with performances bearing 98% accuracy vis-a-vis theoretical expectations.

Microjet formation and hard x-ray production from a liquid metal target irradiated by intense femtosecond laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lar' kin, A., E-mail: alexeylarkin@yandex.ru; Uryupina, D.; Ivanov, K.; Savel' ev, A., E-mail: abst@physics.msu.ru [International Laser Center and Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Bonnet, T.; Gobet, F.; Hannachi, F.; Tarisien, M.; Versteegen, M. [Centre d' Études Nucléaires de Bordeaux-Gradignan, University of Bordeaux-CNRS-IN2P3, 33170 Gradignan (France); Spohr, K. [School of Engineering, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Scotland PA1 2BE (United Kingdom); Breil, J.; Chimier, B.; Dorchies, F.; Fourment, C.; Leguay, P.-M.; Tikhonchuk, V. T. [Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications, University of Bordeaux-CNRS-CEA, Talence 33405 (France)

2014-09-15

By using a liquid metal as a target one may significantly enhance the yield of hard x-rays with a sequence of two intense femtosecond laser pulses. The influence of the time delay between the two pulses is studied experimentally and interpreted with numerical simulations. It was suggested that the first arbitrary weak pulse produces microjets from the target surface, while the second intense pulse provides an efficient electron heating and acceleration along the jet surface. These energetic electrons are the source of x-ray emission while striking the target surface. The microjet formation is explained based on the results given by both optical diagnostics and hydrodynamic modeling by a collision of shocks originated from two distinct zones of laser energy deposition.

Microjet formation and hard x-ray production from a liquid metal target irradiated by intense femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lar'kin, A.; Uryupina, D.; Ivanov, K.; Savel'ev, A.; Bonnet, T.; Gobet, F.; Hannachi, F.; Tarisien, M.; Versteegen, M.; Spohr, K.; Breil, J.; Chimier, B.; Dorchies, F.; Fourment, C.; Leguay, P.-M.; Tikhonchuk, V. T.

2014-01-01

By using a liquid metal as a target one may significantly enhance the yield of hard x-rays with a sequence of two intense femtosecond laser pulses. The influence of the time delay between the two pulses is studied experimentally and interpreted with numerical simulations. It was suggested that the first arbitrary weak pulse produces microjets from the target surface, while the second intense pulse provides an efficient electron heating and acceleration along the jet surface. These energetic electrons are the source of x-ray emission while striking the target surface. The microjet formation is explained based on the results given by both optical diagnostics and hydrodynamic modeling by a collision of shocks originated from two distinct zones of laser energy deposition

Microjet formation and hard x-ray production from a liquid metal target irradiated by intense femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Lar'kin, A.; Uryupina, D.; Ivanov, K.; Savel'ev, A.; Bonnet, T.; Gobet, F.; Hannachi, F.; Tarisien, M.; Versteegen, M.; Spohr, K.; Breil, J.; Chimier, B.; Dorchies, F.; Fourment, C.; Leguay, P.-M.; Tikhonchuk, V. T.

2014-09-01

By using a liquid metal as a target one may significantly enhance the yield of hard x-rays with a sequence of two intense femtosecond laser pulses. The influence of the time delay between the two pulses is studied experimentally and interpreted with numerical simulations. It was suggested that the first arbitrary weak pulse produces microjets from the target surface, while the second intense pulse provides an efficient electron heating and acceleration along the jet surface. These energetic electrons are the source of x-ray emission while striking the target surface. The microjet formation is explained based on the results given by both optical diagnostics and hydrodynamic modeling by a collision of shocks originated from two distinct zones of laser energy deposition.

Efficient terahertz wave generation from GaP crystals pumped by chirp-controlled pulses from femtosecond photonic crystal fiber amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jiang; Shi, Junkai; Xu, Baozhong; Xing, Qirong; Wang, Chingyue; Chai, Lu; Liu, Bowen; Hu, Minglie; Li, Yanfeng; Fedotov, Andrey B.; Zheltikov, Aleksei M.

2014-01-01

A chirp-tunable femtosecond 10 W, 42 MHz photonic-crystal-fiber oscillator-amplifier system that is capable of delivering sub-60 fs light pulses at 1040 nm is used to demonstrate high-efficiency terahertz radiation generation via optical rectification in GaP crystals only a few millimeters in length. The optimization of the chirp of the fiber-laser pulses is shown to radically enhance the terahertz output, indicating one possible way to more efficiently use these extended nonlinear crystals in compact fiber-pumped terahertz radiation sources

Nonlinear optical response of chalcogenide glassy semiconductors in the IR and THz ranges studied with the femtosecond resolution in time

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Romanova, E.; Guizard, S.; Wang, Tianwu

2017-01-01

Two time-resolved experimental methods have been used for characterization of the non-linear optical response of chalcogenide glasses of the system As-S-Se-Te in IR and THz ranges upon excitation by femtosecond laser pulses at 800 nm wavelength. Photoinduced conductivity and refractivity were stu...

Spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy using femtosecond extreme ultraviolet light pulses from high-order harmonic generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plötzing, M.; Adam, R., E-mail: r.adam@fz-juelich.de; Weier, C.; Plucinski, L.; Schneider, C. M. [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI-6), 52425 Jülich (Germany); Eich, S.; Emmerich, S.; Rollinger, M.; Aeschlimann, M. [University of Kaiserslautern and Research Center OPTIMAS, 67663 Kaiserslautern (Germany); Mathias, S. [Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, I. Physikalisches Institut, 37077 Göttingen (Germany)

2016-04-15

The fundamental mechanism responsible for optically induced magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic thin films has been under intense debate since almost two decades. Currently, numerous competing theoretical models are in strong need for a decisive experimental confirmation such as monitoring the triggered changes in the spin-dependent band structure on ultrashort time scales. Our approach explores the possibility of observing femtosecond band structure dynamics by giving access to extended parts of the Brillouin zone in a simultaneously time-, energy- and spin-resolved photoemission experiment. For this purpose, our setup uses a state-of-the-art, highly efficient spin detector and ultrashort, extreme ultraviolet light pulses created by laser-based high-order harmonic generation. In this paper, we present the setup and first spin-resolved spectra obtained with our experiment within an acquisition time short enough to allow pump-probe studies. Further, we characterize the influence of the excitation with femtosecond extreme ultraviolet pulses by comparing the results with data acquired using a continuous wave light source with similar photon energy. In addition, changes in the spectra induced by vacuum space-charge effects due to both the extreme ultraviolet probe- and near-infrared pump-pulses are studied by analyzing the resulting spectral distortions. The combination of energy resolution and electron count rate achieved in our setup confirms its suitability for spin-resolved studies of the band structure on ultrashort time scales.

Spatially periodic structures, under femtosecond pulsed excitation of crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martynovitch, Evgueni F.; Petite, Guillaume; Dresvianski, Vladimir P.; Starchenko, Anton A.

2004-01-01

Measuring the luminescence intensity of specially prepared irradiation defects induced in crystals, we observe that the longitudinal structure of quasi-interferences induced by two orthogonally polarized femtosecond pulses propagating together with different velocities is insensitive to the spatial broadening due to velocity dispersion in the crystals. On the contrary, it does depend on the pulse duration when it is changed by varying the spectral width of the radiation. It thus allows a direct measurement of the coherence time of such pulses. Stability of the axial selectivity is a good sign, taking away a number of serious limitations concerning possible applications

Femtosecond Synchronization of Laser Systems for the LCLS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Byrd, John; Doolittle, Lawrence; Huang, Gang; Staples, John; Wilcox, Russell; Arthur, John; Frisch, Josef; White, William

2012-01-01

The scientific potential of femtosecond x-ray pulses at linac-driven free-electron lasers such as the Linac Coherent Light Source is tremendous. Time-resolved pump-probe experiments require a measure of the relative arrival time of each x-ray pulse with respect to the experimental pump laser. An optical timing system based on stabilized fiber links has been developed for the LCLS to provide this synchronization. Preliminary results show synchronization of the installed stabilized links at the sub-20-femtosecond level. We present details of the implementation at LCLS and potential for future development.

Infrared laser damage thresholds in corneal tissue phantoms using femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Boretsky, Adam R.; Clary, Joseph E.; Noojin, Gary D.; Rockwell, Benjamin A.

2018-02-01

Ultrafast lasers have become a fixture in many biomedical, industrial, telecommunications, and defense applications in recent years. These sources are capable of generating extremely high peak power that can cause laser-induced tissue breakdown through the formation of a plasma upon exposure. Despite the increasing prevalence of such lasers, current safety standards (ANSI Z136.1-2014) do not include maximum permissible exposure (MPE) values for the cornea with pulse durations less than one nanosecond. This study was designed to measure damage thresholds in corneal tissue phantoms in the near-infrared and mid-infrared to identify the wavelength dependence of laser damage thresholds from 1200-2500 nm. A high-energy regenerative amplifier and optical parametric amplifier outputting 100 femtosecond pulses with pulse energies up to 2 mJ were used to perform exposures and determine damage thresholds in transparent collagen gel tissue phantoms. Three-dimensional imaging, primarily optical coherence tomography, was used to evaluate tissue phantoms following exposure to determine ablation characteristics at the surface and within the bulk material. The determination of laser damage thresholds in the near-IR and mid-IR for ultrafast lasers will help to guide safety standards and establish the appropriate MPE levels for exposure sensitive ocular tissue such as the cornea. These data will help promote the safe use of ultrafast lasers for a wide range of applications.

Femtosecond pulse with THz repetition frequency based on the coupling between quantum emitters and a plasmonic resonator

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shilei; Ding, Yinxing; Jiao, Rongzhen; Duan, Gaoyan; Yu, Li

2018-03-01

Nanoscale pulsed light is highly desirable in nano-integrated optics. In this paper, we obtained femtosecond pulses with THz repetition frequency via the coupling between quantum emitters (QEs) and plasmonic resonators. Our structure consists of a V -groove (VG) plasmonic resonator and a nanowire embedded with two-level QEs. The influences of the incident light intensity and QE number density on the transmission response for this hybrid system are investigated through semiclassical theory and simulation. The results show that the transmission response can be modulated to the pulse form. And the repetition frequency and extinction ratio of the pulses can be controlled by the incident light intensity and QE number density. The reason is that the coupling causes the output power of nanowire to behave as an oscillating form, the oscillating output power in turn causes the field amplitude in the resonator to oscillate over time. A feedback system is formed between the plasmonic resonator and the QEs in the nanowire. This provides a method for generating narrow pulsed lasers with ultrahigh repetition frequencies in plasmonic systems using a continuous wave input, which has potential applications in generating optical clock signals at the nanoscale.

Femtosecond stabilization of optical fiber links based on RF power detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamb, Thorsten

2011-01-01

X-ray light sources like the free electron laser FLASH in Hamburg or the future XFEL generate light pulses with durations in the order of a few ten femtoseconds. To fulfill the requirements for the synchronisation of various components on this timescale, optical synchronisation systems are already successfully used. In this diploma thesis a novel photodiode-based, detection principle for the measurement of drifts in the optical links of such a synchronisation system is developed. The detection principle is nearly drift-free and highly robust. It is demonstrated that the long term stability of the assembled detector over 33 h is below 5 fs (peak to peak) at a standard deviation of 0.86 fs. Furthermore, an active stabilisation of a fibre link using this detector is successfully achieved. (orig.)

Optical Synchronization Systems for Femtosecond X-Ray Sources

CERN Document Server

Wilcox, Russell; Staples, John W

2005-01-01

In femtosecond pump/probe experiments using short x-ray and optical pulses, precise synchronization must be maintained between widely separated lasers in a synchrotron or FEL facility. We are developing synchronization systems using optical signals for applications requiring different ranges of timing error. For the sub-100fs range we use an amplitude modulated CW laser at 1GHz to transmit RF phase information, and control the delay through a 100m fiber by observing the retroreflected signal. Initial results show 40fs peak-to-peak error above 10Hz, and 200fs long term drift, mainly due to amplitude sensitivity in the analog mixers. For the sub-10fs range we will lock two single-frequency lasers separated by several teraHertz to a master modelocked fiber laser, transmit the two frequencies over fiber, and lock two comb lines of a slave laser to these frequencies, thus synchronizing the two modelocked laser envelopes. For attosecond synchronization we propose a stabilized, free space link using bulk lens wavegu...

Localisation of light and spectral broadening of femtosecond laser pulses in a fibre with a minimal-microstructure cladding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheltikov, Aleksei M; Zhou, Ping; Temnov, V V; Tarasevitch, A P; Linde, D von der; Kondrat'ev, Yu N; Shevandin, V S; Dukel'skii, K V; Khokhlov, A V; Bagayev, S N; Smirnov, Valerii B

2002-01-01

Microstructure optical fibres with a cladding consisting of a single cycle of air holes and the minimum core diameter of 1 μm have been fabricated and studied. Guided modes supported by this fibre are characterised by a high light localisation degree and display the C 6ν point-group spatial symmetry of the transverse field distribution. A high refractive index step between the core and the cladding in the created fibres strongly confines the light field in the fibre core. The spectral broadening of low-power femtosecond laser pulses in the fibre of this type is experimentally studied. (nonlinear optical phenomena)

Guiding of Long-Distance Electric Discharges by Combined Femtosecond and Nanosecond Pulses Emitted by Hybrid KrF Laser System

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-30

laser pulse initiated HV discharge with a time delay of tens nanoseconds – evidently it is developing due to an avalanche -like growth of electron...AFRL-AFOSR-UK-TR-2014-0040 Guiding of long-distance electric discharges by combined femtosecond and nanosecond pulses emitted by...and guiding electric discharge , KrF laser, femtosecond pulse , nanosecond pulse , filamentation, plasma channel, lightning control, laser control of

Generation of 25-TW Femtosecond Laser Pulses at 515 nm with Extremely High Temporal Contrast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Hornung

2015-12-01

Full Text Available We report on the frequency doubling of femtosecond laser pulses at 1030 nm center wavelength generated from the fully diode-pumped laser system POLARIS. The newly generated pulses at a center wavelength of 515 nm have a pulse energy of 3 J with a pulse duration of 120 fs. On the basis of initially ultra-high contrast seed pulses we expect a temporal intensity contrast better 10 17 200 ps before the peak of the main pulse. We analyzed the temporal intensity contrast from milliseconds to femtoseconds with a dynamic range covering more than 20 orders of magnitude. The pulses were focussed with a f/2-focussing parabola resulting in a peak intensity exceeding 10 20 W / cm 2 . The peak power and intensity are to the best of our knowledge the highest values for 515 nm-laser-pulses achieved so far.

Wavelength dependence of the single pulse femtosecond laser ablation threshold of indium phosphide in the 400-2050 nm range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borowiec, A.; Tiedje, H.F.; Haugen, H.K.

2005-01-01

We present single pulse femtosecond laser ablation threshold measurements of InP obtained by optical, scanning electron, and atomic force microscopy. The experiments were conducted with laser pulses 65-175 fs in duration, in the wavelength range from 400 to 2050 nm, covering the photon energy region above and below the bandgap of InP. The ablation thresholds determined from depth and volume measurements varied from 87 mJ/cm 2 at 400 nm to 250 mJ/cm 2 at 2050 nm. In addition, crater depths and volumes were measured over a range of laser fluences extending well above the ablation threshold

Radiation chemistry and advanced polymer materials studied by picosecond pulse radiolysis combined with femtosecond laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tagawa, S.; Yoshida, Y.; Miki, M.; Yamamoto, T.; Ushida, K.; Izumi, Y.

1996-01-01

We have synchronized a single picosecond MeV electron pulse from L-band linear accelerator (linac) of The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research of Osaka University to a single femtosecond laser pulse of Ti:Sapphire laser. It is an essential technique for the future femtosecond pulse radiolysis and is also applied to many kinds of combined application of more than two different beams from accelerators in very short time range. Radiation chemistry and new type of polymers have been studied by LL (laser-linac) twin picosecond pulse radiolysis. Especially the early events in radiation chemistry such as geminate recombination processes of electrons and radical cations are have been studied in both liquids and solids. (author)

Testing of a femtosecond pulse laser in outer space

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Joohyung; Lee, Keunwoo; Jang, Yoon-Soo; Jang, Heesuk; Han, Seongheum; Lee, Sang-Hyun; Kang, Kyung-In; Lim, Chul-Woo; Kim, Young-Jin; Kim, Seung-Woo

2014-01-01

We report a test operation of an Er-doped fibre femtosecond laser which was conducted for the first time in outer space. The fibre-based ultrashort pulse laser payload was designed to meet space-use requirements, undergone through ground qualification tests and finally launched into a low-earth orbit early in 2013. Test results obtained during a one-year mission lifetime confirmed stable mode-locking all the way through although the radiation induced attenuation (RIA) in the Er-doped gain fibre caused an 8.6% reduction in the output power. This successful test operation would help facilitate diverse scientific and technological applications of femtosecond lasers in space and earth atmosphere in the near future. PMID:24875665

Femtosecond versus picosecond laser pulses for film-free laser bioprinting.

Science.gov (United States)

Petit, Stephane; Kérourédan, Olivia; Devillard, Raphael; Cormier, Eric

2017-11-01

We investigate the properties of microjets in the context of film-free laser induced forward transfer in the femtosecond and picosecond regimes. The influence of the pulse duration (ranging from 0.4 to 12 ps) and the energy (ranging from 6 to 12 μJ) is systematically studied on the height, diameter, speed, volume, and shape of the jets. The 400 fs pulses generate thin and stable jets compatible with bioprinting, while 14 ps pulses generate more unstable jets. A pulse duration around 8 ps seems, therefore, to be an interesting trade-off to cover many bio-applications of microjets generated by lasers.

Reflection of femtosecond pulses from soft X-ray free-electron laser by periodical multilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ksenzov, D.; Grigorian, S.; Pietsch, U. [Faculty of Physics, University of Siegen (Germany); Hendel, S.; Bienert, F.; Sacher, M.D.; Heinzmann, U. [Faculty of Physics, University of Bielefeld (Germany)

2009-08-15

Recent experiments on a soft X-ray free-electron laser (FEL) source (FLASH in Hamburg) have shown that multilayers (MLs) can be used as optical elements for highly intense X-ray irradiation. An effort to find most appropriate MLs has to consider the femtosecond time structure and the particular photon energy of the FEL. In this paper we have analysed the time response of 'low absorbing' MLs (e.g. such as La/B{sub 4}C) as a function of the number of periods. Interaction of a pulse train of Gaussian shaped sub-pulses using a realistic ML grown by electron-beam evaporation technique has been analysed in the soft-X-ray range. The structural parameters of the MLs were obtained by reflectivity measurements at BESSY II and subsequent profile fittings. (Abstract Copyright [2009], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Direct-write maskless lithography using patterned oxidation of Si-substrate Induced by femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Kiani, Amirkianoosh; Venkatakrishnan, Krishnan; Tan, Bo

2013-03-01

In this study we report a new method for direct-write maskless lithography using oxidized silicon layer induced by high repetition (MHz) ultrafast (femtosecond) laser pulses under ambient condition. The induced thin layer of predetermined pattern can act as an etch stop during etching process in alkaline etchants such as KOH. The proposed method can be leading to promising solutions for direct-write maskless lithography technique since the proposed method offers a higher degree of flexibility and reduced time and cost of fabrication which makes it particularly appropriate for rapid prototyping and custom scale manufacturing. A Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Micro-Raman, Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), optical microscope and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) were used to evaluate the quality of oxidized layer induced by laser pulses.

Femtosecond Laser Structuring in Optical Fiber and Transparent Films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herman Peter R.

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Femtosecond laser processing is optimized for writing optical circuits, optical resonators, and microfluidic devices inside the cladding of single-mode optical fiber that couple efficiently with the fiber core waveguide. The laser processes open new directions towards Labon-a-Fiber.

Nanoscale and femtosecond optical autocorrelator based on a single plasmonic nanostructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melentiev, P N; Afanasiev, A E; Balykin, V I; Tausenev, A V; Konyaschenko, A V; Klimov, V V

2014-01-01

We demonstrated a nanoscale size, ultrafast and multiorder optical autocorrelator with a single plasmonic nanostructure for measuring the spatio-temporal dynamics of femtosecond laser light. As a nanostructure, we use a split hole resonator (SHR), which was made in an aluminium nanofilm. The Al material yields the fastest response time (100 as). The SHR nanostructure ensures a high nonlinear optical efficiency of the interaction with laser radiation, which leads to (1) the second, (2) the third harmonics generation and (3) the multiphoton luminescence, which, in turn, are used to perform multi-order autocorrelation measurements. The nano-sized SHR makes it possible to conduct autocorrelation measurements (i) with a subwavelength spatial resolution and (ii) with no significant influence on the duration of the laser pulse. The time response realized by the SHR nanostructure is about 10 fs. (letter)

Numerical studies on the electro-optic detection of femtosecond electron bunches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Casalbuoni

2008-07-01

Full Text Available The electro-optic (EO effect is a powerful diagnostic tool for determining the time profile of ultrashort relativistic electron bunches. When a relativistic bunch passes within a few mm of an electro-optic crystal, its transient electric field is equivalent to a half-cycle THz pulse passing through the crystal. The induced birefringence can be detected with polarized femtosecond laser pulses. A simulation code has been written in order to understand the faithfulness and the limitations of electron bunch shape reconstruction by EO sampling. The THz pulse and the laser pulse are propagated as wave packets through the EO crystal. Alternatively, the response function method is applied. Using experimental data on the material properties of zinc telluride (ZnTe and gallium phosphide (GaP, the effects of velocity mismatch, pulse shape distortion, and signal broadening are explicitly taken into account. The simulations show that the most severe limitation on the time resolution is given by the transverse-optical (TO lattice oscillation in the EO crystal. The lowest TO frequency is 5.3 THz in ZnTe and 11 THz in GaP. Only the Fourier components below the TO resonance are usable for the bunch shape reconstruction. This implies that the shortest rms bunch length which can be resolved with moderate distortion amounts to σ≈90  fs in ZnTe and σ≈50  fs in GaP. The influence of the crystal thickness on the amplitude and width of the EO signal is studied. The optimum thickness is in the range from 100 to 300  μm for ZnTe and from 50 to 100  μm for GaP.

Effects of Femtosecond Terawatt Laser Pulses on Materials Similar to Porcine Skin

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Kumru, Semih S; Noojin, Gary D; Rockwell, Benjamin A

2004-01-01

As the laser technology advances and the availability of high power femtosecond pulsed laser systems increase, the urgency to have damage thresholds and ED50 data on these new laser systems becomes...

Electron Bunch Timing with Femtosecond Precision in a Superconducting Free-Electron Laser

Science.gov (United States)

Löhl, F.; Arsov, V.; Felber, M.; Hacker, K.; Jalmuzna, W.; Lorbeer, B.; Ludwig, F.; Matthiesen, K.-H.; Schlarb, H.; Schmidt, B.; Schmüser, P.; Schulz, S.; Szewinski, J.; Winter, A.; Zemella, J.

2010-04-01

High-gain free-electron lasers (FELs) are capable of generating femtosecond x-ray pulses with peak brilliances many orders of magnitude higher than at other existing x-ray sources. In order to fully exploit the opportunities offered by these femtosecond light pulses in time-resolved experiments, an unprecedented synchronization accuracy is required. In this Letter, we distributed the pulse train of a mode-locked fiber laser with femtosecond stability to different locations in the linear accelerator of the soft x-ray FEL FLASH. A novel electro-optic detection scheme was applied to measure the electron bunch arrival time with an as yet unrivaled precision of 6 fs (rms). With two beam-based feedback systems we succeeded in stabilizing both the arrival time and the electron bunch compression process within two magnetic chicanes, yielding a significant reduction of the FEL pulse energy jitter.

Electron Bunch Timing with Femtosecond Precision in a Superconducting Free-Electron Laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loehl, F.; Arsov, V.; Felber, M.; Hacker, K.; Lorbeer, B.; Ludwig, F.; Matthiesen, K.-H.; Schlarb, H.; Schmidt, B.; Winter, A.; Jalmuzna, W.; Schmueser, P.; Schulz, S.; Zemella, J.; Szewinski, J.

2010-01-01

High-gain free-electron lasers (FELs) are capable of generating femtosecond x-ray pulses with peak brilliances many orders of magnitude higher than at other existing x-ray sources. In order to fully exploit the opportunities offered by these femtosecond light pulses in time-resolved experiments, an unprecedented synchronization accuracy is required. In this Letter, we distributed the pulse train of a mode-locked fiber laser with femtosecond stability to different locations in the linear accelerator of the soft x-ray FEL FLASH. A novel electro-optic detection scheme was applied to measure the electron bunch arrival time with an as yet unrivaled precision of 6 fs (rms). With two beam-based feedback systems we succeeded in stabilizing both the arrival time and the electron bunch compression process within two magnetic chicanes, yielding a significant reduction of the FEL pulse energy jitter.

Optical third-harmonic generation using ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoker, D.; Keto, J.W.; Becker, M.F.

2005-01-01

To better predict optical third-harmonic generation (THG) in transparent dielectrics, we model a typical ultrashort pulsed Gaussian beam, including both group velocity mismatch and phase mismatch of the fundamental and harmonic fields. We find that competition between the group velocity mismatch and phase mismatch leads to third-harmonic generation that is sensitive only to interfaces. In this case, the spatial resolution is determined by the group velocity walk-off length. THG of modern femtosecond lasers in optical solids is a bulk process, without a surface susceptibility, but bears the signature of a surface enhancement effect in z-scan measurements. We demonstrate the accuracy of the model, by showing the agreement between the predicted spectral intensity and the measured third-harmonic spectrum from a thin sapphire crystal

Wavelength dependence of femtosecond laser-induced damage threshold of optical materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gallais, L., E-mail: laurent.gallais@fresnel.fr; Douti, D.-B.; Commandré, M. [Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Centrale Marseille, Institut Fresnel UMR 7249, 13013 Marseille (France); Batavičiūtė, G.; Pupka, E.; Ščiuka, M.; Smalakys, L.; Sirutkaitis, V.; Melninkaitis, A. [Laser Research Center, Vilnius University, Saulétekio aléja 10, LT-10223 Vilnius (Lithuania)

2015-06-14

An experimental and numerical study of the laser-induced damage of the surface of optical material in the femtosecond regime is presented. The objective of this work is to investigate the different processes involved as a function of the ratio of photon to bandgap energies and compare the results to models based on nonlinear ionization processes. Experimentally, the laser-induced damage threshold of optical materials has been studied in a range of wavelengths from 1030 nm (1.2 eV) to 310 nm (4 eV) with pulse durations of 100 fs with the use of an optical parametric amplifier system. Semi-conductors and dielectrics materials, in bulk or thin film forms, in a range of bandgap from 1 to 10 eV have been tested in order to investigate the scaling of the femtosecond laser damage threshold with the bandgap and photon energy. A model based on the Keldysh photo-ionization theory and the description of impact ionization by a multiple-rate-equation system is used to explain the dependence of laser-breakdown with the photon energy. The calculated damage fluence threshold is found to be consistent with experimental results. From these results, the relative importance of the ionization processes can be derived depending on material properties and irradiation conditions. Moreover, the observed damage morphologies can be described within the framework of the model by taking into account the dynamics of energy deposition with one dimensional propagation simulations in the excited material and thermodynamical considerations.

Formation of quasi-periodic nano- and microstructures on silicon surface under IR and UV femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ionin, Andrei A; Golosov, E V; Kolobov, Yu R; Kudryashov, Sergei I; Ligachev, A E; Makarov, Sergei V; Novoselov, Yurii N; Seleznev, L V; Sinitsyn, D V

2011-01-01

Quasi-periodic nano- and microstructures have been formed on silicon surface using IR ( λ ≈ 744 nm) and UV ( λ ≈ 248 nm) femtosecond laser pulses. The influence of the incident energy density and the number of pulses on the structured surface topology has been investigated. The silicon nanostructurisation thresholds have been determined for the above-mentioned wavelengths. Modulation of the surface relief at the doubled spatial frequency is revealed and explained qualitatively. The periods of the nanostructures formed on the silicon surface under IR and UV femtosecond laser pulses are comparatively analysed and discussed.

Study of the ultrafast polarization dynamics in lithium borohydride by means of femtosecond X-ray diffraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stingl, Johannes

2013-01-01

In this thesis the ultrafast electronic polarisation in the crystalline material lithium borohydride (LiBH 4 ) is examined. The material is excited by a femtosecond long optical pulse and scanned by a likewise short X-ray pulse. Using X-ray scattering the optically induced spatial rearrangement of electronic charge can be directly mapped with atomic spatial resolution. Copper K-alpha X-rays for the experiment are produced in a laboratory table-top laserplasma source with 1 kHz repetition rate. This radiation is then focused on a powdered sample. Debye-Scherrer rings produced from powder diffraction are collected on a large area detector and processed to yield intensity profiles. Using pump-probe technique the change in diffracted intensity, triggered by excitation with a femtosecond optical pulse is examined. The temporal resolution is given by the delay between pump and probe pulse. This way insight is gained into the dynamic electronic evolution of the system. Intensity changes can be correlated to changes in charge density in the relevant material to elucidate structural dynamics on the femtosecond time scale. Lithium borohydride was chosen since it displays necessary characteristics for the exploration of ultrafast electronic polarisation. Up to date there has been no spatially resolved research in the femtosecond regime elucidating this electronic phenomenon. This work presents the ultrafast resonse in Lithiumborhydrid (LiBH 4 ) to strong electronic fields with optical frequencies, which leads to charge relocation accompanied by electronic polarisation.

Innovative applications of femtosecond laser induced self-organized nanostructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimotsuma, Yasuhiko; Miura, Kiyotaka; Sakakura, Masaaki

2015-01-01

The nanostructure induced by the direct-writing of femtosecond-laser pulses can open a new opportunity to develop avant-garde devices such as a 5D optical storage, polarization imaging sensor, thermoelectric conversion elements. (author)

Interrogation of orbital structure by elliptically polarized intense femtosecond laser pulses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abu-Samha, Mahmoud; Madsen, Lars Bojer

2011-01-01

We solve the three-dimensional time-dependent Schrödinger equation and present investigations of the imprint of the orbital angular node in photoelectron momentum distributions of an aligned atomic p-type orbital following ionization by an intense elliptically polarized laser pulse of femtosecond...

Plasmon-enhanced terahertz emission in self-assembled quantum dots by femtosecond pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carreño, F., E-mail: ferpo@fis.ucm.es; Antón, M. A., E-mail: antonm@fis.ucm.es; Melle, Sonia, E-mail: smelle@fis.ucm.es; Calderón, Oscar G., E-mail: oscargc@fis.ucm.es; Cabrera-Granado, E., E-mail: ecabrera@fis.ucm.es [Facultad de Óptica y Optometría, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/ Arcos de Jalón 118, 28037 Madrid (Spain); Cox, Joel, E-mail: jcox27@uwo.ca; Singh, Mahi R., E-mail: msingh@uwo.ca [Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Western Ontario, London N6A 3K7 (Canada); Egatz-Gómez, A., E-mail: Ana.Egatz-Gomez.1@nd.edu [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana 46556 (United States)

2014-02-14

A scheme for terahertz (THz) generation from intraband transition in a self-assembled quantum dot (QD) molecule coupled to a metallic nanoparticle (MNP) is analyzed. The QD structure is described as a three-level atom-like system using the density matrix formalism. The MNP with spherical geometry is considered in the quasistatic approximation. A femtosecond laser pulse creates a coherent superposition of two subbands in the quantum dots and produces localized surface plasmons in the nanoparticle which act back upon the QD molecule via dipole-dipole interaction. As a result, coherent THz radiation with a frequency corresponding to the interlevel spacing can be obtained, which is strongly modified by the presence of the MNP. The peak value of the terahertz signal is analyzed as a function of nanoparticle's size, the MNP to QD distance, and the area of the applied laser field. In addition, we theoretically demonstrate that the terahertz pulse generation can be effectively controlled by making use of a train of femtosecond laser pulses. We show that by a proper choice of the parameters characterizing the pulse train a huge enhancement of the terahertz signal is obtained.

Femtosecond laser ablation and cutting technology on PMP foam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Chengwei; Li Guo; Huang Yanhua; Du Kai; Yang Liang

2013-01-01

The femtosecond laser ablation results of PMP foam (density of 90 mg/cm 3 ) were analyzed. The laser pulses used for the study were 800 nm in wavelength, 50 fs in pulse duration and the repetition rate was 1000 Hz. The ablation threshold of the foam was 0.91 J/cm 2 when it was shot by 100 laser pulses. The impacts of laser power, the pulse number and the numerical aperture of the focusing objective on the crater diameter were obtained. In the same femtosecond laser machining system, comparing with the ablation shape into copper foil, the important factor causing the irregular shape of the ablation region was verified that there were many different sizes and randomly distributed pores inside PMP foam. The carbonation phenomenon was observed on the edge of the ablated areas when the sample was ablated using high laser power or/and more laser pulses. Thermal effect was considered to be the causes of the carbonation. A new method based on coupling laser beam to cut thickness greater than 1 mm film-foam with femtosecond laser was proposed. Using this method, the femtosecond laser cutting thickness was greater than 1.5 mm, the angle between the cutting side wall and the laser beam optical axis might be less than 5°, and the cutting surface was clean. (authors)

Laser-to-RF phase detection with femtosecond precision for remote reference phase stabilization in particle accelerators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lamb, Thorsten

2017-05-15

The operation of modern free-electron lasers (FELs) requires the synchronization of different accelerator subsystems with femtosecond precision. A pulsed optical synchronization system is for this reason operated at the Free-Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH) and it is under construction for the upcoming European X-ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL). Laser pulses from the optical master oscillator are transmitted by timing stabilized optical fiberlinks to dedicated end stations along the accelerator. Devices which cannot operate with optical synchronization signals are instead conventionally synchronized with radio frequency (RF) reference signals. These signals are distributed in the accelerator by coaxial cables. Especially the low -level radio frequency (LLRF) system requires RF reference signals with femtosecond stability in order to meet nowadays femtosecond demands. Due to cable drifts and the length of the accelerators, this level of stability cannot be provided by conventional RF transport. A laser-to-RF (L2RF) phase detector has been invented, which allows to measure with femtosecond precision the relative phase between a phase stable optical pulse train from an optical fiberlink and an RF signal. The L2RF phase detector is based on an integrated MACH-ZEHNDER modulator (MZM) in which the phase error between both signals is encoded in an amplitude modulation of the optical pulse train. Different configurations, based on single output and dual output MZMs have been evaluated for different operation scenarios. A full mathematical representation of the chosen configuration has been derived. The impact of multiple error sources has been investigated. It has been proven that most error sources have only second or higher order influence on the detection principle which is a significant advantage over existing schemes. The invented L2RF phase detector is for example balanced and in its working point insensitive to power variations of the optical reference pulse train

Laser-to-RF phase detection with femtosecond precision for remote reference phase stabilization in particle accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamb, Thorsten

2017-05-01

The operation of modern free-electron lasers (FELs) requires the synchronization of different accelerator subsystems with femtosecond precision. A pulsed optical synchronization system is for this reason operated at the Free-Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH) and it is under construction for the upcoming European X-ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL). Laser pulses from the optical master oscillator are transmitted by timing stabilized optical fiberlinks to dedicated end stations along the accelerator. Devices which cannot operate with optical synchronization signals are instead conventionally synchronized with radio frequency (RF) reference signals. These signals are distributed in the accelerator by coaxial cables. Especially the low -level radio frequency (LLRF) system requires RF reference signals with femtosecond stability in order to meet nowadays femtosecond demands. Due to cable drifts and the length of the accelerators, this level of stability cannot be provided by conventional RF transport. A laser-to-RF (L2RF) phase detector has been invented, which allows to measure with femtosecond precision the relative phase between a phase stable optical pulse train from an optical fiberlink and an RF signal. The L2RF phase detector is based on an integrated MACH-ZEHNDER modulator (MZM) in which the phase error between both signals is encoded in an amplitude modulation of the optical pulse train. Different configurations, based on single output and dual output MZMs have been evaluated for different operation scenarios. A full mathematical representation of the chosen configuration has been derived. The impact of multiple error sources has been investigated. It has been proven that most error sources have only second or higher order influence on the detection principle which is a significant advantage over existing schemes. The invented L2RF phase detector is for example balanced and in its working point insensitive to power variations of the optical reference pulse train

Comparative study of the dissociative ionization of 1,1,1-trichloroethane using nanosecond and femtosecond laser pulses

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Du Plessis, A

2010-03-01

Full Text Available , but different fragmentation patterns. A general trend is that when using femtosecond laser pulses for ionization, the parent molecular ion is observed but not for nanosecond laser ionization. There is also a fundamental interest in laser...-molecule interactions at the high intensities available from femtosecond lasers [12,13]. These papers describe the multiphoton ionization mechanisms termed ladder climbing and ladder switching, which explain the presence of parent molecular ion in ultrashort pulse...

Calculation of femtosecond pulse laser induced damage threshold for broadband antireflective microstructure arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Jing, Xufeng; Shao, Jianda; Zhang, Junchao; Jin, Yunxia; He, Hongbo; Fan, Zhengxiu

2009-12-21

In order to more exactly predict femtosecond pulse laser induced damage threshold, an accurate theoretical model taking into account photoionization, avalanche ionization and decay of electrons is proposed by comparing respectively several combined ionization models with the published experimental measurements. In addition, the transmittance property and the near-field distribution of the 'moth eye' broadband antireflective microstructure directly patterned into the substrate material as a function of the surface structure period and groove depth are performed by a rigorous Fourier model method. It is found that the near-field distribution is strongly dependent on the periodicity of surface structure for TE polarization, but for TM wave it is insensitive to the period. What's more, the femtosecond pulse laser damage threshold of the surface microstructure on the pulse duration taking into account the local maximum electric field enhancement was calculated using the proposed relatively accurate theoretical ionization model. For the longer incident wavelength of 1064 nm, the weak linear damage threshold on the pulse duration is shown, but there is a surprising oscillation peak of breakdown threshold as a function of the pulse duration for the shorter incident wavelength of 532 nm.

Controlled assembly of high-order nanoarray metal structures on bulk copper surface by femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Wanwan; Yang, Jianjun

2017-07-01

We report a new one-step maskless method to fabricate high-order nanoarray metal structures comprising periodic grooves and particle chains on a single-crystal Cu surface using femtosecond laser pulses at the central wavelength of 400 nm. Remarkably, when a circularly polarized infrared femtosecond laser pulse (spectrally centered at 800 nm) pre-irradiates the sample surface, the geometric dimensions of the composite structure can be well controlled. With increasing the energy fluence of the infrared laser pulse, both the groove width and particle diameter are observed to reduce, while the measured spacing-to-diameter ratio of the nanoparticles tends to present an increasing tendency. A physical scenario is proposed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms: as the infrared femtosecond laser pulse pre-irradiates the target, the copper surface is triggered to display anomalous transient physical properties, on which the subsequently incident Gaussian blue laser pulse is spatially modulated into fringe-like energy depositions via the excitation of ultrafast surface plasmon. During the following relaxation processes, the periodically heated thin-layer regions can be transferred into the metastable liquid rivulets and then they break up into nanodroplet arrays owing to the modified Rayleigh-like instability. This investigation indicates a simple integrated approach for active designing and large-scale assembly of complexed functional nanostructures on bulk materials.

Colorizing metals with femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vorobyev, A. Y.; Guo Chunlei

2008-01-01

For centuries, it had been the dream of alchemists to turn inexpensive metals into gold. Certainly, it is not enough from an alchemist's point of view to transfer only the appearance of a metal to gold. However, the possibility of rendering a certain metal to a completely different color without coating can be very interesting in its own right. In this work, we demonstrate a femtosecond laser processing technique that allows us to create a variety of colors on a metal that ultimately leads us to control its optical properties from UV to terahertz

Desorption by Femtosecond Laser Pulses : An Electron-Hole Effect?

OpenAIRE

D. M., NEWNS; T. F., HEINZ; J. A., MISEWICH; IBM Research Division, T. J. Watson Research Center; IBM Research Division, T. J. Watson Research Center; IBM Research Division, T. J. Watson Research Center

1992-01-01

Desorption of molecules from metal surfaces induced by femtosecond visible laser pulses has been reported. Since the lattice temperature rise is insufficient to explain desorption, an electronic mechanism is clearly responsible. It is shown that a theory based on direct coupling between the center-of-mass degree of freedom of the adsorbate and the electron-hole excitations of the substrate provides a satisfactory explanation of the various experimental findings.

Pulse shaping using a spatial light modulator

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Botha, N

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Femtosecond pulse shaping can be done by different kinds of pulse shapers, such as liquid crystal spatial light modulators (LC SLM), acousto optic modulators (AOM) and deformable and movable mirrors. A few applications where pulse shaping...

Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena

CERN Document Server

Diels, Jean-Claude

2006-01-01

Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena, 2e serves as an introduction to the phenomena of ultra short laser pulses and describes how this technology can be used to examine problems in areas such as electromagnetism, optics, and quantum mechanics. Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena combines theoretical backgrounds and experimental techniques and will serve as a manual on designing and constructing femtosecond (""faster than electronics"") systems or experiments from scratch. Beyond the simple optical system, the various sources of ultrashort pulses are presented, again with emphasis on the basic

Narrow titanium oxide nanowires induced by femtosecond laser pulses on a titanium surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Hui; Li, Xian-Feng [Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Zhang, Cheng-Yun [School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Tie, Shao-Long [School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Lan, Sheng, E-mail: slan@scnu.edu.cn [Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China)

2017-02-28

Highlights: • Titanium oxide nanowires with a feature width as narrow as ∼20 nm were induced on a titanium surface by using femtosecond laser pulses at 400 nm. • An evolution of the surface structure from a high spatial frequency laser-induced periodic structure parallel to the laser polarization to a low spatial frequency one perpendicular to the laser polarization was observed with increasing irradiation pulse number. • The formation of the titanium oxide nanowires was confirmed by the energy dispersive spectroscopy measurements and the evolution of the surface structure was successfully interpreted by using the efficacy factor theory. - Abstract: The evolution of the nanostructure induced on a titanium (Ti) surface with increasing irradiation pulse number by using a 400-nm femtosecond laser was examined by using scanning electron microscopy. High spatial frequency periodic structures of TiO{sub 2} parallel to the laser polarization were initially observed because of the laser-induced oxidation of the Ti surface and the larger efficacy factor of TiO{sub 2} in this direction. Periodically aligned TiO{sub 2} nanowires with featured width as small as 20 nm were obtained. With increasing pulse number, however, low spatial frequency periodic structures of Ti perpendicular to the laser polarization became dominant because Ti possesses a larger efficacy factor in this direction. The competition between the high- and low-spatial frequency periodic structures is in good agreement with the prediction of the efficacy factor theory and it should also be observed in the femtosecond laser ablation of other metals which are easily oxidized in air.

On interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with cluster targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skobelev, I.Yu.; Faenov, A.Ya.; Magunov, A.I.

2002-01-01

The clusters heating through the femtosecond laser pulses is theoretically and experimentally studied. Both the process of the cluster target formation and results of the cluster plasma experimental studies through the emission X-ray spectroscopy methods are considered. The numerical model of clusters formation in the supersonic gaseous jet is proposed. It is shown that detailed studies on the two-phase gas-dynamic processes in the nozzle, forming the jet, make it possible to obtain spatial distributions of all cluster parameters, necessary for correct calculations of the clusters. The simple physical model of the plasma formation through the femtosecond laser method is proposed. It is shown that comparison of the observed X-ray spectra with the results of the detailed ion kinetics calculations, make it possible to determine the basic parameters of the formed plasma [ru

Third order effects generated by refractive lenses on sub 20 femtosecond optical pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Estrada-Silva, F C; Rosete-Aguilar, M; Garduno-Mejia, J; Gonzalez-Galicia, M A; Bruce, N C; Ortega-Martinez, R

2011-01-01

When using lenses to focus ultra-short pulses, chromatic aberration produces pulse spreading, after propagation through the lens. The focusing of ultra-short pulses has been analyzed by using Fourier optics where the field amplitude of the pulse is evaluated around the focal region of the lens by performing a third order expansion on the wave number around the central frequency of the carrier. In the literature, the pulse focusing in the neighborhood of the focal region of the lens has been calculated by expanding the wave number up to second order. The second order approximation works for pulses with a duration greater than 20fs, or pulses propagating through low dispersion materials; but, it is necessary to do third order approximation for pulses with a shorter duration, or propagating through highly dispersive materials. In this paper we analyze 15fs and 20fs pulses, with a carrier wavelength of 810nm, at the paraxial focal plane of singlets and achromatic doublets. The analysis includes the third order GVD and the results are compared with those obtained when the wave number is expanded up to second order.

Bragg gratings inscription in step-index PMMA optical fiber by femtosecond laser pulses at 400 nm

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, X.; Kinet, D.; Chah, K.; Mégret, P.; Caucheteur, C.

2016-05-01

In this paper, we report photo-inscription of uniform Bragg gratings in trans-4-stilbenemethanol-doped photosensitive step-index polymer optical fiber. Gratings were produced at ~1575 nm by the phase mask technique with a femtosecond laser emitting at 400 nm with different average optical powers (8 mW, 13 mW and 20 mW). The grating growth dynamics in transmission were monitored during the manufacturing process, showing that the grating grows faster with higher power. Using 20 mW laser beam power, the reflectivity reaches 94 % (8 dB transmission loss) in 70 seconds. Finally, the gratings were characterized in temperature in the range 20 - 45 °C. The thermal sensitivity has been computed equal to - 86.6 pm/°C.

Refractive index modulation of Sb70Te30 phase-change thin films by multiple femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lei, Kai; Wang, Yang; Jiang, Minghui; Wu, Yiqun

2016-01-01

In this study, the controllable effective refractive index modulation of Sb 70 Te 30 phase-change thin films between amorphous and crystalline states was achieved experimentally by multiple femtosecond laser pulses. The modulation mechanism was analyzed comprehensively by a spectral ellipsometer measurement, surface morphology observation, and two-temperature model calculations. We numerically demonstrate the application of the optically modulated refractive index of the phase-change thin films in a precisely adjustable color display. These results may provide further insights into ultrafast phase-transition mechanics and are useful in the design of programmable photonic and opto-electrical devices based on phase-change memory materials.

First-principles electron dynamics control simulation of diamond under femtosecond laser pulse train irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Cong; Jiang Lan; Wang Feng; Li Xin; Yuan Yanping; Xiao Hai; Tsai, Hai-Lung; Lu Yongfeng

2012-01-01

A real-time and real-space time-dependent density functional is applied to simulate the nonlinear electron-photon interactions during shaped femtosecond laser pulse train ablation of diamond. Effects of the key pulse train parameters such as the pulse separation, spatial/temporal pulse energy distribution and pulse number per train on the electron excitation and energy absorption are discussed. The calculations show that photon-electron interactions and transient localized electron dynamics can be controlled including photon absorption, electron excitation, electron density, and free electron distribution by the ultrafast laser pulse train. (paper)

Polarization dependent nanostructuring of silicon with femtosecond vortex pulse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. G. Rahimian

2017-08-01

Full Text Available We fabricated conical nanostructures on silicon with a tip dimension of ∼ 70 nm using a single twisted femtosecond light pulse carrying orbital angular momentum (ℓ=±1. The height of the nano-cone, encircled by a smooth rim, increased from ∼ 350 nm to ∼ 1 μm with the pulse energy and number of pulses, whereas the apex angle remained constant. The nano-cone height was independent of the helicity of the twisted light; however, it is reduced for linear polarization compared to circular at higher pulse energies. Fluid dynamics simulations show nano-cones formation when compressive forces arising from the radial inward motion of the molten material push it perpendicular to the surface and undergo re-solidification. Simultaneously, the radial outward motion of the molten material re-solidifies after reaching the cold boundary to form a rim. Overlapping of two irradiated spots conforms to the fluid dynamics model.

High-power pre-chirp managed amplification of femtosecond pulses at high repetition rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yang; Li, Wenxue; Zhao, Jian; Bai, Dongbi; Luo, Daping; Zeng, Heping

2015-01-01

Femtosecond pulses at 250 MHz repetition rate from a mode-locked fiber laser are amplified to high power in a pre-chirp managed amplifier. The experimental strategy offers a potential towards high-power ultrashort laser pulses at high repetition rates. By investigating the laser pulse evolution in the amplification processes, we show that self-similar evolution, finite gain bandwidth and mode instabilities determine pulse characteristics in different regimes. Further average power scaling is limited by the mode instabilities. Nevertheless, this laser system enables us to achieve sub-50 fs pulses with an average power of 93 W. (letter)

Generation of dual-wavelength, synchronized, tunable, high energy, femtosecond laser pulses with nearly perfect gaussian spatial profile

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J.-K.; Siegal, Y.; Lü, C.; Mazur, E.

1992-07-01

We use self-phase modulation in a single-mode fiber to produce broadband femtosecond laser pulses. Subsequent amplification through two Bethune cells yields high-energy, tunable, pulses synchronized with the output of an amplified colliding-pulse-modelocked (CPM) laser. We routinely obtain tunable 200 μJ pulses of 42 fs (fwhm) duration with a nearly perfect gaussian spatial profile. Although self-phase modulation in a single-mode fiber is widely used in femtosecond laser systems, amplification of a fiber-generated supercontinuum in a Bethune cell amplifier is a new feature which maintains the high-quality spatial profile while providing high gain. This laser system is particularly well suited for high energy dual-wavelength pump=probe experiments and time-resolved four-wave mixing spectroscopy.

Optical Cherenkov radiation by cascaded nonlinear interaction: an efficient source of few-cycle energetic near- to mid-IR pulses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bache, Morten; Bang, Ole; Zhou, Binbin

2011-01-01

When ultrafast noncritical cascaded second-harmonic generation of energetic femtosecond pulses occur in a bulk lithium niobate crystal optical Cherenkov waves are formed in the near- to mid-IR. Numerical simulations show that the few-cycle solitons radiate Cherenkov (dispersive) waves in the λ = 2...

Femtosecond-laser assisted cell reprogramming

Science.gov (United States)

Breunig, Hans Georg; Uchugonova, Aisada; Batista, Ana; König, Karsten

2017-02-01

Femtosecond-laser pulses can assist to transfect cells by creating transient holes in the cell membrane, thus making them temporarily permeable for extraneous genetic material. This procedure offers the advantage of being completely "virus free" since no viruses are used for the delivery and integration of gene factors into the host genome and, thereby, avoiding serious side effects which so far prevent clinical application. Unfortunately, focusing of the laser radiation onto individual cell membranes is quite elaborate and time consuming. Regarding these obstacles, we briefly review two optical setups for fast, efficient and high throughput laser-assisted cell transfection based on femtosecond laser pulse excitation. The first setup aims at assisting the transfection of adherent cells. It comprises of a modified laser-scanning microscope with beamshaping optics as well as home-made software to automate the detection, targeting and laser-irradiation process. The second setup aims at laser-assisted transfection of non-adherent cells in suspension which move in a continuous flow through the laser focus region. The setup allows to address a large number of cells, however, with much lower transfection efficiency than the individual-cell targeting approach.

Increase of intrinsic emittance induced by multiphoton photoemission from copper cathodes illuminated by femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

An, Chenjie; Zhu, Rui; Xu, Jun; Liu, Yaqi; Hu, Xiaopeng; Zhang, Jiasen; Yu, Dapeng

2018-05-01

Electron sources driven by femtosecond laser have important applications in many aspects, and the research about the intrinsic emittance is becoming more and more crucial. The intrinsic emittance of polycrystalline copper cathode, which was illuminated by femtosecond pulses (FWHM of the pulse duration was about 100 fs) with photon energies above and below the work function, was measured with an extremely low bunch charge (single-electron pulses) based on free expansion method. A minimum emittance was obtained at the photon energy very close to the effective work function of the cathode. When the photon energy decreased below the effective work function, emittance increased rather than decreased or flattened out to a constant. By investigating the dependence of photocurrent density on the incident laser intensity, we found the emission excited by pulsed photons with sub-work-function energies contained two-photon photoemission. In addition, the portion of two-photon photoemission current increased with the reduction of photon energy. We attributed the increase of emittance to the effect of two-photon photoemission. This work shows that conventional method of reducing the photon energy of excited light source to approach the room temperature limit of the intrinsic emittance may be infeasible for femtosecond laser. There would be an optimized photon energy value near the work function to obtain the lowest emittance for pulsed laser pumped photocathode.

Nonlinear optics in germanium mid-infrared fiber material: Detuning oscillations in femtosecond mid-infrared spectroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Ordu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Germanium optical fibers hold great promise in extending semiconductor photonics into the fundamentally important mid-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The demonstration of nonlinear response in fabricated Ge fiber samples is a key step in the development of mid-infrared fiber materials. Here we report the observation of detuning oscillations in a germanium fiber in the mid-infrared region using femtosecond dispersed pump-probe spectroscopy. Detuning oscillations are observed in the frequency-resolved response when mid-infrared pump and probe pulses are overlapped in a fiber segment. The oscillations arise from the nonlinear frequency resolved nonlinear (χ(3 response in the germanium semiconductor. Our work represents the first observation of coherent oscillations in the emerging field of germanium mid-infrared fiber optics.

The influence of the excitation pulse length on ultrafast magnetization dynamics in nickel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Fognini

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The laser-induced demagnetization of a ferromagnet is caused by the temperature of the electron gas as well as the lattice temperature. For long excitation pulses, the two reservoirs are in thermal equilibrium. In contrast to a picosecond laser pulse, a femtosecond pulse causes a non-equilibrium between the electron gas and the lattice. By pump pulse length dependent optical measurements, we find that the magnetodynamics in Ni caused by a picosecond laser pulse can be reconstructed from the response to a femtosecond pulse. The mechanism responsible for demagnetization on the picosecond time scale is therefore contained in the femtosecond demagnetization experiment.

Passive mode locking of a femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser with pulsed synchronous pumping by a finite train of picosecond pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borisevich, N A; Buganov, O V; Tikhomirov, S A; Tolstorozhev, G B; Shkred, G L

1999-01-01

An analysis is made, with the aid of the self-consistent nonlinear ABCD matrix method, of the specific features of the mechanism of passive mode locking of a femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser under conditions of pulsed synchronous pumping. The conditions of stable laser operation are studied. It is proposed to use an additional aperture as an element of negative feedback for the stabilisation of passive mode locking. Practical recommendations concerning the optimisation of a femtosecond laser are given. (control of laser radiation parameters)

Imaging the ultrafast Kerr effect, free carrier generation, relaxation and ablation dynamics of Lithium Niobate irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Lechuga, Mario, E-mail: mario@io.cfmac.csic.es; Siegel, Jan, E-mail: j.siegel@io.cfmac.csic.es; Hernandez-Rueda, Javier; Solis, Javier [Laser Processing Group, Instituto de Optica, CSIC, Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid (Spain)

2014-09-21

The interaction of high-power single 130 femtosecond (fs) laser pulses with the surface of Lithium Niobate is experimentally investigated in this work. The use of fs-resolution time-resolved microscopy allows us to separately observe the instantaneous optical Kerr effect induced by the pulse and the generation of a free electron plasma. The maximum electron density is reached 550 fs after the peak of the Kerr effect, confirming the presence of a delayed carrier generation mechanism. We have also observed the appearance of transient Newton rings during the ablation process, related to optical interference of the probe beam reflected at the front and back surface of the ablating layer. Finally, we have analyzed the dynamics of the photorefractive effect on a much longer time scale by measuring the evolution of the transmittance of the irradiated area for different fluences below the ablation threshold.

Imaging the ultrafast Kerr effect, free carrier generation, relaxation and ablation dynamics of Lithium Niobate irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia-Lechuga, Mario; Siegel, Jan; Hernandez-Rueda, Javier; Solis, Javier

2014-01-01

The interaction of high-power single 130 femtosecond (fs) laser pulses with the surface of Lithium Niobate is experimentally investigated in this work. The use of fs-resolution time-resolved microscopy allows us to separately observe the instantaneous optical Kerr effect induced by the pulse and the generation of a free electron plasma. The maximum electron density is reached 550 fs after the peak of the Kerr effect, confirming the presence of a delayed carrier generation mechanism. We have also observed the appearance of transient Newton rings during the ablation process, related to optical interference of the probe beam reflected at the front and back surface of the ablating layer. Finally, we have analyzed the dynamics of the photorefractive effect on a much longer time scale by measuring the evolution of the transmittance of the irradiated area for different fluences below the ablation threshold.

FY 1999 report on the results of the R and D of femtosecond technology. R and D of femtosecond technology; 1999 nendo femto byo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Femto byo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

This project aims at creating new industrial basement technology which supports the highly information-oriented society in the 21st century, conducts the R and D of technology to control the state of light and electron in the femtosecond time domain (10{sup -15} - 10{sup -12} sec), and establishes the basement technology which exceeds the speed limit of the conventional electronics technology and also includes new functionality. The themes are as follows: 1) R and D of ultra-short pulse optoelectronic technology; 2) R and D of ultra-short optical pulse applied measuring technology. In 1), in addition to the investigational study of the ultra-high speed light source technology, ultra-high speed modulation technology and ultra-high speed switching technology which are needed for the ultra-high speed optical information communication system and the construction, made were the survey and the evaluation of crystal growth technology/process technology of new semiconductor materials which make the fabrication of these high-tech ultra-high speed devices possible. In 2), investigationally studied were the technology for generation/control of ultra-short optical pulse and ultra-short electron beam pulse and the technology for stabilization, and the technology for generation of femtosecond high-intensity X-ray pulse by collision of optical pulse with electron beam pulse. (NEDO)

Interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with high-Z solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhidkov, A.; Sasaki, Akira; Utsumi, Takayuki; Fukumoto, Ichirou; Tajima, Toshiki; Yoshida, Masatake; Kondo, Kenichi

2000-01-01

A plasma irradiated by an intense very short pulse laser can be an ultimate high brightness source of incoherent inner-shell X-ray emission of 1-30 keV. The recently developed 100 TW, 20 fs laser facility in JAERI can make considerable enhancement here. To show this a hybrid model combining hydrodynamics and collisional particle-in-cell simulations is applied. Effect of laser prepulse on the interaction of an intense s-polarized femtosecond, ∼20/40 fs, laser pulse with high-Z solid targets is studied. A new absorption mechanism originating from the interaction of the laser pulse with plasma waves excited by the relativistic component of the Lorentz force is found to increase the absorption rate over 30% even for a very short laser pulse. The obtained hot electron temperature exceeds 0.5-1 MeV at optimal conditions for absorption. Results of the simulation for lower laser pulse intensities are in good agreement with the experimental measurements of the hot electron energy distribution. (author)

Momentum distributions of selected rare-gas atoms probed by intense femtosecond laser pulses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abu-Samha, Mahmoud; Madsen, Lars Bojer

2011-01-01

We provide a direct comparison between numerical and experimental (Rudenko et al 2004 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 37 L407) photoelectron momentum distributions in strong-field ionization of selected rare-gas atoms (He, Ne and Ar), probed by femtosecond linearly polarized laser pulses. The cal......We provide a direct comparison between numerical and experimental (Rudenko et al 2004 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 37 L407) photoelectron momentum distributions in strong-field ionization of selected rare-gas atoms (He, Ne and Ar), probed by femtosecond linearly polarized laser pulses....... The calculations are performed by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation within the single-active-electron approximation, and focal-volume effects are taken into account by appropriately averaging the results. The resulting momentum distributions are in quantitative agreement with the experimental...

Femtosecond laser three-dimensional micro- and nanofabrication

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sugioka, Koji, E-mail: ksugioka@riken.jp [RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Cheng, Ya, E-mail: ya.cheng@siom.ac.cn [Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 800-211, Shanghai 201800 (China)

2014-12-15

The rapid development of the femtosecond laser has revolutionized materials processing due to its unique characteristics of ultrashort pulse width and extremely high peak intensity. The short pulse width suppresses the formation of a heat-affected zone, which is vital for ultrahigh precision fabrication, whereas the high peak intensity allows nonlinear interactions such as multiphoton absorption and tunneling ionization to be induced in transparent materials, which provides versatility in terms of the materials that can be processed. More interestingly, irradiation with tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses inside transparent materials makes three-dimensional (3D) micro- and nanofabrication available due to efficient confinement of the nonlinear interactions within the focal volume. Additive manufacturing (stereolithography) based on multiphoton absorption (two-photon polymerization) enables the fabrication of 3D polymer micro- and nanostructures for photonic devices, micro- and nanomachines, and microfluidic devices, and has applications for biomedical and tissue engineering. Subtractive manufacturing based on internal modification and fabrication can realize the direct fabrication of 3D microfluidics, micromechanics, microelectronics, and photonic microcomponents in glass. These microcomponents can be easily integrated in a single glass microchip by a simple procedure using a femtosecond laser to realize more functional microdevices, such as optofluidics and integrated photonic microdevices. The highly localized multiphoton absorption of a tightly focused femtosecond laser in glass can also induce strong absorption only at the interface of two closely stacked glass substrates. Consequently, glass bonding can be performed based on fusion welding with femtosecond laser irradiation, which provides the potential for applications in electronics, optics, microelectromechanical systems, medical devices, microfluidic devices, and small satellites. This review paper

Effects of moderate pump and Stokes chirp on chirped-probe pulse femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering thermometry

KAUST Repository

Gu, Mingming; Satija, Aman; Lucht, Robert P.

2018-01-01

The effects of moderate levels of chirp in the pump and Stokes pulses on chirped-probe-pulse femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CPP fs CARS) were investigated. The frequency chirp in the pump and Stokes pulses was introduced

Temperature control and measurement with tunable femtosecond optical tweezers

Science.gov (United States)

Mondal, Dipankar; Goswami, Debabrata

2016-09-01

We present the effects of wavelength dependent temperature rise in a femtosecond optical tweezers. Our experiments involve the femtosecond trapping laser tunable from 740-820 nm at low power 25 mW to cause heating in the trapped volume within a homogeneous solution of sub micro-molar concentration of IR dye. The 780 nm high repetition rate laser acts as a resonant excitation source which helps to create the local heating effortlessly within the trapping volume. We have used both position autocorrelation and equipartion theorem to evaluate temperature at different wavelength having different absorption coefficient. Fixing the pulse width in the temporal domain gives constant bandwidth at spatial domain, which makes our system behave as a tunable temperature rise device with high precision. This observation leads us to calculate temperature as well as viscosity within the vicinity of the trapping zone. A mutual energy transfer occurs between the trapped bead and solvents that leads to transfer the thermal energy of solvents into the kinetic energy of the trap bead and vice-versa. Thus hot solvated molecules resulting from resonant and near resonant excitation of trapping wavelength can continuously dissipate heat to the trapped bead which will be reflected on frequency spectrum of Brownian noise exhibited by the bead. Temperature rise near the trapping zone can significantly change the viscosity of the medium. We observe temperature rise profile according to its Gaussian shaped absorption spectrum with different wavelength.

Formation of nanograting in fused silica by temporally delayed femtosecond double-pulse irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Haodong; Song, Juan; Li, Qin; Zeng, Xianglong; Dai, Ye

2018-04-01

A 1 kHz femtosecond double-pulse sequence irradiation is used to study the temporal evolution of nanograting in fused silica by controlling the delay times and polarization combinations of two independent beams from a Mach–Zehnder interferometer. A lateral laser-scan experiment with speed at 5 µm s‑1 and each pulse energy of 1 µJ is firstly performed with the delay time from sub-picosecond to 10 ps, and then the written nanostructures are systematically studied under a cross-polarized microscope because the intensity of birefringence signal nearly corresponds to optical retardance and development level of the induced nanograting. The trend shows that the induced nanogratings can continue developing with a decrease of delay time in the case of the linear polarization pulse arriving before. In another vertical laser-scan experiment at the same speed and pulse energy, the morphologies of nanogratings embedded in the lines are characterized by scanning electron microscope after mechanical polishing and chemical etching. The self-organized patterns have a commonly spatial period of 200–300 nm and the orientation is always perpendicular to the polarization of the first laser pulse, and the second pulse in each sequence seems to promote the as-formed nanograting developing further even if the polarized direction is different from the previous pulse. These new findings verify again that a localized memory effect can make positive feedback to reinforce the patterned nanostripes. In that process, the impact ionization from the seed electrons left by the first pulse excitation and the photoionization of self-trapped excitons with lower ionization threshold results in an increase of the re-excited carriers during the second pulse irradiation and the subsequent development of the as-formed nanograting. Our result provides further proofs for understanding the physical mechanism of nanograting strongly connection with the interplay on multiple ionization channels.

High-power Femtosecond Optical Parametric Amplification at 1 kHz in BiB(3)O(6) pumped at 800 nm.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrov, Valentin; Noack, Frank; Tzankov, Pancho; Ghotbi, Masood; Ebrahim-Zadeh, Majid; Nikolov, Ivailo; Buchvarov, Ivan

2007-01-22

Substantial power scaling of a travelling-wave femtosecond optical parametric amplifier, pumped near 800 nm by a 1 kHz Ti:sapphire laser amplifier, is demonstrated using monoclinic BiB(3)O(6) in a two stage scheme with continuum seeding. Total energy output (signal plus idler) exceeding 1 mJ is achieved, corresponding to an intrinsic conversion efficiency of approximately 32% for the second stage. The tunability extends from 1.1 to 2.9 microm. The high parametric gain and broad amplification bandwidth of this crystal allowed the maintenance of the pump pulse duration, leading to pulse lengths less than 140 fs, both for the signal and idler pulses, even at such high output levels.

[Alternatives to femtosecond laser technology: subnanosecond UV pulse and ring foci for creation of LASIK flaps].

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, A; Freidank, S; Linz, N

2014-06-01

In refractive corneal surgery femtosecond (fs) lasers are used for creating LASIK flaps, dissecting lenticules and for astigmatism correction by limbal incisions. Femtosecond laser systems are complex and expensive and cutting precision is compromised by the large focal length associated with the commonly used infrared (IR) wavelengths. Based on investigations of the cutting dynamics, novel approaches for corneal dissection using ultraviolet A (UVA) picosecond (ps) pulses and ring foci from vortex beams are presented. Laser-induced bubble formation in corneal stroma was investigated by high-speed photography at 1-50 million frames/s. Using Gaussian and vortex beams of UVA pulses with durations between 200 and 850 ps the laser energy needed for easy removal of flaps created in porcine corneas was determined and the quality of the cuts by scanning electron microscopy was documented. Cutting parameters for 850 ps are reported also for rabbit eyes. The UV-induced and mechanical stress were evaluated for Gaussian and vortex beams. The results show that UVA picosecond lasers provide better cutting precision than IR femtosecond lasers, with similar processing times. Cutting energy decreases by >50 % when the laser pulse duration is reduced to 200 ps. Vortex beams produce a short, donut-shaped focus allowing efficient and precise dissection along the corneal lamellae which results in a dramatic reduction of the absorbed energy needed for cutting and of mechanical side effects as well as in less bubble formation in the cutting plane. A combination of novel approaches for corneal dissection provides the option to replace femtosecond lasers by compact UVA microchip laser technology. Ring foci are also of interest for femtosecond laser surgery, especially for improved lenticule excision.

Photo-transfection of mouse embryonic stem cells with plasmid DNA using femtosecond laser pulses

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Thobakgale, Lebogang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This presentation is about the photo-transfection of mouse embryonic stem cells with plasmid DNA using femtosecond laser pulses. It outlines the background on embryonic stem cells (ES) and phototransfection....

Development and applications of femtosecond monolithic Yb-doped fiber chirped-pulse amplifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, L.

2011-01-01

In the past few years, compact and environmentally stable high-energy ultrashort pulse laser sources have been broadly utilized in many different applications. Fiber lasers offer big practical advantages over bulk solid-state laser systems in terms of flexibility, compactness, reliability, cost effectiveness and turn-key operability. Moreover, thermal effects are dramatically reduced due to the large surface-to-volume ratio of an optical fiber, and good spatial mode quality can be ensured by its waveguiding property. Therefore, a fiber-based laser system is considered to be the preferred laser architecture. The main theme of this thesis is the development of various femtosecond monolithic Yb-doped fiber chirped-pulse-amplification (FCPA) system and their applications. We demonstrate an ultrafast high-energy monolithic Yb-doped FCPA system in which the pulse fidelity is preserved by weakening the nonlinear effects via a substantial level of temporal stretching of the seed pulses and by using highly doped active fibers as amplifying media. The presented monolithic FCPA delivers up to ∼ 25 μJ diffraction-limited pulses that can be recompressed to sub-200 fs duration, and the pulse quality has been confirmed through the second-harmonic-generation (SHG) conversion efficiency of over 52%. Improved dispersion and nonlinearity management schemes of the FCPA system allowing substantial pulse energy scaling in the monolithic format as well as methods for overcoming a series of technological challenges are reported. Three different types of Yb-doped fiber oscillators have been developed and built in the course of this PhD work. First, we compare two oscillator types that are based on the all-normal-dispersion (ANDi) regime and the dispersion-managed (DM) regime. Both of them have been tested as the seed-pulse source of the monolithic Yb-doped FCPA system. Then we introduce another novel design based on higher-order-mode (HOM) dispersion management that competes with a

Lowered threshold energy for femtosecond laser induced optical breakdown in a water based eye model by aberration correction with adaptive optics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Anja; Géneaux, Romain; Günther, Axel; Krüger, Alexander; Ripken, Tammo

2013-06-01

In femtosecond laser ophthalmic surgery tissue dissection is achieved by photodisruption based on laser induced optical breakdown. In order to minimize collateral damage to the eye laser surgery systems should be optimized towards the lowest possible energy threshold for photodisruption. However, optical aberrations of the eye and the laser system distort the irradiance distribution from an ideal profile which causes a rise in breakdown threshold energy even if great care is taken to minimize the aberrations of the system during design and alignment. In this study we used a water chamber with an achromatic focusing lens and a scattering sample as eye model and determined breakdown threshold in single pulse plasma transmission loss measurements. Due to aberrations, the precise lower limit for breakdown threshold irradiance in water is still unknown. Here we show that the threshold energy can be substantially reduced when using adaptive optics to improve the irradiance distribution by spatial beam shaping. We found that for initial aberrations with a root-mean-square wave front error of only one third of the wavelength the threshold energy can still be reduced by a factor of three if the aberrations are corrected to the diffraction limit by adaptive optics. The transmitted pulse energy is reduced by 17% at twice the threshold. Furthermore, the gas bubble motions after breakdown for pulse trains at 5 kilohertz repetition rate show a more transverse direction in the corrected case compared to the more spherical distribution without correction. Our results demonstrate how both applied and transmitted pulse energy could be reduced during ophthalmic surgery when correcting for aberrations. As a consequence, the risk of retinal damage by transmitted energy and the extent of collateral damage to the focal volume could be minimized accordingly when using adaptive optics in fs-laser surgery.

Transient magnetized plasma as an optical element for high power laser pulses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nobuhiko Nakanii

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Underdense plasma produced in gas jets by low intensity laser prepulses in the presence of a static magnetic field, B∼0.3  T, is shown experimentally to become an optical element allowing steering of tightly focused high power femtosecond laser pulses within several degrees along with essential enhancement of pulse’s focusability. Strong laser prepulses form a density ramp perpendicularly to magnetic field direction and, owing to the light refraction, main laser pulses propagate along the magnetic field even if it is tilted from the laser axis. Electrons generated in the laser pulse wake are well collimated and follow in the direction of the magnetic field; their characteristics are measured to be not sensitive to the tilt of magnetic field up to angles ±5°.

Manipulating femtosecond spin-orbit torques with laser pulse sequences to control magnetic memory states and ringing

Science.gov (United States)

Lingos, P. C.; Wang, J.; Perakis, I. E.

2015-05-01

Femtosecond (fs) coherent control of collective order parameters is important for nonequilibrium phase dynamics in correlated materials. Here, we propose such control of ferromagnetic order based on using nonadiabatic optical manipulation of electron-hole (e -h ) photoexcitations to create fs carrier-spin pulses with controllable direction and time profile. These spin pulses are generated due to the time-reversal symmetry breaking arising from nonperturbative spin-orbit and magnetic exchange couplings of coherent photocarriers. By tuning the nonthermal populations of exchange-split, spin-orbit-coupled semiconductor band states, we can excite fs spin-orbit torques that control complex magnetization pathways between multiple magnetic memory states. We calculate the laser-induced fs magnetic anisotropy in the time domain by using density matrix equations of motion rather than the quasiequilibrium free energy. By comparing to pump-probe experiments, we identify a "sudden" out-of-plane magnetization canting displaying fs magnetic hysteresis, which agrees with switchings measured by the static Hall magnetoresistivity. This fs transverse spin-canting switches direction with magnetic state and laser frequency, which distinguishes it from the longitudinal nonlinear optical and demagnetization effects. We propose that sequences of clockwise or counterclockwise fs spin-orbit torques, photoexcited by shaping two-color laser-pulse sequences analogous to multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, can be used to timely suppress or enhance magnetic ringing and switching rotation in magnetic memories.

Electronically tunable femtosecond all-fiber optical parametric oscillator for multi-photon microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Hellwig, Tim; Brinkmann, Maximilian; Fallnich, Carsten

2018-02-01

We present a femtosecond fiber-based optical parametric oscillator (FOPO) for multiphoton microscopy with wavelength tuning by electronic repetition rate tuning in combination with a dispersive filter in the FOPO cavity. The all-spliced, all-fiber FOPO cavity is based on polarization-maintaining fibers and a broadband output coupler, allowing to get access to the resonant signal pulses as well as the idler pulses simultaneously. The system was pumped by a gain-switched fiber-coupled laser diode emitting pulses at a central wavelength of 1030 nm and an electronically tunable repetition frequency of about 2 MHz. The pump pulses were amplified in an Ytterbium fiber amplifier system with a pulse duration after amplification of 13 ps. Tuning of the idler (1140 nm - 1300 nm) and signal wavelengths (850 nm - 940 nm) was achieved by changing the repetition frequency of the pump laser by about 4 kHz. The generated signal pulses reached a pulse energy of up to 9.2 nJ at 920 nm and were spectrally broadened to about 6 nm in the FOPO by a combination of self-phase and cross-phase modulation. We showed external compression of the idler pulses at 920 nm to about 430 fs and appleid them to two-photon excitation microscopy with green fluorescent dyes. The presented system constitutes an important step towards a fully fiber-integrated all-electronically tunable and, thereby, programmable light source and already embodies a versatile and flexible light source for applications, e.g., for smart microscopy.

Photofragmentation of colloidal solutions of gold nanoparticles under femtosecond laser pulses in IR and visible ranges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danilov, P A; Zayarnyi, D A; Ionin, A A; Kudryashov, S I; Makarov, S V; Rudenko, A A; Saraeva, I N; Yurovskikh, V I; Lednev, V N; Pershin, S M

2015-01-01

The specific features of photofragmentation of sols of gold nanoparticles under focused femtosecond laser pulses in IR (1030 nm) and visible (515 nm) ranges is experimentally investigated. A high photofragmentation efficiency of nanoparticles in the waist of a pulsed laser beam in the visible range (at moderate radiation scattering) is demonstrated; this efficiency is related to the excitation of plasmon resonance in nanoparticles on the blue shoulder of its spectrum, in contrast to the regime of very weak photofragmentation in an IR-laser field of comparable intensity. Possible mechanisms of femtosecond laser photofragmentation of gold nanoparticles are discussed. (extreme light fields and their applications)

Photoemission using femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srinivasan-Rao, T.; Tsang, T.; Fischer, J.

1991-10-01

Successful operation of short wavelength FEL requires an electron bunch of current >100 A and normalized emittance < 1 mm-mrad. Recent experiments show that RF guns with photocathodes as the electron source may be the ideal candidate for achieving these parameters. To reduce the emittance growth due to space charge and RF dynamics effects, the gun may have to operate at high field gradient (hence at high RF frequency) and a spot size small compared to the aperture. This may necessitate the laser pulse duration to be in the subpicosecond regime to reduce the energy spread. We will present the behavior of metal photocathodes upon irradiation with femtosecond laser beams, comparison of linear and nonlinear photoemission, and scalability to high currents. Theoretical estimate of the intrinsic emittance at the photocathode in the presence of the anomalous heating of the electrons, and the tolerance on the surface roughness of the cathode material will be discussed

Low loss depressed cladding waveguide inscribed in YAG:Nd single crystal by femtosecond laser pulses.

Science.gov (United States)

Okhrimchuk, Andrey; Mezentsev, Vladimir; Shestakov, Alexander; Bennion, Ian

2012-02-13

A depressed cladding waveguide with record low loss of 0.12 dB/cm is inscribed in YAG:Nd(0.3at.%) crystal by femtosecond laser pulses with an elliptical beam waist. The waveguide is formed by a set of parallel tracks which constitute the depressed cladding. It is a key element for compact and efficient CW waveguide laser operating at 1064 nm and pumped by a multimode laser diode. Special attention is paid to mechanical stress resulting from the inscription process. Numerical calculation of mode distribution and propagation loss with the elasto-optical effect taken into account leads to the conclusion that the depressed cladding is a dominating factor in waveguide mode formation, while the mechanical stress only slightly distorts waveguide modes.

Study and realisation of a femtosecond dye laser operating at different wavelengths. Ultrashort pulses compression and amplification; Etude et realisation d'un laser a colorant femtoseconde fonctionnant a differentes longueurs d'onde. Compression et amplification d'impulsions ultrabreves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Georges, Patrick

1989-12-21

We present the study and the realization of a passively mode-locked dye laser producing pulses shorter than 100 femto-seconds (10{sup -13} s). In a ring cavity with an amplifier medium (Rhodamine 60) and a saturable absorber (DODCI), a sequence of four prisms controls the group velocity dispersion and allows the generation of very short pulses. Then we have studied the production of femtosecond pulses at other wavelengths directly from the femtosecond dye laser. For the first rime, 60 fs pulses at 685 nm and pulses shorter than 50 fs between 775 nm and 800 nm have been produced by passive mode locking. These near infrared pulses have been used to study the absorption saturation kinetics in semiconductors multiple quantum wells GaAs/GaAlAs. We have observed a singular behavior of the laser operating at 685 nm and analyzed the produced pulses in terms of optical solitons. To perform time resolved spectroscopy with shortest pulses, we have studied a pulse compressor and a multipass amplifier to increase the pulses energy. Pulses of 20 fs and 10 micro-joules (peak power: 0.5 GW) have been obtained at low repetition rate (10 Hz) and pulses of 16 fs and 0.6 micro-joules pulses have been generated at high repetition rate (11 kHz) using a copper vapor laser. These pulses have been used to study the absorption saturation kinetics of an organic dye (the Malachite Green). (author) [French] Ce memoire presente l'etude et la realisation d'un laser a colorant a verrouillage de modes passif produisant des impulsions de 100 femtosecondes (10- 13 s). Dans une cavite en anneau contenant un milieu amplificateur (Rhodamine 60) et un absorbant saturable (DODCI), un systeme de prismes permettant de controler la dispersion de vitesse de groupe realise une mise en phase de toutes les frequences du spectre des impulsions. Nous avons ensuite etudie la possibilite de produire des impulsions femtosecondes a d'autres longueurs d'onde directement avec l'oscillateur. Des impulsions de 60 fs a

Single-shot femtosecond-pulsed phase-shifting digital holography.

Science.gov (United States)

Kakue, Takashi; Itoh, Seiya; Xia, Peng; Tahara, Tatsuki; Awatsuji, Yasuhiro; Nishio, Kenzo; Ura, Shogo; Kubota, Toshihiro; Matoba, Osamu

2012-08-27

Parallel phase-shifting digital holography is capable of three-dimensional measurement of a dynamically moving object with a single-shot recording. In this letter, we demonstrated a parallel phase-shifting digital holography using a single femtosecond light pulse whose central wavelength and temporal duration were 800 nm and 96 fs, respectively. As an object, we set spark discharge in atmospheric pressure air induced by applying a high voltage to between two electrodes. The instantaneous change in phase caused by the spark discharge was clearly reconstructed. The reconstructed phase image shows the change of refractive index of air was -3.7 × 10(-4).

Temporal dependence of the enhancement of material removal in femtosecond-nanosecond dual-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scaffidi, Jon; Pearman, William; Carter, J. Chance; Colston, Bill W. Jr.; Angel, S. Michael

2004-01-01

Despite the large neutral atomic and ionic emission enhancements that have been noted in collinear and orthogonal dual-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, the source or sources of these significant signal and signal-to-noise ratio improvements have yet to be explained. In the research reported herein, the combination of a femtosecond preablative air spark and a nanosecond ablative pulse yields eightfold and tenfold material removal improvement for brass and aluminum, respectively, but neutral atomic emission is enhanced by only a factor of 3-4. Additionally, temporal correlation between enhancement of material removal and of atomic emission is quite poor, suggesting that the atomic-emission enhancements noted in the femtosecond-nanosecond pulse configuration result in large part from some source other than simple improvement in material removal

Selective Deactivation of M13 Bacteriophage in E. Coli using Femtosecond Laser Pulses

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Molukanele, P

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Deactivation of M13 Bacteriophage in E. Coli using Femtosecond Laser Pulses P. Molukanele 1, 3, A. Du Plessis 1, T. Roberts 1, L. Botha 1, M. Khati 2,3, W. Campos 2, 3 1CSIR National Laser Centre, Femtosecond Science group, Pretoria, South Africa 2CSIR... that is about 1 ?m long and 5-6 nm in diameter. Its host Escherichia coli (E.coli), is approximately 2-6 ?m long and 1-1.5 ?m in diameter, see figure 1 below. Figure 1: Schematic representations of M13 bacteriophage and its host E.coli...

Synchronization of femtosecond laser pulses and RF signal by using a Sagnac loop Mach-Zehnder interferometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai Hui; Hajima, Ryoichi

2008-11-01

For future advanced energy recovery linac to generate femtosecond X-ray pulses, precise synchronization between sub-systems is highly desired. Typical synchronization methods based on direct photo detection are limited by detector nonlinearities, which lead to amplitude-to-phase conversion and introduce excess timing jitter. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate an optical-electronic mixed phase lock loop to synchronize the RF signal and laser pulses. In this synchronism setup, a Sagnac-loop Mach-Zehnder interferometer has been used to suppress the excess noise of direct photo detection. This scheme transfers the timing information into a intensity imbalance between the two output beams of the interferometer. As experimental demonstration, the single side-band phase noise of RF signal from the VCO is locked to the mode-locked Ti:Sapphire laser in the spectrum covering the range of 10 kHz to 1 MHz. This synchronization scheme greatly reduces the phase noise and timing jitter of the RF signal. (author)

Femtosecond Electron Wave Packet Propagation and Diffraction: Towards Making the ``Molecular Movie"

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, R. J. Dwayne

2003-03-01

Time-resolved electron diffraction harbors great promise for achieving atomic resolution of the fastest chemical processes. The generation of sufficiently short electron pulses to achieve this real time view of a chemical reaction has been limited by problems in maintaining short electron pulses with realistic electron densities to the sample. The propagation dynamics of femtosecond electron packets in the drift region of a photoelectron gun are investigated with an N-body numerical simulation and mean-field model. This analyis shows that the redistribution of electrons inside the packet, arising from space-charge and dispersion contributions, changes the pulse envelope and leads to the development of a spatially linear axial velocity distribution. These results have been used in the design of femtosecond photoelectron guns with higher time resolution and novel electron-optical methods of pulse characterization that are approaching 100 fs timescales. Time-resolved diffraction studies with electron pulses of approximately 500 femtoseconds have focused on solid-liquid phase transitions under far from equilibrium conditions. This work gives a microscopic description of the melting process and illustrates the promise of atomically resolving transition state processes.

Femtosecond pulsed laser ablation of GaAs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trelenberg, T.W.; Dinh, L.N.; Saw, C.K.; Stuart, B.C.; Balooch, M.

2004-01-01

The properties of femtosecond-pulsed laser deposited GaAs nanoclusters were investigated. Nanoclusters of GaAs were produced by laser ablating a single crystal GaAs target in vacuum or in a buffer gas using a Ti-sapphire laser with a 150 fs minimum pulse length. For in-vacuum deposition, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that the average cluster size was approximately 7 nm for laser pulse lengths between 150 fs and 25 ps. The average cluster size dropped to approximately 1.5 nm at a pulse length of 500 ps. It was also observed that film thickness decreased with increasing laser pulse length. A reflective coating, which accumulated on the laser admission window during ablation, reduced the amount of laser energy reaching the target for subsequent laser shots and developed more rapidly at longer pulse lengths. This observation indicates that non-stoichiometric (metallic) ablatants were produced more readily at longer pulse lengths. The angular distribution of ejected material about the target normal was well fitted to a bi-cosine distribution of cos 47 θ+ cos 4 θ for ablation in vacuum using 150 fs pulses. XPS and AES revealed that the vacuum-deposited films contained excess amorphous Ga or As in addition to the stoichiometric GaAs nanocrystals seen with XRD. However, films containing only the GaAs nanocrystals were produced when ablation was carried out in the presence of a buffer gas with a pressure in excess of 6.67 Pa. At buffer gas pressure on the order of 1 Torr, it was found that the stoichiometry of the ablated target was also preserved. These experiments indicate that both laser pulse length and buffer gas pressure play important roles in the formation of multi-element nanocrystals by laser ablation. The effects of gas pressure on the target's morphology and the size of the GaAs nanocrystals formed will also be discussed

Damage threshold of lithium niobate crystal under single and multiple femtosecond laser pulses: theoretical and experimental study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meng, Qinglong; Zhang, Bin; Zhong, Sencheng; Zhu, Liguo

2016-01-01

The damage threshold of lithium niobate crystal under single and multiple femtosecond laser pulses has been studied theoretically and experimentally. Firstly, the model for the damage threshold prediction of crystal materials based on the improved rate equation has been proposed. Then, the experimental measure method of the damage threshold of crystal materials has been given in detail. On the basis, the variation of the damage threshold of lithium niobate crystal with the pulse duration has also been analyzed quantitatively. Finally, the damage threshold of lithium niobate crystal under multiple laser pulses has been measured and compared to the theoretical results. The results show that the transmittance of lithium niobate crystal is almost a constant when the laser pulse fluence is relative low, whereas it decreases linearly with the increase in the laser pulse fluence below the damage threshold. The damage threshold of lithium niobate crystal increases with the increase in the duration of the femtosecond laser pulse. And the damage threshold of lithium niobate crystal under multiple laser pulses is obviously lower than that irradiated by a single laser pulse. The theoretical data fall in good agreement with the experimental results. (orig.)

1-MHz high power femtosecond Yb-doped fiber chirped-pulse amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Zhong-Qi; Yang, Pei-Long; Teng, Hao; Zhu, Jiang-Feng; Wei, Zhi-Yi

2018-01-01

A practical femtosecond polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber amplifier enabling 153 fs transform-limited pulse duration with 32 μJ pulse energy at 1 MHz repetition rate corresponding to a peak power of 0.21 GW is demonstrated. The laser system based on chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) technique is seeded by a dispersion managed, nonlinear polarization evolution (NPE) mode-locked oscillator with spectrum bandwidth of 31 nm at 1040 nm and amplified by three fiber pre-amplifying stages and a rod type fiber main amplifying stage. The laser works with beam quality of M2 of 1.3 and power stability of 0.63% (root mean square, RMS) over 24 hours will be stable sources for industrial micromachining, medical therapy and scientific research.

Femtosecond few- to single-electron point-projection microscopy for nanoscale dynamic imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. R. Bainbridge

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Femtosecond electron microscopy produces real-space images of matter in a series of ultrafast snapshots. Pulses of electrons self-disperse under space-charge broadening, so without compression, the ideal operation mode is a single electron per pulse. Here, we demonstrate femtosecond single-electron point projection microscopy (fs-ePPM in a laser-pump fs-e-probe configuration. The electrons have an energy of only 150 eV and take tens of picoseconds to propagate to the object under study. Nonetheless, we achieve a temporal resolution with a standard deviation of 114 fs (equivalent to a full-width at half-maximum of 269 ± 40 fs combined with a spatial resolution of 100 nm, applied to a localized region of charge at the apex of a nanoscale metal tip induced by 30 fs 800 nm laser pulses at 50 kHz. These observations demonstrate real-space imaging of reversible processes, such as tracking charge distributions, is feasible whilst maintaining femtosecond resolution. Our findings could find application as a characterization method, which, depending on geometry, could resolve tens of femtoseconds and tens of nanometres. Dynamically imaging electric and magnetic fields and charge distributions on sub-micron length scales opens new avenues of ultrafast dynamics. Furthermore, through the use of active compression, such pulses are an ideal seed for few-femtosecond to attosecond imaging applications which will access sub-optical cycle processes in nanoplasmonics.

FY 2000 report on the results of the R and D of femtosecond technology. Development of the ultra-short pulse optoelectronic technology; 2000 nendo femto byo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Chotan pulse hikari electronics gijutsu kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

This project aims at creating new industrial basement technology which supports the highly information-oriented society in the 21st century, conducts the R and D of technology to control the state of light and electron in the femtosecond time domain (10{sup -15} - 10{sup -12} sec), and establishes the basement technology which exceeds the speed limit of the conventional electronics technology and also includes new functionality. Especially, it aims at establishing the basement technology of the ultra-high speed optoelectronics which are absolutely necessary for construction of the Tb/s class ultra-high speed/large capacity information communication infrastructure. The results obtained in this fiscal year were as follows: successful transmission of 144km of 600fs optical pulse, successful experiment of 4-chain pulse DEMUX equivalent to 1Tb/s by ultra-high speed intersubband transition optical switch of Sb-base material combination quantum well, realization of 2-bit coding/decoding in the spectral region, realization of serial-parallel conversion motion of optical pulse equivalent to 1Tb/s using squarylium J aggregate thin films, realization of subpico second optical pulse 20nm wavelength conversion by DFB laser structure, etc. (NEDO)

Communication: The electronic structure of matter probed with a single femtosecond hard x-ray pulse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Szlachetko

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Physical, biological, and chemical transformations are initiated by changes in the electronic configuration of the species involved. These electronic changes occur on the timescales of attoseconds (10−18 s to femtoseconds (10−15 s and drive all subsequent electronic reorganization as the system moves to a new equilibrium or quasi-equilibrium state. The ability to detect the dynamics of these electronic changes is crucial for understanding the potential energy surfaces upon which chemical and biological reactions take place. Here, we report on the determination of the electronic structure of matter using a single self-seeded femtosecond x-ray pulse from the Linac Coherent Light Source hard x-ray free electron laser. By measuring the high energy resolution off-resonant spectrum (HEROS, we were able to obtain information about the electronic density of states with a single femtosecond x-ray pulse. We show that the unoccupied electronic states of the scattering atom may be determined on a shot-to-shot basis and that the measured spectral shape is independent of the large intensity fluctuations of the incoming x-ray beam. Moreover, we demonstrate the chemical sensitivity and single-shot capability and limitations of HEROS, which enables the technique to track the electronic structural dynamics in matter on femtosecond time scales, making it an ideal probe technique for time-resolved X-ray experiments.

Fiber laser-microscope system for femtosecond photodisruption of biological samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Yavaş, Seydi; Erdogan, Mutlu; Gürel, Kutan; Ilday, F Ömer; Eldeniz, Y Burak; Tazebay, Uygar H

2012-03-01

We report on the development of a ultrafast fiber laser-microscope system for femtosecond photodisruption of biological targets. A mode-locked Yb-fiber laser oscillator generates few-nJ pulses at 32.7 MHz repetition rate, amplified up to ∼125 nJ at 1030 nm. Following dechirping in a grating compressor, ∼240 fs-long pulses are delivered to the sample through a diffraction-limited microscope, which allows real-time imaging and control. The laser can generate arbitrary pulse patterns, formed by two acousto-optic modulators (AOM) controlled by a custom-developed field-programmable gate array (FPGA) controller. This capability opens the route to fine optimization of the ablation processes and management of thermal effects. Sample position, exposure time and imaging are all computerized. The capability of the system to perform femtosecond photodisruption is demonstrated through experiments on tissue and individual cells.

High-precision cutting of polyimide film using femtosecond laser for the application in flexible electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Ganin, D. V.; Lapshin, K. E.; Obidin, A. Z.; Vartapetov, S. K.

2018-01-01

The experimental results of cutting a polyimide film on the optical glass substrate by means of femtosecond lasers are given. Two modes of laser cutting of this film without damages to a glass base are determined. The first is the photo graphitization using a high repetition rate femtosecond laser. The second is ablative, under the effect of femtosecond laser pulses with high energy and low repetition rate. Cutting of semiconductor chips formed on the polyimide film surface is successfully demonstrated.

Fokker-Planck simulations of interactions of femtosecond laser pulses with dense plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drska, L.; Limpouch, J.; Liska, R.

1993-01-01

The interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with fully ionized solid-state density plasmas in the regime of the normal skin effect was investigated by means of numerical simulation. For short wavelength lasers and 120 fs FWHM laser pulses the regime of normal skin effect is shown to hold for peak intensities up to 10 17 W/cm 2 . Basic characteristics of the interaction are revealed and certain departures of the electron distribution function, of the plasma dielectric constant and of laser absorption from simplistic models are pointed out. (author) 1 tab., 4 figs., 14 refs

Fiscal 1997 R and D project under a consignment from NEDO. R and D of the femtosecond technology (R and D of the monitoring system using high-intensity X-ray pulse for power plants); 1997 nendo Shin energy Sangyo Gijutsu Sogo Kaihatsu Kiko itaku. Femto byo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu (kokido X sen pulse riyo hatsuden shisetsu monitoring system no kenkyu kaihatsu) seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

This paper reports the result on R and D of the femtosecond technology in fiscal 1997. Ultrahigh-speed electronic technology is indispensable for industrial basic technologies supporting the advanced information society in the 21st century. Control technology of photonic and electronic states in a femtosecond region is essential. In R and D of metrological technology using ultra-short light-pulses, study was made on generating and controlling technology for ultra- short light/electron beam pulses. Ti-sapphire mode-locked laser was prepared, and it was found that time-fluctuation of mode-locked laser pulses is measurable up to 100 femtosecond level. As measures against an instability of gain-switching semiconductor laser, light injection from the outside was effective. The stable directivity of laser beam was obtained by regenerative amplifier, while less temperature variation of an optical switch was necessary to stabilize energy. To generate femtosecond high-intensity X-ray pulse by collision of laser and electron beams, it was confirmed that sub- picosecond synchronization is possible by RF and picosecond laser synchronization circuit. 48 refs., 89 figs., 11 tabs.

Single-pulse and burst-mode ablation of gold films measured by quartz crystal microbalance

Science.gov (United States)

Andrusyak, Oleksiy G.; Bubelnik, Matthew; Mares, Jeremy; McGovern, Theresa; Siders, Craig W.

2005-02-01

Femtosecond ablation has several distinct advantages: the threshold energy fluence for the onset of damage and ablation is orders of magnitude less than for traditional nanosecond laser machining, and by virtue of the rapid material removal of approximately an optical penetration depth per pulse, femtosecond machined cuts can be cleaner and more precise than those made with traditional nanosecond or longer pulse lasers. However, in many materials of interest, especially metals, this limits ablation rates to 10-100 nm/pulse. We present the results of using multiple pulse bursts to significantly increase the per-burst ablation rate compared to a single pulse with the same integrated energy, while keeping the peak intensity of each individual pulse below the air ionization limit. Femtosecond ablation with pulses centered at 800-nm having integrated energy of up to 30 mJ per pulse incident upon thin gold films was measured via resonance frequency shifts in a gold-electrode-coated quartz-crystal oscillator. Measurements were performed using Michelson-interferometer-based burst generators, with up to 2 ns pulse separations, as well as pulse shaping by programmable acousto-optic dispersive filter (Dazzler from FastLite) with up to 2 ps pulse separations.

Thermal conductivity contrast measurement of Fused Silica exposed to low-energy femtosecond laser pulses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bellouard, Y.J.; Dugan, M.; Said, A.A.; Bado, P.

2006-01-01

Femtosecond laser irradiation has various noticeable effects on fused silica. Of particular interest, pulses with energy levels below the ablation threshold can locally increase the refractive index and the material etching selectivity to hydrofluoric acid. The mechanism responsible for these

Conical Double Frequency Emission by Femtosecond Laser Pulses from DKDP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xi-Peng, Zhang; Hong-Bing, Jiang; Shan-Chun, Tang; Qi-Huang, Gong

2009-01-01

Conical double frequency emission is investigated by femtosecond laser pulses at a wavelength of 800 nm in a DKDP crystal. It is demonstrated that the sum frequency of incident wave and its scattering wave accounts for the conical double frequency emission. The gaps on the conical rings are observed and they are very sensitive to the propagation direction, and thus could be used to detect the small angle deviation of surface direction. (fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications))

Improvement of aluminum drilling efficiency and precision by shaped femtosecond laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qi, Ying; Qi, Hongxia; Chen, Anmin; Hu, Zhan

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The ablation accuracy can be improved by the shaped femtosecond laser pulse. • The ablation rate can be improved by the shaped femtosecond laser pulse with higher laser fluence. • The results can be used to optimize femtosecond micromachining metal. - Abstract: Shaped femtosecond laser pulses with the plain phase (transform-limited pulse) and sine phase (A = 1.2566, T = 30, T = 10, and T = 5) were used to drill Al sheet in vacuum. Using different phase, the number of pulses required to drill through the sheet was different. With lower laser pulse energy, the ablation rate was the highest when plain phase (corresponding to transform limited pulse) was used. With higher laser energy, the optimized ablation rate can be achieved by increasing the time separation between the subpulses of pulse train produced from the sine phase function. And, with the shaped femtosecond laser, the diameter of ablation holes produced was smaller, the ablation precision was also improved. The results showed that shaped femtosecond laser pulse has great advantages in the context of femtosecond laser drilling

Ultrafast changes in the optical properties of a titanium surface and femtosecond laser writing of one-dimensional quasi-periodic nanogratings of its relief

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golosov, E. V.; Ionin, A. A.; Kolobov, Yu. R.; Kudryashov, S. I.; Ligachev, A. E.; Novoselov, Yu. N.; Seleznev, L. V.; Sinitsyn, D. V.

2011-01-01

One-dimensional quasi-periodic nanogratings with spacings in the range from 160 to 600 nm are written on a dry or wet titanium surface exposed to linearly polarized femtosecond IR and UV laser pulses with different surface energy densities. The topological properties of the obtained surface nanostructures are studied by scanning electron microscopy. Despite the observation of many harmonics of the one-dimensional surface relief in its Fourier spectra, a weak decreasing dependence of the first-harmonic wavenumber (nanograting spacing) on the laser fluence is found. Studies of the instantaneous optical characteristics of the material during laser irradiation by measuring the reflection of laser pump pulses and their simulation based on the Drude model taking into account the dominant interband absorption allowed us to estimate the length of the excited surface electromagnetic (plasmon-polariton) wave for different excitation conditions. This wavelength is quantitatively consistent with the corresponding nanograting spacings of the first harmonic of the relief of the dry and wet titanium surfaces. It is shown that the dependence of the first-harmonic nanograting spacing on the laser fluence is determined by a change in the instantaneous optical characteristics of the material and the saturation of the interband absorption along with the increasing role of intraband transitions. Three new methods are proposed for writing separate subwave surface nanogratings or their sets by femtosecond laser pulses using the near-threshold nanostructuring, the forced adjustment of the optical characteristics of the material or selecting the spectral range of laser radiation, and also by selecting an adjacent dielectric.

Ultrafast Holographic Image Recording by Single Shot Femtosecond Spectral Hole Burning

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Rebane, Aleksander

2001-01-01

.... This allowed us to record image holograms with 150-fs duration pulses without need to accumulate the SHB effect from many exposures. Results of this research show that it is possible to perform optical recording of data in frequency-domain on ultrafast time scale. These results can be used also as a new diagnostic tool for femtosecond dynamics in various ultrafast optical interactions.

An improved three-dimensional two-temperature model for multi-pulse femtosecond laser ablation of aluminum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Jinping; Chen, Yuping; Hu, Mengning; Chen, Xianfeng

2015-01-01

In this paper, an improved three-dimensional two-temperature model for multi-pulse femtosecond laser ablation of aluminum was proposed and proved in our experiment. Aiming to achieve hole-drilling with a high ratio of depth/entrance diameter in vacuum, this model can predict the depth and radius of the drilled holes precisely when employing different laser parameters. Additionally, for multi-pulse laser ablation, we found that the laser fluence and number of pulses are the dominant parameters and the multi-pulse ablation threshold is much lower than the single-pulse one, which will help to obtain high-quality holes

An improved three-dimensional two-temperature model for multi-pulse femtosecond laser ablation of aluminum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Jinping; Chen, Yuping, E-mail: ypchen@sjtu.edu.cn; Hu, Mengning; Chen, Xianfeng [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communication Systems and Networks, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2015-02-14

In this paper, an improved three-dimensional two-temperature model for multi-pulse femtosecond laser ablation of aluminum was proposed and proved in our experiment. Aiming to achieve hole-drilling with a high ratio of depth/entrance diameter in vacuum, this model can predict the depth and radius of the drilled holes precisely when employing different laser parameters. Additionally, for multi-pulse laser ablation, we found that the laser fluence and number of pulses are the dominant parameters and the multi-pulse ablation threshold is much lower than the single-pulse one, which will help to obtain high-quality holes.

Silicon nanowire based high brightness, pulsed relativistic electron source

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deep Sarkar

2017-06-01

Full Text Available We demonstrate that silicon nanowire arrays efficiently emit relativistic electron pulses under irradiation by a high-intensity, femtosecond, and near-infrared laser (∼1018 W/cm2, 25 fs, 800 nm. The nanowire array yields fluxes and charge per bunch that are 40 times higher than those emitted by an optically flat surface, in the energy range of 0.2–0.5 MeV. The flux and charge yields for the nanowires are observed to be directional in nature unlike that for planar silicon. Particle-in-cell simulations establish that such large emission is caused by the enhancement of the local electric fields around a nanowire, which consequently leads to an enhanced absorption of laser energy. We show that the high-intensity contrast (ratio of picosecond pedestal to femtosecond peak of the laser pulse (10−9 is crucial to this large yield. We extend the notion of surface local-field enhancement, normally invoked in low-order nonlinear optical processes like second harmonic generation, optical limiting, etc., to ultrahigh laser intensities. These electron pulses, expectedly femtosecond in duration, have potential application in imaging, material modification, ultrafast dynamics, terahertz generation, and fast ion sources.

Switching waves dynamics in optical bistable cavity-free system at femtosecond laser pulse propagation in semiconductor under light diffraction

Science.gov (United States)

Trofimov, Vyacheslav A.; Egorenkov, Vladimir A.; Loginova, Maria M.

2018-02-01

We consider a propagation of laser pulse in a semiconductor under the conditions of an occurrence of optical bistability, which appears due to a nonlinear absorption of the semiconductor. As a result, the domains of high concentration of free charged particles (electrons and ionized donors) occur if an intensity of the incident optical pulse is greater than certain intensity. As it is well-known, that an optical beam must undergo a diffraction on (or reflection from) the domains boundaries. Usually, the beam diffraction along a coordinate of the optical pulse propagation does not take into account by using the slowly varying envelope approximation for the laser pulse interaction with optical bistable element. Therefore, a reflection of the beam from the domains with abrupt boundary does not take into account under computer simulation of the laser pulse propagation. However, the optical beams, reflected from nonhomogeneities caused by the domains of high concentration of free-charged particles, can essentially influence on a formation of switching waves in a semiconductor. We illustrate this statement by computer simulation results provided on the base of nonlinear Schrödinger equation and a set of PDEs, which describe an evolution of the semiconductor characteristics (concentrations of free-charged particles and potential of an electric field strength), and taking into account the longitudinal and transverse diffraction effects.

Femtosecond pulse laser notch shaping via fiber Bragg grating for the excitation source on the coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Seung Ryeol; Kwon, Won Sik; Kim, Jin Hwan; Kim, Kyung-Soo; Kim, Soohyun

2015-03-01

Single-pulse coherently controlled nonlinear Raman spectroscopy is the simplest method among the coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy systems. In recent research, it has been proven that notch-shaped femtosecond pulse laser can be used to collect the coherent anti-Stokes Raman signals. In this study, we applied a fiber Bragg grating to the notch filtering component on the femtosecond pulse lasers. The experiment was performed incorporating a titanium sapphire femtosecond pulse laser source with a 100 mm length of 780-HP fiber which is inscribed 30 mm of Bragg grating. The fiber Bragg grating has 785 nm Bragg wavelength with 0.9 nm bandwidth. We proved that if the pulse lasers have above a certain level of positive group delay dispersion, it is sufficient to propagate in the fiber Bragg grating without any spectral distortion. After passing through the fiber Bragg grating, the pulse laser is reflected on the chirped mirror for 40 times to make the transform-limited pulse. Finally, the pulse time duration was 37 fs, average power was 50mW, and showed an adequate notch shape. Furthermore, the simulation of third order polarization signal is performed using MATLAB tools and the simulation result shows that spectral characteristic and time duration of the pulse is sufficient to use as an excitation source for single-pulse coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy. In conclusion, the proposed method is more simple and cost-effective than the methods of previous research which use grating pairs and resonant photonic crystal slab.

POINT-BY-POINT INSCRIPTION OF FIBER BRAGG GRATINGS INTO BIREFRINGENT OPTICAL FIBER THROUGH PROTECTIVE ACRYLATE COATING BY TI:SA FEMTOSECOND LASER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. V. Arkhipov,

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The paper deals withpoint-by-point inscriptionof fiber Bragg gratings by the 800 nm Ti:Sa femtosecond laser pulses into a unique birefringent fiber with elliptical stress cladding of home manufacture. The proposed inscriptionmethod has advantages over the conventional phase mask method. The possibility to create complex grating structures and relatively high transparency of acrylate coating to the Ti:Sa femtosecond laser radiation of 800 nm gives the possibility for inscriptionof phase shifting gratings, chirped grating and superstructures without stripping the fiber. Also, this method makes it possible to inscribethese diffractive structures with and without co-doping of GeO2 in the fiber core. Achieved reflectance was 10%. The microscopic image of the diffractive structure in the fiber core is presented. The grating of 1.07 µm is realized by pulling the fiber with constant speed while the laser pulses are applied with a repetition frequency of 1 kHz. The results are usable in the sphere of creation of different fiber optic sensitive elements based on Bragg gratings.

Spectral encoding method for measuring the relative arrival time between x-ray/optical pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bionta, M. R.; Hartmann, N.; Weaver, M.; French, D.; Glownia, J. M.; Bostedt, C.; Chollet, M.; Ding, Y.; Fritz, D. M.; Fry, A. R.; Krzywinski, J.; Lemke, H. T.; Messerschmidt, M.; Schorb, S.; Zhu, D.; White, W. E.; Nicholson, D. J.; Cryan, J. P.; Baker, K.; Kane, D. J.

2014-01-01

The advent of few femtosecond x-ray light sources brings promise of x-ray/optical pump-probe experiments that can measure chemical and structural changes in the 10–100 fs time regime. Widely distributed timing systems used at x-ray Free-Electron Laser facilities are typically limited to above 50 fs fwhm jitter in active x-ray/optical synchronization. The approach of single-shot timing measurements is used to sort results in the event processing stage. This has seen wide use to accommodate the insufficient precision of active stabilization schemes. In this article, we review the current technique for “measure-and-sort” at the Linac Coherent Light Source at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The relative arrival time between an x-ray pulse and an optical pulse is measured near the experimental interaction region as a spectrally encoded cross-correlation signal. The cross-correlation provides a time-stamp for filter-and-sort algorithms used for real-time sorting. Sub-10 fs rms resolution is common in this technique, placing timing precision at the same scale as the duration of the shortest achievable x-ray pulses

Enhancement of intermediate-field two-photon absorption by rationally shaped femtosecond pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chuntonov, Lev; Rybak, Leonid; Gandman, Andrey; Amitay, Zohar

2008-01-01

We extend the powerful frequency-domain analysis of femtosecond two-photon absorption to the intermediate-field regime of considerable absorption yields, where additionally to the weak-field nonresonant two-photon transitions also four-photon transitions play a role. Consequently, we rationally find that the absorption is enhanced over the transform-limited pulse by any shaped pulse having a spectral phase that is antisymmetric around one-half of the transition frequency and a spectrum that is asymmetric around it (red or blue detuned according to the system). The enhancement increases as the field strength increases. The theoretical results for Na are verified experimentally

Precise measurement of a subpicosecond electron single bunch by the femtosecond streak camera

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uesaka, M.; Ueda, T.; Kozawa, T.; Kobayashi, T.

1998-01-01

Precise measurement of a subpicosecond electron single bunch by the femtosecond streak camera is presented. The subpicosecond electron single bunch of energy 35 MeV was generated by the achromatic magnetic pulse compressor at the S-band linear accelerator of nuclear engineering research laboratory (NERL), University of Tokyo. The electric charge per bunch and beam size are 0.5 nC and the horizontal and vertical beam sizes are 3.3 and 5.5 mm (full width at half maximum; FWHM), respectively. Pulse shape of the electron single bunch is measured via Cherenkov radiation emitted in air by the femtosecond streak camera. Optical parameters of the optical measurement system were optimized based on much experiment and numerical analysis in order to achieve a subpicosecond time resolution. By using the optimized optical measurement system, the subpicosecond pulse shape, its variation for the differents rf phases in the accelerating tube, the jitter of the total system and the correlation between measured streak images and calculated longitudinal phase space distributions were precisely evaluated. This measurement system is going to be utilized in several subpicosecond analyses for radiation physics and chemistry. (orig.)

Femtosecond nonlinear spectroscopy at surfaces: Second-harmonic probing of hole burning at the Si(111)7x7 surface and Fourier-transform sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGuire, John Andrew

2004-01-01

The high temporal resolution and broad bandwidth of a femtosecond laser system are exploited in a pair of nonlinear optical studies of surfaces. The dephasing dynamics of resonances associated with the adatom dangling bonds of the Si(111)7 x 7 surface are explored by transient second-harmonic hole burning, a process that can be described as a fourth-order nonlinear optical process. Spectral holes produced by a 100 fs pump pulse at about 800 nm are probed by the second harmonic signal of a 100 fs pulse tunable around 800 nm. The measured spectral holes yield homogeneous dephasing times of a few tens of femtoseconds. Fits with a Lorentzian spectral hole centered at zero probe detuning show a linear dependence of the hole width on pump fluence, which suggests that charge carrier-carrier scattering dominates the dephasing dynamics at the measured excitation densities. Extrapolation of the deduced homogeneous dephasing times to zero excitation density yields an intrinsic dephasing time of ∼ 70 fs. The presence of a secondary spectral hole indicates that scattering of the surface electrons with surface optical phonons at 570 cm -1 occurs within the first 200 fs after excitation. The broad bandwidth of femtosecond IR pulses is used to perform IR-visible sum frequency vibrational spectroscopy. By implementing a Fourier-transform technique, we demonstrate the ability to obtain sub-laser-bandwidth spectral resolution. FT-SFG yields a greater signal when implemented with a stretched visible pulse than with a femtosecond visible pulse. However, when compared with multichannel spectroscopy using a femtosecond IR pulse but a narrowband visible pulse, Fourier-transform SFG is found to have an inferior signal-to-noise ratio. A mathematical analysis of the signal-to-noise ratio illustrates the constraints on the Fourier-transform approach

Femtosecond nonlinear spectroscopy at surfaces: Second-harmonic probing of hole burning at the Si(111)7x7 surface and fourier-transform sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McGuire, John Andrew [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

2004-11-24

The high temporal resolution and broad bandwidth of a femtosecond laser system are exploited in a pair of nonlinear optical studies of surfaces. The dephasing dynamics of resonances associated with the adatom dangling bonds of the Si(111)7 x 7 surface are explored by transient second-harmonic hole burning, a process that can be described as a fourth-order nonlinear optical process. Spectral holes produced by a 100 fs pump pulse at about 800 nm are probed by the second harmonic signal of a 100 fs pulse tunable around 800 nm. The measured spectral holes yield homogeneous dephasing times of a few tens of femtoseconds. Fits with a Lorentzian spectral hole centered at zero probe detuning show a linear dependence of the hole width on pump fluence, which suggests that charge carrier-carrier scattering dominates the dephasing dynamics at the measured excitation densities. Extrapolation of the deduced homogeneous dephasing times to zero excitation density yields an intrinsic dephasing time of {approx} 70 fs. The presence of a secondary spectral hole indicates that scattering of the surface electrons with surface optical phonons at 570 cm^-1 occurs within the first 200 fs after excitation. The broad bandwidth of femtosecond IR pulses is used to perform IR-visible sum frequency vibrational spectroscopy. By implementing a Fourier-transform technique, we demonstrate the ability to obtain sub-laser-bandwidth spectral resolution. FT-SFG yields a greater signal when implemented with a stretched visible pulse than with a femtosecond visible pulse. However, when compared with multichannel spectroscopy using a femtosecond IR pulse but a narrowband visible pulse, Fourier-transform SFG is found to have an inferior signal-to-noise ratio. A mathematical analysis of the signal-to-noise ratio illustrates the constraints on the Fourier-transform approach.

Refractive index modulation of Sb{sub 70}Te{sub 30} phase-change thin films by multiple femtosecond laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lei, Kai; Wang, Yang, E-mail: ywang@siom.ac.cn; Jiang, Minghui; Wu, Yiqun [Key Laboratory of High Power Laser Materials, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800 (China)

2016-05-07

In this study, the controllable effective refractive index modulation of Sb{sub 70}Te{sub 30} phase-change thin films between amorphous and crystalline states was achieved experimentally by multiple femtosecond laser pulses. The modulation mechanism was analyzed comprehensively by a spectral ellipsometer measurement, surface morphology observation, and two-temperature model calculations. We numerically demonstrate the application of the optically modulated refractive index of the phase-change thin films in a precisely adjustable color display. These results may provide further insights into ultrafast phase-transition mechanics and are useful in the design of programmable photonic and opto-electrical devices based on phase-change memory materials.

Pulsed laser deposition to synthesize the bridge structure of artificial nacre: Comparison of nano- and femtosecond lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Melaibari, Ammar A.; Molian, Pal

2012-11-01

Nature offers inspiration to new adaptive technologies that allow us to build amazing shapes and structures such as nacre using synthetic materials. Consequently, we have designed a pulsed laser ablation manufacturing process involving thin film deposition and micro-machining to create hard/soft layered "brick-bridge-mortar" nacre of AlMgB14 (hard phase) with Ti (soft phase). In this paper, we report pulsed laser deposition (PLD) to mimic brick and bridge structures of natural nacre in AlMgB14. Particulate formation inherent in PLD is exploited to develop the bridge structure. Mechanical behavior analysis of the AlMgB14/Ti system revealed that the brick is to be 250 nm thick, 9 μm lateral dimensions while the bridge (particle) is to have a diameter of 500 nm for a performance equivalent to natural nacre. Both nanosecond (ns) and femtosecond (fs) pulsed lasers were employed for PLD in an iterative approach that involves varying pulse energy, pulse repetition rate, and target-to-substrate distance to achieve the desired brick and bridge characteristics. Scanning electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and optical profilometer were used to evaluate the film thickness, particle size and density, stoichiometry, and surface roughness of thin films. Results indicated that both ns-pulsed and fs-pulsed lasers produce the desired nacre features. However, each laser may be chosen for different reasons: fs-pulsed laser is preferred for much shorter deposition time, better stoichiometry, uniform-sized particles, and uniform film thickness, while ns-pulsed laser is favored for industrial acceptance, reliability, ease of handling, and low cost.

Magnetic field effects on ultrafast lattice compression dynamics of Si(111) crystal when excited by linearly-polarized femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Hatanaka, Koji; Odaka, Hideho; Ono, Kimitoshi; Fukumura, Hiroshi

2007-03-01

Time-resolved X-ray diffraction measurements of Si (111) single crystal are performed when excited by linearly-polarized femtosecond laser pulses (780 nm, 260 fs, negatively-chirped, 1 kHz) under a magnetic field (0.47 T). Laser fluence on the sample surface is 40 mJ/cm^2, which is enough lower than the ablation threshold at 200 mJ/cm^2. Probing X-ray pulses of iron characteristic X-ray lines at 0.193604 and 0.193998 nm are generated by focusing femtosecond laser pulses onto audio-cassette tapes in air. Linearly-polarized femtosecond laser pulse irradiation onto Si(111) crystal surface induces transient lattice compression in the picosecond time range, which is confirmed by transient angle shift of X-ray diffraction to higher angles. Little difference of compression dynamics is observed when the laser polarization is changed from p to s-pol. without a magnetic field. On the other hand, under a magnetic field, the lattice compression dynamics changes when the laser is p-polarized which is vertical to the magnetic field vector. These results may be assigned to photo-carrier formation and energy-band distortion.

An optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier for seeding high repetition rate free-electron lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Höppner, H; Hage, A; Tanikawa, T; Schulz, M; Faatz, B; Riedel, R; Prandolini, M J; Teubner, U; Tavella, F

2015-01-01

High repetition rate free-electron lasers (FEL), producing highly intense extreme ultraviolet and x-ray pulses, require new high power tunable femtosecond lasers for FEL seeding and FEL pump-probe experiments. A tunable, 112 W (burst mode) optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier (OPCPA) is demonstrated with center frequencies ranging from 720–900 nm, pulse energies up to 1.12 mJ and a pulse duration of 30 fs at a repetition rate of 100 kHz. Since the power scalability of this OPCPA is limited by the OPCPA-pump amplifier, we also demonstrate a 6.7–13.7 kW (burst mode) thin-disk OPCPA-pump amplifier, increasing the possible OPCPA output power to many hundreds of watts. Furthermore, third and fourth harmonic generation experiments are performed and the results are used to simulate a seeded FEL with high-gain harmonic generation. (paper)

Femtosecond refractive-index tailoring of an optical fiber and phase retrieval from far-field measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Savolainen, Juha-Matti; Grüner-Nielsen, Lars; Kristensen, Poul

2013-01-01

A refractive-index change is written inside an optical fiber close to the end face by femtosecond laser light. The induced phase change is measured by analyzing the far-field intensity profiles before and after the irradiation.......A refractive-index change is written inside an optical fiber close to the end face by femtosecond laser light. The induced phase change is measured by analyzing the far-field intensity profiles before and after the irradiation....

Femtosecond Time-Resolved Resonance-Enhanced CARS of Gaseous Iodine at Room Temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Ping; Fan Rong-Wei; Xia Yuan-Qin; Yu Xin; Chen De-Ying; Yao Yong

2011-01-01

Time-resolved resonance-enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) is applied to investigate molecular dynamics in gaseous iodine. 40 fs laser pulses are applied to create and monitor the high vibrational states of iodine at room temperature (corresponding to a vapor pressure as low as about 35 Pa) by femtosecond time-resolved CARS. Depending on the time delay between the probe pulse and the pump/Stokes pulse pairs, the high vibrational states both on the electronically ground states and the excited states can be detected as oscillations in the CARS transient signal. It is proved that the femtosecond time-resolved CARS technique is a promising candidate for investigating the molecular dynamics of a low concentration system and can be applied to environmental and atmospheric monitoring measurements. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

Double optical gating

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbertson, Steve

The observation and control of dynamics in atomic and molecular targets requires the use of laser pulses with duration less than the characteristic timescale of the process which is to be manipulated. For electron dynamics, this time scale is on the order of attoseconds where 1 attosecond = 10 -18 seconds. In order to generate pulses on this time scale, different gating methods have been proposed. The idea is to extract or "gate" a single pulse from an attosecond pulse train and switch off all the other pulses. While previous methods have had some success, they are very difficult to implement and so far very few labs have access to these unique light sources. The purpose of this work is to introduce a new method, called double optical gating (DOG), and to demonstrate its effectiveness at generating high contrast single isolated attosecond pulses from multi-cycle lasers. First, the method is described in detail and is investigated in the spectral domain. The resulting attosecond pulses produced are then temporally characterized through attosecond streaking. A second method of gating, called generalized double optical gating (GDOG), is also introduced. This method allows attosecond pulse generation directly from a carrier-envelope phase un-stabilized laser system for the first time. Next the methods of DOG and GDOG are implemented in attosecond applications like high flux pulses and extreme broadband spectrum generation. Finally, the attosecond pulses themselves are used in experiments. First, an attosecond/femtosecond cross correlation is used for characterization of spatial and temporal properties of femtosecond pulses. Then, an attosecond pump, femtosecond probe experiment is conducted to observe and control electron dynamics in helium for the first time.

A comparison of the characteristics of excimer and femtosecond laser ablation of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

See, Tian Long; Liu, Zhu; Li, Lin; Zhong, Xiang Li

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Ablation threshold for excimer laser is lower compared to femtosecond laser. • Effective optical penetration depth for excimer laser is lower compared to femtosecond laser. • Two ablation characteristic regimes are observed for femtosecond laser ablation. • Reduction of C=C bond following excimer or fs laser ablation is observed. • Addition of oxygen- and nitrogen-rich functional groups is observed. - Abstract: This paper presents an investigation on the ablation characteristics of excimer laser (λ = 248 nm, τ = 15 ns) and femtosecond laser (λ = 800 nm, τ = 100 fs) on ABS polymer sheets. The laser–material interaction parameters (ablation threshold, optical penetration depth and incubation factor) and the changes in material chemical properties were evaluated and compared between the two lasers. The work shows that the ablation threshold and effective optical penetration depth values are dependent on the wavelength of laser beam (photon energy) and the pulse width. The ablation threshold value is lower for the excimer laser ablation of ABS (F_t_h = 0.087 J/cm"2) than that for the femtosecond laser ablation of ABS (F_t_h = 1.576 J/cm"2), demonstrating a more dominating role of laser wavelength than the pulse width in influencing the ablation threshold. The ablation depth versus the logarithmic scale of laser fluence shows two linear regions for the fs laser ablation, not previously known for polymers. The effective optical penetration depth value is lower for excimer laser ablation (α"−"1 = 223 nm) than that for femtosecond laser ablation (α"−"1 = 2917 nm). The ablation threshold decreases with increasing number of pulses (NOP) due to the chain scission process that shortens the polymeric chains, resulting in a weaker polymeric configuration and the dependency is governed by the incubation factor. Excimer laser treatment of ABS eliminates the C=C bond completely through the chain scission process whereas C=C bond is partially

A comparison of the characteristics of excimer and femtosecond laser ablation of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

See, Tian Long, E-mail: tianlong.see@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk [Corrosion and Protection Centre, School of Materials, The Mill, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL Manchester (United Kingdom); Laser Processing Research Centre, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL Manchester (United Kingdom); Liu, Zhu [Corrosion and Protection Centre, School of Materials, The Mill, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL Manchester (United Kingdom); Li, Lin [Laser Processing Research Centre, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL Manchester (United Kingdom); Zhong, Xiang Li [Corrosion and Protection Centre, School of Materials, The Mill, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL Manchester (United Kingdom)

2016-02-28

Highlights: • Ablation threshold for excimer laser is lower compared to femtosecond laser. • Effective optical penetration depth for excimer laser is lower compared to femtosecond laser. • Two ablation characteristic regimes are observed for femtosecond laser ablation. • Reduction of C=C bond following excimer or fs laser ablation is observed. • Addition of oxygen- and nitrogen-rich functional groups is observed. - Abstract: This paper presents an investigation on the ablation characteristics of excimer laser (λ = 248 nm, τ = 15 ns) and femtosecond laser (λ = 800 nm, τ = 100 fs) on ABS polymer sheets. The laser–material interaction parameters (ablation threshold, optical penetration depth and incubation factor) and the changes in material chemical properties were evaluated and compared between the two lasers. The work shows that the ablation threshold and effective optical penetration depth values are dependent on the wavelength of laser beam (photon energy) and the pulse width. The ablation threshold value is lower for the excimer laser ablation of ABS (F{sub th} = 0.087 J/cm{sup 2}) than that for the femtosecond laser ablation of ABS (F{sub th} = 1.576 J/cm{sup 2}), demonstrating a more dominating role of laser wavelength than the pulse width in influencing the ablation threshold. The ablation depth versus the logarithmic scale of laser fluence shows two linear regions for the fs laser ablation, not previously known for polymers. The effective optical penetration depth value is lower for excimer laser ablation (α{sup −1} = 223 nm) than that for femtosecond laser ablation (α{sup −1} = 2917 nm). The ablation threshold decreases with increasing number of pulses (NOP) due to the chain scission process that shortens the polymeric chains, resulting in a weaker polymeric configuration and the dependency is governed by the incubation factor. Excimer laser treatment of ABS eliminates the C=C bond completely through the chain scission process whereas

Monolithic Highly Stable Yb-Doped Femtosecond Fiber Lasers for Applications in Practical Biophotonics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Xiaomin; Lægsgaard, Jesper; Turchinovich, Dmitry

2012-01-01

in the development of all-fiber nonlinear-optical laser control schemes, which resulted in the demonstration of highly stable monolithic, i.e., not containing any free-space elements, lasers with direct fiber-end delivery of femtosecond pulses. This paper provides an overview of the progress in the development...... of such all-fiber mode-locked lasers based on Yb-fiber as gain medium, operating at the wavelength around 1 $\\mu$m, and delivering femtosecond pulses reaching tens of nanojoules of energy.......Operational and environmental stability of ultrafast laser systems is critical for their applications in practical biophotonics. Mode-locked fiber lasers show great promise in applications such as supercontinuum sources or multiphoton microscopy systems. Recently, substantial progress has been made...

Optical pulse compression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glass, A.J.

1975-01-01

The interest in using large lasers to achieve a very short and intense pulse for generating fusion plasma has provided a strong impetus to reexamine the possibilities of optical pulse compression at high energy. Pulse compression allows one to generate pulses of long duration (minimizing damage problems) and subsequently compress optical pulses to achieve the short pulse duration required for specific applications. The ideal device for carrying out this program has not been developed. Of the two approaches considered, the Gires--Tournois approach is limited by the fact that the bandwidth and compression are intimately related, so that the group delay dispersion times the square of the bandwidth is about unity for all simple Gires--Tournois interferometers. The Treacy grating pair does not suffer from this limitation, but is inefficient because diffraction generally occurs in several orders and is limited by the problem of optical damage to the grating surfaces themselves. Nonlinear and parametric processes were explored. Some pulse compression was achieved by these techniques; however, they are generally difficult to control and are not very efficient. (U.S.)

Steering wave packet dynamics and population transfer between electronic states of the Na2 molecule by femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Kaijun; Sun Zhigang; Cong Shulin; Wang Senming; Yu Jie; Lou Nanquan

2005-01-01

An approach used for steering the wave packet dynamics and the population transfer between electronic states of the Na 2 molecule by a pair of femtosecond laser pulses is demonstrated. Four controlling schemes, i.e., four different combinations of time delays (intuitive and counterintuitive sequences) and frequency detunings (positive and negative detunings), are discussed in detail. The light-induced potentials are used to describe the wave packet dynamics and population transfer. The numerical results show that the wave packet excited by femtosecond laser pulses oscillates drastically on 2 1 Π g state with time. The efficiency of controlling population transfer from the X 1 Σ g + to2 1 Π g states of Na 2 is nearly 100% for the schemes of the counterintuitive sequence pulses with positive and negative detunings

Femtosecond structural dynamics on the atomic length scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Dongfang

2014-03-01

This thesis reports on the development and application of two different but complementary ultrafast electron diffraction setups built at the Max Planck Research Department for Structural Dynamics. One is an ultra-compact femtosecond electron diffraction (FED) setup (Egun300), which is currently operational (with a maximum electron energy of 150 keV) and provides ultrashort (∝300 fs) and bright (∝10 e/μm 2 ) electron bunches. The other one, named as Relativistic Electron Gun for Atomic Exploration (REGAE) is a radio frequency driven 2 to 5 MeV FED setup built in collaboration with different groups from DESY. REGAE was developed as a facility that will provide high quality diffraction with sufficient coherence to even address structural protein dynamics and with electron pulses as short as 20 fs (FWHM). As one of the first students in Prof. R.J. Dwayne Miller's group, I led the femtosecond (fs) laser sub-group at REGAE being responsible for the construction of different key optical elements required to drive both of aforementioned FED systems. A third harmonic generation (THG) and a nonlinear optical parametric amplifier (NOPA) have been used for the photo-generation of ultrashort electron bursts as well as sample laser excitation. Different diagnostic tools have been constructed to monitor the performance of the fs optical system. A fast autocorrelator was developed to provide on the fly pulse duration correction. A transient-grating frequency-resolved optical gating (TG-FROG) was built to obtain detail information about the characteristics of fs optical pulse, i.e. phase and amplitude of its spectral components. In addition to these optical setups, I developed a fs optical pump-probe system, which supports broadband probe pulses. This setup was successfully applied to investigate the semiconductor-to-metal photoinduced phase transition in VO 2 and the ultrafast photo-reduction mechanism of graphene oxide. In regard to FED setups, I have been deeply involved in

Optically transparent glass micro-actuator fabricated by femtosecond laser exposure and chemical etching

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lenssen, B.L.K.; Bellouard, Y.

2012-01-01

Femtosecond laser manufacturing combined with chemical etching has recently emerged as a flexible platform for fabricating three-dimensional devices and integrated optical elements in glass substrates. Here, we demonstrate an optically transparent micro-actuator fabricated out of a single piece of

Formation of superhydrophobic soda-lime glass surface using femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahsan, Md. Shamim; Dewanda, Fadia; Lee, Man Seop; Sekita, Hitoshi; Sumiyoshi, Tetsumi

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We formed superhydrophobic soda-lime glass surface by femtosecond laser pulses. ► Periodic microstructures are printed on the glass surface for superhydrophobicity. ► The contact angle of water droplet on the microstructured glass surface is 155°. ► The transparency of superhydrophobic glass is higher than 77% in visible spectrum. ► We explain the formation mechanism of superhydrophobic soda-lime glass surface. - Abstract: This paper demonstrates the fabrication of superhydrophobic soda-lime glass surface by engineering periodic microgratings with self-formed periodic micro-ripples inside the microgratings using a single beam femtosecond laser. The wetting property of the microstructured surface is improved from hydrophobic to superhydrophobic, presenting a water droplet contact angle ranges from 152° to 155°. The microstructured glass surface shows excellent transparency, which is higher than 77% in the visible spectrum. We strongly believe that our proposed technology can achieve superhydrophobic glass surfaces over a large area for applications in diverse fields.

Normal dispersion femtosecond fiber optical parametric oscillator.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, T N; Kieu, K; Maslov, A V; Miyawaki, M; Peyghambarian, N

2013-09-15

We propose and demonstrate a synchronously pumped fiber optical parametric oscillator (FOPO) operating in the normal dispersion regime. The FOPO generates chirped pulses at the output, allowing significant pulse energy scaling potential without pulse breaking. The output average power of the FOPO at 1600 nm was ∼60  mW (corresponding to 1.45 nJ pulse energy and ∼55% slope power conversion efficiency). The output pulses directly from the FOPO were highly chirped (∼3  ps duration), and they could be compressed outside of the cavity to 180 fs by using a standard optical fiber compressor. Detailed numerical simulation was also performed to understand the pulse evolution dynamics around the laser cavity. We believe that the proposed design concept is useful for scaling up the pulse energy in the FOPO using different pumping wavelengths.

In-line femtosecond common-path interferometer in reflection mode.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandezon, J; Rampnoux, J-M; Dilhaire, S; Audoin, B; Guillet, Y

2015-10-19

An innovative method to perform femtosecond time-resolved interferometry in reflection mode is proposed. The experiment consists in the combined use of a pump-probe setup and of a fully passive in-line femtosecond common-path interferometer. The originality of this interferometer relies on the use of a single birefringent crystal first to generate a pair of phase-locked pulses and second to recombine them to interfere. As predicted by analytical modeling, this interferometer measures the temporal derivative of the ultrafast changes of the complex optical reflection coefficient of the sample. Working conditions are illustrated through picosecond opto-acoustic experiments on a thin film.

Optical near-fields & nearfield optics

OpenAIRE

Meixner, Alfred J; Leiderer, Paul

2014-01-01

Optical methods provide exceedingly powerful tools in science and technology for measuring, analyzing and manipulating, from optical microscopy and spectroscopy to the characterization of ultrafast processes by femtosecond pulses and the modification of materials by intense laser radiation. However, when it comes to applications in the nanometer-regime, the conventional optical techniques suffer from the resolution limit – formulated by Ernst Abbe one and a half centuries ago – that light can...

Ultrashort X-ray pulse science

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chin, Alan Hap [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (US). Dept. of Physics; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

1998-05-01

A variety of phenomena involves atomic motion on the femtosecond time-scale. These phenomena have been studied using ultrashort optical pulses, which indirectly probe atomic positions through changes in optical properties. Because x-rays can more directly probe atomic positions, ultrashort x-ray pulses are better suited for the study of ultrafast structural dynamics. One approach towards generating ultrashort x-ray pulses is by 90° Thomson scattering between terawatt laser pulses and relativistic electrons. Using this technique, the author generated ~ 300 fs, 30 keV (0.4 Å) x-ray pulses. These x-ray pulses are absolutely synchronized with ultrashort laser pulses, allowing femtosecond optical pump/x-ray probe experiments to be performed. Using the right-angle Thomson scattering x-ray source, the author performed time-resolved x-ray diffraction studies of laser-perturbated InSb. These experiments revealed a delayed onset of lattice expansion. This delay is due to the energy relaxation from a dense electron-hole plasma to the lattice. The dense electron-hole plasma first undergoes Auger recombination, which reduces the carrier concentration while maintaining energy content. Longitudinal-optic (LO) phonon emission then couples energy to the lattice. LO phonon decay into acoustic phonons, and acoustic phonon propagation then causes the growth of a thermally expanded layer. Source characterization is instrumental in utilizing ultrashort x-ray pulses in time-resolved x-ray spectroscopies. By measurement of the electron beam diameter at the generation point, the pulse duration of the Thomson scattered x-rays is determined. Analysis of the Thomson scattered x-ray beam properties also provides a novel means of electron bunch characterization. Although the pulse duration is inferred for the Thomson scattering x-ray source, direct measurement is required for other x-ray pulse sources. A method based on the laser-assisted photoelectric effect (LAPE) has been demonstrated as a

Ultrashort X-ray pulse science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chin, A.H.; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA

1998-01-01

A variety of phenomena involves atomic motion on the femtosecond time-scale. These phenomena have been studied using ultrashort optical pulses, which indirectly probe atomic positions through changes in optical properties. Because x-rays can more directly probe atomic positions, ultrashort x-ray pulses are better suited for the study of ultrafast structural dynamics. One approach towards generating ultrashort x-ray pulses is by 90 o Thomson scattering between terawatt laser pulses and relativistic electrons. Using this technique, the author generated ∼ 300 fs, 30 keV (0.4 (angstrom)) x-ray pulses. These x-ray pulses are absolutely synchronized with ultrashort laser pulses, allowing femtosecond optical pump/x-ray probe experiments to be performed. Using the right-angle Thomson scattering x-ray source, the author performed time-resolved x-ray diffraction studies of laser-perturbated InSb. These experiments revealed a delayed onset of lattice expansion. This delay is due to the energy relaxation from a dense electron-hole plasma to the lattice. The dense electron-hole plasma first undergoes Auger recombination, which reduces the carrier concentration while maintaining energy content. Longitudinal-optic (LO) phonon emission then couples energy to the lattice. LO phonon decay into acoustic phonons, and acoustic phonon propagation then causes the growth of a thermally expanded layer. Source characterization is instrumental in utilizing ultrashort x-ray pulses in time-resolved x-ray spectroscopies. By measurement of the electron beam diameter at the generation point, the pulse duration of the Thomson scattered x-rays is determined. Analysis of the Thomson scattered x-ray beam properties also provides a novel means of electron bunch characterization. Although the pulse duration is inferred for the Thomson scattering x-ray source, direct measurement is required for other x-ray pulse sources. A method based on the laser-assisted photoelectric effect (LAPE) has been

Compact femtosecond electron diffractometer with 100 keV electron bunches approaching the single-electron pulse duration limit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waldecker, Lutz; Bertoni, Roman; Ernstorfer, Ralph

2015-01-01

We present the design and implementation of a highly compact femtosecond electron diffractometer working at electron energies up to 100 keV. We use a multi-body particle tracing code to simulate electron bunch propagation through the setup and to calculate pulse durations at the sample position. Our simulations show that electron bunches containing few thousands of electrons per bunch are only weakly broadened by space-charge effects and their pulse duration is thus close to the one of a single-electron wavepacket. With our compact setup, we can create electron bunches containing up to 5000 electrons with a pulse duration below 100 fs on the sample. We use the diffractometer to track the energy transfer from photoexcited electrons to the lattice in a thin film of titanium. This process takes place on the timescale of few-hundred femtoseconds and a fully equilibrated state is reached within 1 ps

Femtosecond laser direct writing of monocrystalline hexagonal silver prisms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vora, Kevin; Kang, SeungYeon; Moebius, Michael [School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States); Mazur, Eric [School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States); Department of Physics, Harvard University, 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States)

2014-10-06

Bottom-up growth methods and top-down patterning techniques are both used to fabricate metal nanostructures, each with a distinct advantage: One creates crystalline structures and the other offers precise positioning. Here, we present a technique that localizes the growth of metal crystals to the focal volume of a laser beam, combining advantages from both approaches. We report the fabrication of silver nanoprisms—hexagonal nanoscale silver crystals—through irradiation with focused femtosecond laser pulses. The growth of these nanoprisms is due to a nonlinear optical interaction between femtosecond laser pulses and a polyvinylpyrrolidone film doped with silver nitrate. The hexagonal nanoprisms have bases hundreds of nanometers in size and the crystal growth occurs over exposure times of less than 1 ms (8 orders of magnitude faster than traditional chemical techniques). Electron backscatter diffraction analysis shows that the hexagonal nanoprisms are monocrystalline. The fabrication method combines advantages from both wet chemistry and femtosecond laser direct-writing to grow silver crystals in targeted locations. The results presented in this letter offer an approach to directly positioning and growing silver crystals on a substrate, which can be used for plasmonic devices.

Femtosecond laser direct writing of monocrystalline hexagonal silver prisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vora, Kevin; Kang, SeungYeon; Moebius, Michael; Mazur, Eric

2014-01-01

Bottom-up growth methods and top-down patterning techniques are both used to fabricate metal nanostructures, each with a distinct advantage: One creates crystalline structures and the other offers precise positioning. Here, we present a technique that localizes the growth of metal crystals to the focal volume of a laser beam, combining advantages from both approaches. We report the fabrication of silver nanoprisms—hexagonal nanoscale silver crystals—through irradiation with focused femtosecond laser pulses. The growth of these nanoprisms is due to a nonlinear optical interaction between femtosecond laser pulses and a polyvinylpyrrolidone film doped with silver nitrate. The hexagonal nanoprisms have bases hundreds of nanometers in size and the crystal growth occurs over exposure times of less than 1 ms (8 orders of magnitude faster than traditional chemical techniques). Electron backscatter diffraction analysis shows that the hexagonal nanoprisms are monocrystalline. The fabrication method combines advantages from both wet chemistry and femtosecond laser direct-writing to grow silver crystals in targeted locations. The results presented in this letter offer an approach to directly positioning and growing silver crystals on a substrate, which can be used for plasmonic devices.

Graphene-gold supercapacitor as a voltage controlled saturable absorber for femtosecond pulse generation.

Science.gov (United States)

Baylam, Isinsu; Balci, Osman; Kakenov, Nurbek; Kocabas, Coskun; Sennaroglu, Alphan

2016-03-01

We report, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, use of a graphene-gold supercapacitor as a voltage controlled fast saturable absorber for femtosecond pulse generation. The unique design involving only one graphene electrode lowers the insertion loss of the device, in comparison with capacitor designs with two graphene electrodes. Furthermore, use of the high-dielectric electrolyte allows reversible, adjustable control of the absorption level up to the visible region with low bias voltages of only a few volts (0-2 V). The fast saturable absorber action of the graphene-gold supercapacitor was demonstrated inside a multipass-cavity Cr:forsterite laser to generate nearly transform-limited, sub-100 fs pulses at a pulse repetition rate of 4.51 MHz at 1.24 μm.

Ponderomotive Generation and Detection of Attosecond Free-Electron Pulse Trains

Science.gov (United States)

Kozák, M.; Schönenberger, N.; Hommelhoff, P.

2018-03-01

Atomic motion dynamics during structural changes or chemical reactions have been visualized by pico- and femtosecond pulsed electron beams via ultrafast electron diffraction and microscopy. Imaging the even faster dynamics of electrons in atoms, molecules, and solids requires electron pulses with subfemtosecond durations. We demonstrate here the all-optical generation of trains of attosecond free-electron pulses. The concept is based on the periodic energy modulation of a pulsed electron beam via an inelastic interaction, with the ponderomotive potential of an optical traveling wave generated by two femtosecond laser pulses at different frequencies in vacuum. The subsequent dispersive propagation leads to a compression of the electrons and the formation of ultrashort pulses. The longitudinal phase space evolution of the electrons after compression is mapped by a second phase-locked interaction. The comparison of measured and calculated spectrograms reveals the attosecond temporal structure of the compressed electron pulse trains with individual pulse durations of less than 300 as. This technique can be utilized for tailoring and initial characterization of suboptical-cycle free-electron pulses at high repetition rates for stroboscopic time-resolved experiments with subfemtosecond time resolution.

Generation of femtosecond laser pulses at 396 nm in K3B6O10Cl crystal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Ning-Hua; Huang Hang-Dong; Tian Wen-Long; Zhu Jiang-Feng; Teng Hao; Fang Shao-Bo; Wei Zhi-Yi; Wu Hong-Ping; Pan Shi-Lie

2016-01-01

K 3 B 6 O 10 Cl (KBOC), a new nonlinear optical crystal, shows potential advantages for the generation of deep ultraviolet (UV) light compared with other borate crystals. In this paper we study for the first time the second harmonic generation (SHG) of a femtosecond Ti:sapphire amplifier with this crystal. Laser power is obtained to be as high as 220 mW at the central wavelength of 396 nm with a 1-mm-long crystal, and the maximum SHG conversion efficiency reaches 39.3%. The typical pulse duration is 83 fs. The results show that second harmonic (SH) conversion efficiency has the room to be further improved and that the new nonlinear crystal is very suited to generate the high efficiency deep ultraviolet laser radiation below 266 nm. (paper)

A higher-order-mode fiber delivery for Ti:Sapphire femtosecond lasers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jespersen, Kim Giessmann; Le, Tuan; Grüner-Nielsen, Lars Erik

2010-01-01

We report the first higher-order-mode fiber with anomalous dispersion at 800nm and demonstrate its potential in femtosecond pulse delivery for Ti:Sapphire femtosecond lasers. We obtain 125fs pulses after propagating a distance of 3.6 meters in solid-silica fiber. The pulses could be further...... compressed in a quartz rod to nearly chirp-free 110fs pulses. Femtosecond pulse delivery is achieved by launching the laser output directly into the delivery fiber without any pre-chirping of the input pulse. The demonstrated pulse delivery scheme suggests scaling to >20meters for pulse delivery in harsh...

Controlled light localisation and nonlinear-optical interactions of short laser pulses in holey fibres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fedotov, Andrei B; Zheltikov, Aleksei M; Golovan', Leonid A; Kashkarov, Pavel K; Tarasevitch, A P; Podshivalov, Alexey A; Alfimov, Mikhail V; Ivanov, Anatoliy A; Beloglazov, V I; Haus, J W; Linde, D von der

2001-01-01

The influence of the structure of holey-fibre cladding on the effective waveguide mode area and the spectral broadening of femtosecond pulses of titanium-sapphire and forsterite lasers is experimentally studied. These experiments demonstrate that the increase in the air-filling fraction of the holey-fibre cladding may substantially enhance the spectral broadening of laser pulses due to the increase in the degree of light localisation in the fibre core. (femtosecond technologies)

Extension of supercontinuum spectrum generated in photonic crystal fiber by using chirped femtosecond pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Vengelis, Julius; Jarutis, Vygandas; Sirutkaitis, Valdas

2017-08-01

We present results of experimental and numerical investigation of supercontinuum generation in polarization maintaining photonic crystal fiber (PCF) using chirped femtosecond pulses. The initial unchirped pump pulse source was a mode-locked Yb:KGW laser generating 52 nJ energy 110 fs duration pulses at 1030 nm with 76 MHz repetition rate. The nonlinear medium was a 32 cm long polarization maintaining PCF manufactured by NKT Photonics A/S. We demonstrated the influence of pump pulse chirp on spectral characteristics of supercontinuum. We showed that by chirping pump pulses positively or negatively one can obtain broader supercontinuum spectrum than in case of unchirped pump pulses at the same peak power. Moreover, the extension can be controlled by changing the amount of pump pulse chirp. In our case the supercontinuum spectrum width was extended by up to 115 nm (at maximum chirp value of +10500 fs2 that we could achieve in our setup) compared to the case of unchirped pump at the same peak power.

Gamma-rays generated from plasmas in the interaction of solid targets with femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Jingtang; Zhang Ping; Chen Duanbao; Li Zuhao; Tang Xiaowei; Zhang Ying; Wang Long; Feng Baohua; Zhang Xiulan; Wei Zhiyi; Li Zanliang; Zhang Jie

1998-01-01

The γ-rays with energies up to 300 keV have been observed from plasmas produced by femtosecond laser pulses at a focused intensity of 5 x 10 15 W·cm -2 ·μm 2 irradiating Ta, Mo and Cu targets. By introducing an 8% prepulse of 70 ps before the main pulse, the fraction of high energy γ-ray photons (hν>100 keV) was significantly enhanced relative to low energy photons (hν<100 keV)

Widely tunable femtosecond solitonic radiation in photonic crystal fiber cladding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peng, J. H.; Sokolov, A. V.; Benabid, F.

2010-01-01

We report on a means to generate tunable ultrashort optical pulses. We demonstrate that dispersive waves generated by solitons within the small-core features of a photonic crystal fiber cladding can be used to obtain femtosecond pulses tunable over an octave-wide spectral range. The generation...... process is highly efficient and occurs at the relatively low laser powers available from a simple Ti:sapphire laser oscillator. The described phenomenon is general and will play an important role in other systems where solitons are known to exist....

Femtosecond laser direct-write of optofluidics in polymer-coated optical fiber

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Kevin A. J.; Haque, Moez; Ho, Stephen; Aitchison, J. Stewart; Herman, Peter R.

2017-03-01

Multifunctional lab in fiber technology seeks to translate the accomplishments of optofluidic, lab on chip devices into silica fibers. a robust, flexible, and ubiquitous optical communication platform that can underpin the `Internet of Things' with distributed sensors, or enable lab on chip functions deep inside our bodies. Femtosecond lasers have driven significant advances in three-dimensional processing, enabling optical circuits, microfluidics, and micro-mechanical structures to be formed around the core of the fiber. However, such processing typically requires the stripping and recoating of the polymer buffer or jacket, increasing processing time and mechanically weakening the device. This paper reports on a comprehensive assessment of laser damage in urethane-acrylate-coated fiber. The results show a sufficient processing window is available for femtosecond laser processing of the fiber without damaging the polymer jacket. The fiber core, cladding, and buffer could be simultaneously processed without removal of the buffer jacket. Three-dimensional lab in fiber devices were successfully fabricated by distortion-free immersionlens focusing, presenting fiber-cladding optical circuits and progress towards chemically-etched channels, microfluidic cavities, and MEMS structure inside buffer-coated fiber.

Interrogation of orbital structure by elliptically polarized intense femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abu-samha, M.; Madsen, L. B.

2011-01-01

We solve the three-dimensional time-dependent Schroedinger equation and present investigations of the imprint of the orbital angular node in photoelectron momentum distributions of an aligned atomic p-type orbital following ionization by an intense elliptically polarized laser pulse of femtosecond duration. We investigate the role of light ellipticity and the alignment angle of the major polarization axis of the external field relative to the probed orbital by studying radial and angular momentum distributions, the latter at a fixed narrow interval of final momenta close to the peak of the photoelectron momentum distribution. In general only the angular distributions carry a clear signature of the orbital symmetry. Our study shows that circular polarization gives the most clear imprints of orbital nodes. These findings are insensitive to pulse duration.

Extension of supercontinuum spectrum, generated in polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber, using chirped femtosecond pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Vengelis, Julius; Jarutis, Vygandas; Sirutkaitis, Valdas

2018-01-01

We present results of experimental and numerical investigation of supercontinuum (SC) generation in polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber (PCF) using chirped femtosecond pulses. The initial unchirped pump pulse source was a mode-locked Yb:KGW laser generating 52-nJ energy, 110-fs duration pulses at 1030 nm with a 76-MHz repetition rate. The nonlinear medium was a 32-cm-long polarization-maintaining PCF manufactured by NKT Photonics A/S. We demonstrated the influence of pump pulse chirp on spectral characteristics of a SC. We showed that by chirping pump pulses positively or negatively one can obtain a broader SC spectrum than in the case of unchirped pump pulses at the same peak power. Moreover, the extension can be controlled by changing the amount of pump pulse chirp. Numerical simulation results also indicated that pump pulse chirp yields an extension of SC spectrum.

Femtosecond Fiber Lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Bock, Katherine J.

This thesis focuses on research I have done on ytterbium-doped femtosecond fiber lasers. These lasers operate in the near infrared region, lasing at 1030 nm. This wavelength is particularly important in biomedical applications, which includes but is not limited to confocal microscopy and ablation for surgical incisions. Furthermore, fiber lasers are advantageous compared to solid state lasers in terms of their cost, form factor, and ease of use. Solid state lasers still dominate the market due to their comparatively high energy pulses. High energy pulse generation in fiber lasers is hindered by either optical wave breaking or by multipulsing. One of the main challenges for fiber lasers is to overcome these limitations to achieve high energy pulses. The motivation for the work done in this thesis is increasing the output pulse peak power and energy. The main idea of the work is that decreasing the nonlinearity that acts on the pulse inside the cavity will prevent optical wave breaking, and thus will generate higher energy pulses. By increasing the output energy, ytterbium-doped femtosecond fiber lasers can be competitive with solid state lasers which are used commonly in research. Although fiber lasers tend to lack the wavelength tuning ability of solid state lasers, many biomedical applications take advantage of the 1030 microm central wavelength of ytterbium-doped fiber lasers, so the major limiting factor of fiber lasers in this field is simply the output power. By increasing the output energy without resorting to external amplification, the cavity is optimized and cost can remain low and economical. During verification of the main idea, the cavity was examined for possible back-reflections and for components with narrow spectral bandwidths which may have contributed to the presence of multipulsing. Distinct cases of multipulsing, bound pulse and harmonic mode-locking, were observed and recorded as they may be of more interest in the future. The third

Broadband femtosecond nonlinear optical properties of CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnakanth, Katturi Naga; Seth, Sudipta; Samanta, Anunay; Rao, Soma Venugopal

2018-02-01

We report the broadband nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of CsPbBr 3 perovskite films achieved from colloidal nanocrystals prepared following a room temperature and open atmosphere anti-solvent precipitation method. The NLO studies were performed on the films of nanocubes (NCs) and nanorods (NRs) using the Z-scan technique with 1 kHz femtosecond pulses at 600, 700, and 800 nm. Large two-photon absorption cross sections (∼10 5   GM) were retrieved by fitting the open-aperture Z-scan data. Strong third-order NLO susceptibility (∼10 -10   esu) was observed in these films. At higher peak intensities a switching of sign (in both NCs and NRs) in the real and imaginary parts of the NLO susceptibility was observed from the studies on these CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals. The obtained NLO coefficients clearly suggest that these materials are promising for ultrafast photonic applications.

Low Group Delay Dispersion Optical Coating for Broad Bandwidth High Reflection at 45° Incidence, P Polarization of Femtosecond Pulses with 900 nm Center Wavelength

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John C. Bellum

2016-03-01

Full Text Available We describe an optical coating design suitable for broad bandwidth high reflection (BBHR at 45° angle of incidence (AOI, P polarization (Ppol of femtosecond (fs laser pulses whose wavelengths range from 800 to 1000 nm. Our design process is guided by quarter-wave HR coating properties. The design must afford low group delay dispersion (GDD for reflected light over the broad, 200 nm bandwidth in order to minimize temporal broadening of the fs pulses due to dispersive alteration of relative phases between their frequency components. The design should also be favorable to high laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT. We base the coating on TiO2/SiO2 layer pairs produced by means of e-beam evaporation with ion-assisted deposition, and use OptiLayer Thin Film Software to explore designs starting with TiO2/SiO2 layers having thicknesses in a reverse chirped arrangement. This approach led to a design with R > 99% from 800 to 1000 nm and GDD < 20 fs2 from 843 to 949 nm (45° AOI, Ppol. The design’s GDD behaves in a smooth way, suitable for GDD compensation techniques, and its electric field intensities show promise for high LIDTs. Reflectivity and GDD measurements for the initial test coating indicate good performance of the BBHR design. Subsequent coating runs with improved process calibration produced two coatings whose HR bands satisfactorily meet the design goals. For the sake of completeness, we summarize our previously reported transmission spectra and LIDT test results with 800 ps, 8 ps and 675 fs pulses for these two coatings, and present a table of the LIDT results we have for all of our TiO2/SiO2 BBHR coatings, showing the trends with test laser pulse duration from the ns to sub-ps regimes.

Femtosecond laser induced phenomena in transparent solid materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tan, D.Z.; Sharafudeen, K.N.; Yue, Yuanzheng

2016-01-01

solved, especially concerning the interaction of strong, ultra-short electromagnetic pulses with matter, and also because potential advanced technologies will emerge due to the impressive capability of the intense femtosecond laser to create new material structures and hence functionalities. When......The interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with transparent materials is a topic that has caused great interest of scientists over the past two decades. It will continue to be a fascinating field in the coming years. This is because many challenging fundamental problems have not been......–matter interaction, and fabricate various integrated micro-devices. In recent years we have witnessed exciting development in understanding and applying femtosecond laser induced phenomena in transparent materials. The interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with transparent materials relies on non...

Femtosecond Broadband Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Soo-Y; Yoon, Sagwoon; Mathies, Richard A

2006-01-01

Femtosecond broadband stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) is a new technique where a narrow bandwidth picosecond Raman pump pulse and a red-shifted broadband femtosecond Stokes probe pulse (with or without time delay between the pulses) act on a sample to produce a high resolution Raman gain spectrum with high efficiency and speed, free from fluorescence background interference. It can reveal vibrational structural information and dynamics of stationary or transient states. Here, the quantum picture for femtosecond broadband stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) is used to develop the semiclassical coupled wave theory of the phenomenon and to derive an expression for the measurable Raman gain in FSRS. The semiclassical theory is applied to study the dependence of lineshapes in FSRS on the pump-probe time delay and to deduce vibrational dephasing times in cyclohexane in the ground state

Multiple nonlinear Bragg diffraction of femtosecond laser pulses in a {\\chi^{(2)}} photonic lattice with hexagonal domains

Science.gov (United States)

Vyunishev, A. M.; Arkhipkin, V. G.; Baturin, I. S.; Akhmatkhanov, A. R.; Shur, V. Ya; Chirkin, A. S.

2018-04-01

The frequency doubling of femtosecond laser pulses in a two-dimensional (2D) rectangular nonlinear photonic lattice with hexagonal domains is studied experimentally and theoretically. The broad fundamental spectrum enables frequency conversion under nonlinear Bragg diffraction for a series of transverse orders at a fixed longitudinal quasi-phase-matching order. The consistent nonstationary theory of the frequency doubling of femtosecond laser pulses is developed using the representation based on the reciprocal lattice of the structure. The calculated spatial distribution of the second-harmonic spectral intensity agrees well with the experimental data. The condition for multiple nonlinear Bragg diffraction in a 2D nonlinear photonic lattice is offered. The hexagonal shape of the domains contributes to multibeam second harmonic excitation. The maximum conversion efficiency for a series of transverse orders in the range 0.01%-0.03% is obtained.

Manipulation of Squeezed Two-Phonon Bound States using Femtosecond Laser Pulses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nakamura Kazutaka G.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Two-phonon bound states have been excited exclusively in ZnTe(110 via impulsive stimulated second-order Raman scattering, essentially being squeezed states due to phase coherent excitation of two identical components anticorrelated in the wave vector. By using coherent control technique with a pair of femtosecond laser pulses, the manipulation of squeezed states has been demonstrated in which both the amplitude and lifetime of coherent oscillations of squeezed states are modulated, indicating the feasibility to control the quantum noise and the quantum nature of phonon squeezed states, respectively.

Optical transmission control in graphene oxide and its organic composites with ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bala Murali Krishna, M; Narayana Rao, D; Venkatramaiah, N

2014-01-01

Nonlinear optical transmission of graphene oxide–(Cu, Zn, Sn, H 2 ) porphyrin composites was investigated using the Z-scan technique at 532 nm with picosecond (ps) and 800 nm with femtosecond laser pulses. Pure porphyrins show saturable absorption (SA) in reverse saturable absorption (RSA) behaviour and graphene oxide shows complete RSA behaviour, observed in an open aperture Z-scan curve. Interestingly, composites have shown a switch-over from reverse RSA to SA and back to RSA behaviour, observed with variation of intensity towards the focus, due to strong two-photon absorption as well as excited state absorption in the ps regime. This switching behaviour was interpreted as due to long lifetimes and saturation of the excited states. This may find application in optical switching. (paper)

Femtosecond structural dynamics on the atomic length scale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Dongfang

2014-03-15

This thesis reports on the development and application of two different but complementary ultrafast electron diffraction setups built at the Max Planck Research Department for Structural Dynamics. One is an ultra-compact femtosecond electron diffraction (FED) setup (Egun300), which is currently operational (with a maximum electron energy of 150 keV) and provides ultrashort (∝300 fs) and bright (∝10 e/μm{sup 2}) electron bunches. The other one, named as Relativistic Electron Gun for Atomic Exploration (REGAE) is a radio frequency driven 2 to 5 MeV FED setup built in collaboration with different groups from DESY. REGAE was developed as a facility that will provide high quality diffraction with sufficient coherence to even address structural protein dynamics and with electron pulses as short as 20 fs (FWHM). As one of the first students in Prof. R.J. Dwayne Miller's group, I led the femtosecond (fs) laser sub-group at REGAE being responsible for the construction of different key optical elements required to drive both of aforementioned FED systems. A third harmonic generation (THG) and a nonlinear optical parametric amplifier (NOPA) have been used for the photo-generation of ultrashort electron bursts as well as sample laser excitation. Different diagnostic tools have been constructed to monitor the performance of the fs optical system. A fast autocorrelator was developed to provide on the fly pulse duration correction. A transient-grating frequency-resolved optical gating (TG-FROG) was built to obtain detail information about the characteristics of fs optical pulse, i.e. phase and amplitude of its spectral components. In addition to these optical setups, I developed a fs optical pump-probe system, which supports broadband probe pulses. This setup was successfully applied to investigate the semiconductor-to-metal photoinduced phase transition in VO{sub 2} and the ultrafast photo-reduction mechanism of graphene oxide. In regard to FED setups, I have been

Power dependent filamentation of a femtosecond laser pulse in air by focusing with an axicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Xiaodong; Zeng, Tao; Liu, Weiwei; Gao, Hui; Zhang, Siwen

2015-01-01

In the present work, femtosecond laser filament generation by focusing the laser pulse with an axicon in air is studied at different input laser powers both experimentally and numerically. It is found that the length of the filament increases almost linearly with the input laser power. Moreover, the laser intensity inside the filament starts to saturate at a power much higher than the critical power of self-focusing for a Gaussian beam. We have also observed the laser pulse self-compression during nonlinear propagation. The shortest pulse duration could be obtained at the center of the effective focal region produced by the axicon. (paper)

Gigahertz repetition rate, sub-femtosecond timing jitter optical pulse train directly generated from a mode-locked Yb:KYW laser.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Heewon; Kim, Hyoji; Shin, Junho; Kim, Chur; Choi, Sun Young; Kim, Guang-Hoon; Rotermund, Fabian; Kim, Jungwon

2014-01-01

We show that a 1.13 GHz repetition rate optical pulse train with 0.70 fs high-frequency timing jitter (integration bandwidth of 17.5 kHz-10 MHz, where the measurement instrument-limited noise floor contributes 0.41 fs in 10 MHz bandwidth) can be directly generated from a free-running, single-mode diode-pumped Yb:KYW laser mode-locked by single-wall carbon nanotube-coated mirrors. To our knowledge, this is the lowest-timing-jitter optical pulse train with gigahertz repetition rate ever measured. If this pulse train is used for direct sampling of 565 MHz signals (Nyquist frequency of the pulse train), the jitter level demonstrated would correspond to the projected effective-number-of-bit of 17.8, which is much higher than the thermal noise limit of 50 Ω load resistance (~14 bits).

Formation of superhydrophobic soda-lime glass surface using femtosecond laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahsan, Md. Shamim, E-mail: shamim@kaist.ac.kr [Photonics Application Lab, Department of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro (373-1 Guseong-dong), Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of); Electronics and Communication Engineering Discipline, School of Science, Engineering and Technology, Khulna University, Khulna-9208 (Bangladesh); Dewanda, Fadia, E-mail: fdewanda@kaist.ac.kr [Photonics Application Lab, Department of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro (373-1 Guseong-dong), Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Man Seop, E-mail: leems1502@kaist.ac.kr [Photonics Application Lab, Department of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro (373-1 Guseong-dong), Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of); Sekita, Hitoshi, E-mail: sekita@cyber-laser.com [Cyber Laser Inc., 7-7 Sinkawasaki, KBIC 101 205, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki 212-0032 (Japan); Sumiyoshi, Tetsumi, E-mail: sumiy@cyber-laser.com [Cyber Laser Inc., 7-7 Sinkawasaki, KBIC 101 205, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki 212-0032 (Japan)

2013-01-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We formed superhydrophobic soda-lime glass surface by femtosecond laser pulses. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Periodic microstructures are printed on the glass surface for superhydrophobicity. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The contact angle of water droplet on the microstructured glass surface is 155 Degree-Sign . Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The transparency of superhydrophobic glass is higher than 77% in visible spectrum. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We explain the formation mechanism of superhydrophobic soda-lime glass surface. - Abstract: This paper demonstrates the fabrication of superhydrophobic soda-lime glass surface by engineering periodic microgratings with self-formed periodic micro-ripples inside the microgratings using a single beam femtosecond laser. The wetting property of the microstructured surface is improved from hydrophobic to superhydrophobic, presenting a water droplet contact angle ranges from 152 Degree-Sign to 155 Degree-Sign . The microstructured glass surface shows excellent transparency, which is higher than 77% in the visible spectrum. We strongly believe that our proposed technology can achieve superhydrophobic glass surfaces over a large area for applications in diverse fields.

X-ray emission from stainless steel foils irradiated by femtosecond petawatt laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Alkhimova, M. A.; Faenov, A. Ya; Pikuz, T. A.; Skobelev, I. Yu; Pikuz, S. A.; Nishiuchi, M.; Sakaki, H.; Pirozhkov, A. S.; Sagisaka, S.; Dover, N. P.; Kondo, Ko; Ogura, K.; Fukuda, Y.; Kiriyama, H.; Esirkepov, T.; Bulanov, S. V.; Andreev, A.; Kando, M.; Zhidkov, A.; Nishitani, K.; Miyahara, T.; Watanabe, Y.; Kodama, R.; Kondo, K.

2018-01-01

We report about nonlinear growth of x-ray emission intensity emitted from plasma generated by femtosecond petawatt laser pulses irradiating stainless steel foils. X-ray emission intensity increases as ˜ I 4.5 with laser intensity I on a target. High spectrally resolved x-ray emission from front and rear surfaces of 5 μm thickness stainless steel targets were obtained at the wavelength range 1.7-2.1 Å, for the first time in experiments at femtosecond petawatt laser facility J-KAREN-P. Total intensity of front x-ray spectra three times dominates to rear side spectra for maximum laser intensity I ≈ 3.2×1021 W/cm2. Growth of x-ray emission is mostly determined by contribution of bremsstrahlung radiation that allowed estimating bulk electron plasma temperature for various magnitude of laser intensity on target.

Observation of sum-frequency-generation-induced cascaded four-wave mixing using two crossing femtosecond laser pulses in a 0.1 mm beta-barium-borate crystal.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Weimin; Zhu, Liangdong; Fang, Chong

2012-09-15

We demonstrate the simultaneous generation of multicolor femtosecond laser pulses spanning the wavelength range from UV to near IR in a 0.1 mm Type I beta-barium borate crystal from 800 nm fundamental and weak IR super-continuum white light (SCWL) pulses. The multicolor broadband laser pulses observed are attributed to two concomitant cascaded four-wave mixing (CFWM) processes as corroborated by calculation: (1) directly from the two incident laser pulses; (2) by the sum-frequency generation (SFG) induced CFWM process (SFGFWM). The latter signal arises from the interaction between the frequency-doubled fundamental pulse (400 nm) and the SFG pulse generated in between the fundamental and IR-SCWL pulses. The versatility and simplicity of this spatially dispersed multicolor self-compressed laser pulse generation offer compact and attractive methods to conduct femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy and time-resolved multicolor spectroscopy.

Optical reprogramming of human somatic cells using ultrashort Bessel-shaped near-infrared femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Uchugonova, Aisada; Breunig, Hans Georg; Batista, Ana; König, Karsten

2015-11-01

We report a virus-free optical approach to human cell reprogramming into induced pluripotent stem cells with low-power nanoporation using ultrashort Bessel-shaped laser pulses. Picojoule near-infrared sub-20 fs laser pulses at a high 85 MHz repetition frequency are employed to generate transient nanopores in the membrane of dermal fibroblasts for the introduction of four transcription factors to induce the reprogramming process. In contrast to conventional approaches which utilize retro- or lentiviruses to deliver genes or transcription factors into the host genome, the laser method is virus-free; hence, the risk of virus-induced cancer generation limiting clinical application is avoided.

Optical shaping of a nano-scale tip by femtosecond laser assisted field evaporation

Science.gov (United States)

Di Russo, E.; Houard, J.; Langolff, V.; Moldovan, S.; Rigutti, L.; Deconihout, B.; Blavette, D.; Bogdanowicz, J.; Vella, A.

2018-04-01

We have investigated the morphology of a nanotip under femtosecond laser pulse illumination and a high electric field. We show that both the symmetry and the local radius of the tip change with the direction of laser polarization as against the tip axis. The experiments were performed on the very same GaN nanotip by laser-assisted atom probe tomography and electron tomography. This allowed an accurate assessment of the tip features by following the order of evaporation of single atoms from the surface. A change of atom emission sites was observed when a change of the angle between the tip axis and the linearly polarized electric field of the laser was imposed. This enables an optical control of field-evaporation sites. A close optical control of the tip morphology on a scale below 10 nm is thus achievable. Calculations of the field at nanotip apex and absorption maps support the experimental observations. Based on the present study, methods can be developed for reshaping nanotips at the nanometer level. This finding opens perspectives for numerous applications, making use of nanotips as probes or field emitters, and for plasmonic devices.

Optical pulse coupling in a photorefractive crystal, propagation of encoded pulses in an optical fiber, and phase conjugate optical interconnections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yao, X.S.

1992-01-01

In Part I, the author presents a theory to describe the interaction between short optical pulses in a photorefractive crystal. This theory provides an analytical framework for pulse coherence length measurements using a photorefractive crystal. The theory also predicts how a pulse changes its temporal shape due to its coupling with another pulse in a photorefractive crystal. The author describes experiments to demonstrate how photorefractive coupling alters the temporal shape and the frequency spectrum of an optical pulse. The author describes a compact optical field correlator. Using this correlator, the author measured the field cross-correlation function of optical pulses using a photorefractive crystal. The author presents a more sophisticated theory to describe the photorefractive coupling of optical pulses that are too short for the previous theory to be valid. In Part II of this dissertation, the author analyzes how the group-velocity dispersion and the optical nonlinearity of an optical fiber ruin an fiberoptic code-division multiple-access (CDMA) communication system. The author treats the optical fiber's nonlinear response with a novel approach and derives the pulse propagation equation. Through analysis and numerically simulations, the author obtains the maximum and the maximum allowed peak pulse power, as well as the minimum and the maximum allowed pulse width for the communication system to function properly. The author simulates how the relative misalignment between the encoding and the decoding masks affects the system's performance. In Part III the author demonstrates a novel optical interconnection device based on a mutually pumped phase conjugator. This device automatically routes light from selected information-sending channels to selected information-receiving channels, and vice versa. The phase conjugator eliminates the need for critical alignment. It is shown that a large number of optical channels can be interconnected using this

Quantum control of a chiral molecular motor driven by femtosecond laser pulses: Mechanisms of regular and reverse rotations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaki, M.; Hoki, K.; Kono, H.; Fujimura, Y.

2008-01-01

Rotational mechanisms of a chiral molecular motor driven by femtosecond laser pulses were investigated on the basis of results of a quantum control simulation. A chiral molecule, (R)-2-methyl-cyclopenta-2,4-dienecarboaldehyde, was treated as a molecular motor within a one-dimensional model. It was assumed that the motor is fixed on a surface and driven in the low temperature limit. Electric fields of femtosecond laser pulses driving both regular rotation of the molecular motor with a plus angular momentum and reverse rotation with a minus one were designed by using a global control method. The mechanism of the regular rotation is similar to that obtained by a conventional pump-dump pulse method: the direction of rotation is the same as that of the initial wave packet propagation on the potential surface of the first singlet (nπ*) excited state S 1 . A new control mechanism has been proposed for the reverse rotation that cannot be driven by a simple pump-dump pulse method. In this mechanism, a coherent Stokes pulse creates a wave packet localized on the ground state potential surface in the right hand side. The wave packet has a negative angular momentum to drive reverse rotation at an early time

Third-order nonlinear optical properties of 1,3-bis(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl) prop-2-en-1-one under femtosecond laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Maidur, Shivaraj R.; Patil, Parutagouda Shankaragouda; Rao, S. Venugopal

2018-04-01

In this paper, we present the third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) studies of 1,3-bis(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (abbreviated as VDMC). The chalcone was synthesized by Claisen-Schmidt condensation method. The third-order nonlinear optical properties were evaluated using standard, well-known Z-scan technique under femtosecond laser regime (150 fs, 900 nm) with two different laser repetition rates 500 Hz and 80 MHz. Open aperture studies showed that the molecule possess two photon absorption with the coefficients in the order 10-9 cmW-1. The closed aperture studies have resulted the negative nonlinear refraction with the coefficients in the order 10-14 cm2W-1. The two-photon absorption cross sections were estimated. Optical limiting properties have been studied and the limiting threshold values were found to be in the range 0.86-2.3 mJ/cm2, which suggests that VDMC has better applications in the field of nonlinear optics.

Relativistic electron drift in overdense plasma produced by a superintense femtosecond laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rastunkov, V.S.; Krainov, V.P.

2004-01-01

The general peculiarities of electron motion in the skin layer at the irradiation of overdense plasma by a superintense linearly polarized laser pulse of femtosecond duration are considered. The quiver electron energy is assumed to be a relativistic quantity. Relativistic electron drift along the propagation of laser radiation produced by a magnetic part of a laser field remains after the end of the laser pulse, unlike the relativistic drift of a free electron in underdense plasma. As a result, the penetration depth is much larger than the classical skin depth. The conclusion has been made that the drift velocity is a nonrelativistic quantity even at the peak laser intensity of 10 21 W/cm 2 . The time at which an electron penetrates into field-free matter from the skin layer is much less than the pulse duration

Magnetic phases in Pt/Co/Pt films induced by single and multiple femtosecond laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kisielewski, J., E-mail: jankis@uwb.edu.pl; Kurant, Z.; Sveklo, I.; Tekielak, M.; Maziewski, A. [Faculty of Physics, University of Białystok, Ciołkowskiego 1L, 15-245 Białystok (Poland); Wawro, A. [Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw (Poland)

2016-05-21

Ultrathin Pt/Co/Pt trilayers with initial in-plane magnetization were irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses. In this way, an irreversible structural modification was introduced, which resulted in the creation of numerous pulse fluence-dependent magnetic phases. This was particularly true with the out-of-plane magnetization state, which exhibited a submicrometer domain structure. This effect was studied in a broad range of pulse fluences up to the point of ablation of the metallic films. In addition to this single-pulse experiment, multiple exposure spots were also investigated, which exhibited an extended area of out-of-plane magnetization phases and a decreased damage threshold. Using a double exposure with partially overlapped spots, a two-dimensional diagram of the magnetic phases as a function of the two energy densities was built, which showed a strong inequality between the first and second incoming pulses.

Magnetic phases in Pt/Co/Pt films induced by single and multiple femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kisielewski, J.; Kurant, Z.; Sveklo, I.; Tekielak, M.; Maziewski, A.; Wawro, A.

2016-01-01

Ultrathin Pt/Co/Pt trilayers with initial in-plane magnetization were irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses. In this way, an irreversible structural modification was introduced, which resulted in the creation of numerous pulse fluence-dependent magnetic phases. This was particularly true with the out-of-plane magnetization state, which exhibited a submicrometer domain structure. This effect was studied in a broad range of pulse fluences up to the point of ablation of the metallic films. In addition to this single-pulse experiment, multiple exposure spots were also investigated, which exhibited an extended area of out-of-plane magnetization phases and a decreased damage threshold. Using a double exposure with partially overlapped spots, a two-dimensional diagram of the magnetic phases as a function of the two energy densities was built, which showed a strong inequality between the first and second incoming pulses.

Femtosecond stabilization of optical fiber links based on RF power detection; Femtosekundengenaue Stabilisierung von optischen Glasfaserstrecken basierend auf HF-Leistungsmessung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lamb, Thorsten

2011-01-15

X-ray light sources like the free electron laser FLASH in Hamburg or the future XFEL generate light pulses with durations in the order of a few ten femtoseconds. To fulfill the requirements for the synchronisation of various components on this timescale, optical synchronisation systems are already successfully used. In this diploma thesis a novel photodiode-based, detection principle for the measurement of drifts in the optical links of such a synchronisation system is developed. The detection principle is nearly drift-free and highly robust. It is demonstrated that the long term stability of the assembled detector over 33 h is below 5 fs (peak to peak) at a standard deviation of 0.86 fs. Furthermore, an active stabilisation of a fibre link using this detector is successfully achieved. (orig.)

A FEMTOSECOND-LEVEL FIBER-OPTICS TIMING DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM USING FREQUENCY-OFFSET INTERFEROMETRY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staples, J.W.; Byrd, J.; Doolittle, L.; Huang, G.; Wilcox, R.

2008-01-01

An optical fiber-based frequency and timing distribution system based on the principle of heterodyne interferometry has been in development at LBNL for several years. The fiber drift corrector has evolved from an RF-based to an optical-based system, from mechanical correctors (piezo and optical trombone) to fully electronic, and the electronics from analog to fully digital, all using inexpensive off-the-shelf commodity fiber components. Short-term optical phase jitter and long-term phase drift are both in the femtosecond range over distribution paths of 2 km or more

Optical Research and Field Services

Science.gov (United States)

2004-10-01

manuscript "Retinal Damage from Femtosecond Near-Infrared Laser Pulses" for the macula vs. paramacula data article (Journal of Applied Optics) was reviewed and...Fiber Layer (NFL) degeneration following acute laser-induced retinal damage, new optical imaging approaches for detection of laser ocular damage...pulses in the macula /paramacula regions of the live eye," Laser-Tissue Interaction X, Steven L. Jacques, Ed., Proc. SPIE Vol. 3601, 39-42 (1999). Patyal

Pulse Distortion in Saturated Fiber Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lali-Dastjerdi, Zohreh; Da Ros, Francesco; Rottwitt, Karsten

2012-01-01

Fiber optical parametric chirped pulse amplification is experimentally compared for different chirped pulses in the picosecond regime. The amplified chirped pulses show distortion appearing as pedestals after recompression when the amplifier is operated in saturation.......Fiber optical parametric chirped pulse amplification is experimentally compared for different chirped pulses in the picosecond regime. The amplified chirped pulses show distortion appearing as pedestals after recompression when the amplifier is operated in saturation....

Femtosecond laser materials processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stuart, B.C.

1997-01-01

The use femtosecond pulses for materials processing results in very precise cutting and drilling with high efficiency. Energy deposited in the electrons is not coupled into the bulk during the pulse, resulting in negligible shock or thermal loading to adjacent areas

Femtosecond laser studies of ultrafast intramolecular processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hayden, C. [Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA (United States)

1993-12-01

The goal of this research is to better understand the detailed mechanisms of chemical reactions by observing, directly in time, the dynamics of fundamental chemical processes. In this work femtosecond laser pulses are used to initiate chemical processes and follow the progress of these processes in time. The authors are currently studying ultrafast internal conversion and subsequent intramolecular relaxation in unsaturated hydrocarbons. In addition, the authors are developing nonlinear optical techniques to prepare and monitor the time evolution of specific vibrational motions in ground electronic state molecules.

Efficient atomization of cesium metal in solid helium by low energy (10 $\\mu$J) femtosecond pulses

OpenAIRE

Melich, Mathieu; Dupont-Roc, Jacques; Jacquier, Philippe

2009-01-01

International audience; Metal atoms in solid and liquid helium-4 have attracted some interest either as a way to keep the atoms in a weakly perturbing matrix, or using them as a probe for the helium host medium. Laser sputtering with nanosecond pulsed lasers is the most often used method for atom production, resulting however in a substantial perturbation of the matrix. We show that a much weaker perturbation can be obtained by using femtosecond laser pulses with energy as low as 10 µJ. As an...

Generation and subsequent amplification of few-cycle femtosecond pulses from a picosecond pump laser

Science.gov (United States)

Mukhin, I. B.; Kuznetsov, I. I.; Palashov, O. V.

2018-04-01

Using a new approach, in which generation of femtosecond pulses as short as a few field cycles is implemented directly from the radiation of a picosecond pump laser, pulses with the microjoule energy, the repetition rate 10 kHz, and the duration less than 26 fs are generated in the spectral range 1.3 ‑ 1.4 μm. In the process of generating this radiation, use was made of a method providing passive phase stabilisation of the carrier oscillation of the electromagnetic field and its slow envelope. The radiation spectrum was converted into the range of parametric amplification in the BBO crystal by the broadband second harmonic generation; the pulse was parametrically amplified up to the microjoule level and compressed by chirped mirrors to a duration of 28 fs.

Study of nonlinear optical absorption properties of V{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanoparticles in the femtosecond excitation regime

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Molli, Muralikrishna; Bhat Kademane, Abhijit; Pradhan, Prabin; Sai Muthukumar, V. [Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Department of Physics, Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh (India)

2016-08-15

In this work, we report for the first time, the nonlinear optical absorption properties of vanadium pentoxide (V{sub 2}O{sub 5}) nanoparticles in the femtosecond excitation regime. V{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanoparticles were synthesized through solution combustion technique. The as-synthesized samples were further characterized using XRD, FESEM, EDAX, TEM and UV-visible spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction results revealed the crystalline nature of the nanoparticles. Electron microscopy studies showed the size of the nanoparticles to be ∝200 nm. Open-aperture z-scan technique was employed to study the nonlinear optical absorption behavior of the synthesized samples using a 100-fs laser pulses at 800 nm from a regeneratively amplified Ti: sapphire laser. The mechanism of nonlinear absorption was found to be a three-photon absorption process which was explained using the density of states of V{sub 2}O{sub 5} obtained using density functional theory. These nanoparticles exhibit strong intensity-dependent nonlinear optical absorption and hence could be considered for optical-power-limiting applications. (orig.)

Femtosecond-pulse inscription of fiber Bragg gratings with single or multiple phase-shifts in the structure

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Alexey; Dostovalov, Alexandr; Skvortsov, Mikhail; Raspopin, Kirill; Parygin, Alexandr; Babin, Sergey

2018-05-01

In this work, long high-quality fiber Bragg gratings with phase shifts in the structure are inscribed directly in the optical fiber by point-by-point technique using femtosecond laser pulses. Phase shifts are introduced during the inscription process with a piezoelectric actuator, which rapidly shifts the fiber along the direction of its movement in a chosen point of the grating with a chosen shift value. As examples, single and double π phase shifts are introduced in fiber Bragg gratings with a length up to 34 mm in passive fibers, which provide corresponding transmission peaks with bandwidth less than 1 pm. It is shown that 37 mm π -phase-shifted grating inscribed in an active Er-doped fiber forms high-quality DFB laser cavity generating single-frequency radiation at 1550 nm with bandwidth of 20 kHz and signal-to-noise ratio of >70 dB. The inscription technique has a high degree of performance and flexibility and can be easily implemented in fibers of various types.

Time-resolved pulse propagation in a strongly scattering material

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Johnson, Patrick M.; Imhof, Arnout; Bret, B.P.J.; Gomez Rivas, J.; Gomez Rivas, Jaime; Lagendijk, Aart

2003-01-01

Light transport in macroporous gallium phosphide, perhaps the strongest nonabsorbing scatterer of visible light, is studied using phase-sensitive femtosecond pulse interferometry. Phase statistics are measured at optical wavelengths in both reflection and transmission and compared with theory. The

Fiscal 1998 R and D report on femtosecond technology (power generation facility monitoring system using high- intensity X-ray pulse); 1998 nendo femuto byo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu (kokido X senb pulse riyo hatsuden shisetsu monitoring system no kenkyu kaihatsu) seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-03-01

This report reports the fiscal 1998 R and D result of Femtosecond Technology Research Association (FESTA) supported by NEDO. For creation of industrial basic technologies supporting the advanced information society in the 21st century, ultra-high speed electronics technology including new functions beyond the speed limit of conventional electronics technologies is indispensable. From such viewpoint, this R and D aims at establishment of the basic technology controlling conditions of beams and electrons in a femtosecond (10{sup -15}-10{sup -12} seconds) region. In development of the titled system, this R and D aims at generation of high-intensity X-ray pulse by interaction between femtosecond light pulse and high-density electron beam pulse, and development of measurement technology (non- stop inspection) of high-speed moving objects using such X- ray pulse. In fiscal 1998, this project succeeded in time stabilization of laser oscillators at a 100fs level and generation of low-emittance electron beam pulse through development of ultra-short pulse synchronization, laser stabilization and electron beam pulse generation technologies. (NEDO)

Optically Clear and Resilient Free-Form µ-Optics 3D-Printed via Ultrafast Laser Lithography.

Science.gov (United States)

Jonušauskas, Linas; Gailevičius, Darius; Mikoliūnaitė, Lina; Sakalauskas, Danas; Šakirzanovas, Simas; Juodkazis, Saulius; Malinauskas, Mangirdas

2017-01-02

We introduce optically clear and resilient free-form micro-optical components of pure (non-photosensitized) organic-inorganic SZ2080 material made by femtosecond 3D laser lithography (3DLL). This is advantageous for rapid printing of 3D micro-/nano-optics, including their integration directly onto optical fibers. A systematic study of the fabrication peculiarities and quality of resultant structures is performed. Comparison of microlens resiliency to continuous wave (CW) and femtosecond pulsed exposure is determined. Experimental results prove that pure SZ2080 is ∼20 fold more resistant to high irradiance as compared with standard lithographic material (SU8) and can sustain up to 1.91 GW/cm² intensity. 3DLL is a promising manufacturing approach for high-intensity micro-optics for emerging fields in astro-photonics and atto-second pulse generation. Additionally, pyrolysis is employed to homogeneously shrink structures up to 40% by removing organic SZ2080 constituents. This opens a promising route towards downscaling photonic lattices and the creation of mechanically robust glass-ceramic microstructures.

Optically Clear and Resilient Free-Form µ-Optics 3D-Printed via Ultrafast Laser Lithography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linas Jonušauskas

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We introduce optically clear and resilient free-form micro-optical components of pure (non-photosensitized organic-inorganic SZ2080 material made by femtosecond 3D laser lithography (3DLL. This is advantageous for rapid printing of 3D micro-/nano-optics, including their integration directly onto optical fibers. A systematic study of the fabrication peculiarities and quality of resultant structures is performed. Comparison of microlens resiliency to continuous wave (CW and femtosecond pulsed exposure is determined. Experimental results prove that pure SZ2080 is ∼20 fold more resistant to high irradiance as compared with standard lithographic material (SU8 and can sustain up to 1.91 GW/cm2 intensity. 3DLL is a promising manufacturing approach for high-intensity micro-optics for emerging fields in astro-photonics and atto-second pulse generation. Additionally, pyrolysis is employed to homogeneously shrink structures up to 40% by removing organic SZ2080 constituents. This opens a promising route towards downscaling photonic lattices and the creation of mechanically robust glass-ceramic microstructures.

Optically Clear and Resilient Free-Form μ-Optics 3D-Printed via Ultrafast Laser Lithography

Science.gov (United States)

Jonušauskas, Linas; Gailevičius, Darius; Mikoliūnaitė, Lina; Sakalauskas, Danas; Šakirzanovas, Simas; Juodkazis, Saulius; Malinauskas, Mangirdas

2017-01-01

We introduce optically clear and resilient free-form micro-optical components of pure (non-photosensitized) organic-inorganic SZ2080 material made by femtosecond 3D laser lithography (3DLL). This is advantageous for rapid printing of 3D micro-/nano-optics, including their integration directly onto optical fibers. A systematic study of the fabrication peculiarities and quality of resultant structures is performed. Comparison of microlens resiliency to continuous wave (CW) and femtosecond pulsed exposure is determined. Experimental results prove that pure SZ2080 is ∼20 fold more resistant to high irradiance as compared with standard lithographic material (SU8) and can sustain up to 1.91 GW/cm2 intensity. 3DLL is a promising manufacturing approach for high-intensity micro-optics for emerging fields in astro-photonics and atto-second pulse generation. Additionally, pyrolysis is employed to homogeneously shrink structures up to 40% by removing organic SZ2080 constituents. This opens a promising route towards downscaling photonic lattices and the creation of mechanically robust glass-ceramic microstructures. PMID:28772389

Specific features of direct formation of graphite-like microstructures in polycarbonate samples by single femtosecond laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ganin, D V; Lapshin, K E; Obidin, A Z; Vartapetov, S K [Physics Instrumentation Center, A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Troitsk, Moscow Region (Russian Federation)

2015-11-30

We present the result of the experiments on producing graphite-like cylindrical microstructures by focusing single femtosecond laser pulses into the bulk of a transparent polymer (polycarbonate). The microstructures are embedded in a cladding with a modified refractive index, possessing waveguide properties. In the experiments with nontransparent screens and diaphragms, placed in the laser beam in front of the entrance pupil of the objective with a large numerical aperture, we have found that the paraxial rays are blocked by the peripheral ones, which reduces the length of the destruction region in the pre-focal zone. In the experiments with transparent screens and diaphragms, introducing optical delays τ{sub d} between the paraxial and peripheral rays, the quantitative dependence of the destruction region length in the pre-focal zone on the value of τ{sub d} is determined. (interaction of laser radiation with matter. laser plasma)

Coherent control of bond making: the performance of rationally phase-shaped femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levin, Liat; Amitay, Zohar; Skomorowski, Wojciech; Koch, Christiane P; Kosloff, Ronnie

2015-01-01

The first step in the coherent control of a photoinduced binary reaction is bond making or photoassociation. We have recently demonstrated coherent control of bond making in multi-photon femtosecond photoassociation of hot magnesium atoms, using linearly chirped pulses (Levin et al 2015 Phys. Rev. Lett. 114 233003). The detected yield of photoassociated magnesium dimers was enhanced by positively chirped pulses which is explained theoretically by a combination of purification and chirp-dependent Raman transitions. The yield could be further enhanced by pulse optimization resulting in pulses with an effective linear chirp and a sub-pulse structure, where the latter allows for exploiting vibrational coherences. Here, we systematically explore the efficiency of phase-shaped pulses for the coherent control of bond making, employing a parametrization of the spectral phases in the form of cosine functions. We find up to an order of magnitude enhancement of the yield compared to the unshaped transform-limited pulse. The highly performing pulses all display an overall temporally increasing instantaneous frequency and are composed of several overlapping sub-pulses. The time delay between the first two sub-pulses fits very well the vibrational frequency of the generated intermediate wavepacket. These findings are in agreement with chirp-dependent Raman transitions and exploitation of vibrational dynamics as underlying control mechanisms. (paper)

Single- and multi-pulse femtosecond laser ablation of optical filter materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krueger, J.; Lenzner, M.; Martin, S.; Lenner, M.; Spielmann, C.; Fiedler, A.; Kautek, W.

2003-01-01

Ablation experiments employing Ti:sapphire laser pulses with durations from 30 to 340 fs (centre wavelength 800 nm, repetition rate 1 kHz) were performed in air. Absorbing filters (Schott BG18 and BG36) served as targets. The direct focusing technique was used under single- and multi-pulse irradiation conditions. Ablation threshold fluences were determined from a semi-logarithmic plot of the ablation crater diameter versus laser fluence. The threshold fluence decreases for a shorter pulse duration and an increasing number of pulses. The multi-pulse ablation threshold fluences are similar to those of undoped glass material (∼1 J cm -2 ). That means that the multi-pulse ablation threshold is independent on the doping level of the filters. For more than 100 pulses per spot and all pulse durations applied, the threshold fluence is practically constant. This leads to technically relevant ablation threshold values

Elemental redistribution behavior in tellurite glass induced by high repetition rate femtosecond laser irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teng, Yu; Zhou, Jiajia; Khisro, Said Nasir; Zhou, Shifeng; Qiu, Jianrong

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Abnormal elements redistribution behavior was observed in tellurite glass. • The refractive index and Raman intensity distribution changed significantly. • The relative glass composition remained unchanged while the glass density changed. • First time report on the abnormal element redistribution behavior in glass. • The glass network structure determines the elemental redistribution behavior. - Abstract: The success in the fabrication of micro-structures in glassy materials using femtosecond laser irradiation has proved its potential applications in the construction of three-dimensional micro-optical components or devices. In this paper, we report the elemental redistribution behavior in tellurite glass after the irradiation of high repetition rate femtosecond laser pulses. The relative glass composition remained unchanged while the glass density changed significantly, which is quite different from previously reported results about the high repetition rate femtosecond laser induced elemental redistribution in silicate glasses. The involved mechanism is discussed with the conclusion that the glass network structure plays the key role to determine the elemental redistribution. This observation not only helps to understand the interaction process of femtosecond laser with glassy materials, but also has potential applications in the fabrication of micro-optical devices

Phase-stable, multi-µJ femtosecond pulses from a repetition-rate tunable Ti:Sa-oscillator-seeded Yb-fiber amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Saule, T.; Holzberger, S.; De Vries, O.; Plötner, M.; Limpert, J.; Tünnermann, A.; Pupeza, I.

2017-01-01

We present a high-power, MHz-repetition-rate, phase-stable femtosecond laser system based on a phase-stabilized Ti:Sa oscillator and a multi-stage Yb-fiber chirped-pulse power amplifier. A 10-nm band around 1030 nm is split from the 7-fs oscillator output and serves as the seed for subsequent amplification by 54 dB to 80 W of average power. The µJ-level output is spectrally broadened in a solid-core fiber and compressed to 30 fs with chirped mirrors. A pulse picker prior to power amplification allows for decreasing the repetition rate from 74 MHz by a factor of up to 4 without affecting the pulse parameters. To compensate for phase jitter added by the amplifier to the feed-forward phase-stabilized seeding pulses, a self-referencing feed-back loop is implemented at the system output. An integrated out-of-loop phase noise of less than 100 mrad was measured in the band from 0.4 Hz to 400 kHz, which to the best of our knowledge corresponds to the highest phase stability ever demonstrated for high-power, multi-MHz-repetition-rate ultrafast lasers. This system will enable experiments in attosecond physics at unprecedented repetition rates, it offers ideal prerequisites for the generation and field-resolved electro-optical sampling of high-power, broadband infrared pulses, and it is suitable for phase-stable white light generation.

Theoretical analysis of fluorescence signals in filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses in nitrogen molecular gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arevalo, E.; Becker, A.

2005-01-01

We study numerically and analytically the role of the combined effect of self-focusing, geometrical focusing, and the plasma defocusing in the formation of the fluorescence signal during the filamentation of a Ti:sapphire laser pulse in nitrogen molecular gas. Results of numerical simulations are used to estimate the number of excited ions in the focal volume, which is proportional to the fluorescence signal. We find good agreement between the theoretical results and the experimental data, showing that such data can be used to get further insight into the effective focal volume during filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses in transparent media

Femtosecond lasers for countermeasure applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Franssen, G.C.; Schleijpen, H.M.A.; Heuvel, J.C. van den; Buersing, H.; Eberle, B.; Walter, D.

2009-01-01

In recent years, much advance in the field of high-power femtosecond laser technology has been made. The high pulse power of femtosecond laser systems leads to various interesting phenomena, such as a very high power density and the formation of a plasma in the propagation medium, which is usually

Nonlinear Pulse Shaping in Fibres for Pulse Generation and Optical Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sonia Boscolo

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The development of new all-optical technologies for data processing and signal manipulation is a field of growing importance with a strong potential for numerous applications in diverse areas of modern science. Nonlinear phenomena occurring in optical fibres have many attractive features and great, but not yet fully explored, potential in signal processing. Here, we review recent progress on the use of fibre nonlinearities for the generation and shaping of optical pulses and on the applications of advanced pulse shapes in all-optical signal processing. Amongst other topics, we will discuss ultrahigh repetition rate pulse sources, the generation of parabolic shaped pulses in active and passive fibres, the generation of pulses with triangular temporal profiles, and coherent supercontinuum sources. The signal processing applications will span optical regeneration, linear distortion compensation, optical decision at the receiver in optical communication systems, spectral and temporal signal doubling, and frequency conversion.

Fiscal 1997 R and D project under a consignment from NEDO. R and D of the femtosecond technology; 1997 nendo Shin energy Sangyo Gijutsu Sogo Kaihatsu Kiko itaku. Femto byo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu (femto byo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu) seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

Ultrahigh-speed electronic technology is indispensable for creating industrial basic technologies supporting the advanced information society in the 21st century. Control technology of photonic and electronic states in a femtosecond region is essential. To establish the development policy of generation and transmission devices for femtosecond light pulses, research and analysis were made on nonlinear optical response and light pulse transmission properties. Basic issues on devices and materials such as mode-locked semiconductor laser, pulse compression device and light-light modulation material for coding were extracted. For new femtosecond light pulse control/distribution devices, research and analysis were made on response properties of intersubband transition phenomena in a semiconductor and electron spin relaxation phenomena, and semiconductor quantum structure. To develop metrological technology using ultra-short light pulse, study was made on an evaluation method for time- fluctuation of pulses in 100 femtosecond level. Generation of femtosecond high-intensity X-ray pulse was possible by fine control of the existing high-intensity laser. 19 refs., 26 figs., 1 tab.

One-step femtosecond laser welding and internal machining of three glass substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Hua; Duan, Ji'an

2017-05-01

In this paper, it demonstrated one-step femtosecond laser welding and internal machining of three fused silica substrates in the optical- and non-optical-contact regimes by focusing 1030-nm laser pulses at the middle of the second substrate. Focusing laser pulses within the second glass in optical-contact and non-optical-contact samples induces permanent internal structural modification, leading to the three glass substrates bonding together simultaneously. The bonding mechanism is based on the internal modification of glass, and this mechanism is different from that of ordinary glass welding at the interface. Welding-spot size is affected by not only the gap distance (ablation effect) and heat transmission, but also by gravity through examining the sizes of the welding spots on the four contact welding surfaces. The maximum bonding strength of the lower interface (56.2 MPa) in the optical-contact regime is more than double that (27.6 MPa) in the non-optical-contact regime.

Efficient atomization of cesium metal in solid helium by low energy (10 μJ) femtosecond pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Melich, M.; Dupont-Roc, J.; Jacquier, Ph.

2009-10-01

Metal atoms in solid and liquid helium-4 have attracted some interest either as a way to keep the atoms in a weakly perturbing matrix, or using them as a probe for the helium host medium. Laser sputtering with nanosecond pulsed lasers is the most often used method for atom production, resulting however in a substantial perturbation of the matrix. We show that a much weaker perturbation can be obtained by using femtosecond laser pulses with energy as low as 10 μJ. As an unexpected benefit, the atomic density produced is much higher.

Femtosecond laser-induced structural difference in fused silica with a non-reciprocal writing process

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Hui; Dai, Ye; Song, Juan; Ma, Hongliang; Yan, Xiaona; Ma, Guohong

2017-04-01

In this paper, we report a non-reciprocal writing process for inducing asymmetric microstructure using a femtosecond laser with tilted pulse fronts in fused silica. The shape of the induced microstructure at the focus closely depends on the laser scan direction. An elongated end is observed as a kind of structural difference between the written lines with two reverse scans along + x and - x, which further leads to a birefringence intensity difference. We also find a bifurcation in the head region of the induced microstructure between the written lines along x and y. That process results from the focal intensity distortion caused by the pulse front tilt by comparing the simulated intensity distribution with the experimental results. The current results demonstrate that the pulse front tilt not only affects the free electron excitation at the focus but also further distorts the shape of the induced microstructure during a high-energy femtosecond laser irradiation. These results offer a route to fabricate optical elements by changing the spatiotemporal characteristics of ultrashort pulses.

Percolation-enhanced generation of terahertz pulses by optical rectification on ultrathin gold films

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ramakrishnan, G.; Planken, P.C.M.

2011-01-01

Emission of pulses of electromagnetic radiation in the terahertz range is observed when ultrathin gold films on glass are illuminated with femtosecond near-IR laser pulses. A distinct maximum is observed in the emitted terahertz amplitude from films of average thickness just above the percolation

Effects of moderate pump and Stokes chirp on chirped-probe pulse femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering thermometry

KAUST Repository

Gu, Mingming

2018-01-08

The effects of moderate levels of chirp in the pump and Stokes pulses on chirped-probe-pulse femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CPP fs CARS) were investigated. The frequency chirp in the pump and Stokes pulses was introduced by placing SF11 glass disks with thicknesses of 10 mm or 20 mm in the optical path for these beams. The magnitude of the chirp in the probe beam was much greater and was induced by placing a 30-cm rod of SF10 glass in the beam path. The temperature measurements were performed in hydrogen/air non-premixed flames stabilized on a Hencken burner at equivalence ratios of 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 1.0. We performed measurements with no disks in pump and Stokes beam paths, and then with disks of 10 mm and 20 mm placed in both beam paths. The spectrum of the nonresonant background four-wave mixing signal narrowed considerably with increasing pump and Stokes chirp, while the resonant CARS signal was relatively unaffected. Consequently, the interference of the nonresonant background with the resonant CARS signal in the frequency-spread dephasing region of the spectrum was minimized. The increased rate of decay of the resonant CARS signal with increasing temperature was thus readily apparent. We have started to analyze the CPP fs CARS thermometry data and initial results indicate improved accuracy and precision are obtained due to moderate chirp in the pump and Stokes laser pulses.

Femtosecond X-ray Pulses from a Spatially Chirped Electron Bunch in a SASE FEL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Emma, P.

2003-01-14

We propose a simple method to produce short x-ray pulses using a spatially chirped electron bunch in a SASE FEL. The spatial chirp is generated using an rf deflector which produces a transverse offset (in y and/or y') correlated with the longitudinal bunch position. Since the FEL gain is very sensitive to an initial offset in the transverse phase space at the entrance of the undulator, only a small portion of the electron bunch with relatively small transverse offset will interact significantly with the radiation, resulting in an x-ray pulse length much shorter than the electron bunch length. The x-ray pulse is also naturally phase locked to the rf deflector and so allows high precision timing synchronization. We discuss the generation and transport of such a spatially chirped electron beam and show that tens of femtosecond long pulse can be generated for the linac coherent light source (LCLS).

Skinning of argon clusters by Coulomb explosion induced with an intense femtosecond laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakabe, S.; Shirai, K.; Hashida, M.; Shimizu, S.; Masuno, S.

2006-01-01

The energy distributions of ions emitted from argon clusters Coulomb exploded at an intensity of 17 W/cm 2 with an intense femtosecond laser have been experimentally studied. The power m of energy E of the ion energy distribution (dN/dE∼E m ) is expected to be 1/2 for spherical ion clusters, but it is in fact reduced smaller than 1/2 as the laser intensity is decreased. This reduction can be well interpreted as resulting from the instantaneous ionization of the surface of the cluster. The validity of this interpretation was confirmed by experiments with double pulse irradiation. A cluster irradiated by the first pulse survives as a skinned cluster, and the remaining core part is Coulomb exploded by the second pulse. It is shown that a cluster can be skinned by an intense short laser pulse, and the laser-intensity dependence of the skinned layer thickness can be reasonably explained by the laser-induced space charge field created in the cluster

Generation of femtosecond electron single pulse using laser photocathode RF gun

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uesaka, M.; Kinoshita, K.; Watanabe, T. [Nuclear Engineering Research Laboratory, University of Tokyo, Tokai, Ibaraki (JP)] [and others

1998-11-01

A new laser photocathode RF electron gun was installed in the second linac of the S-band twin linac system of Nuclear Engineering Research Laboratory(NERL) of University of Tokyo in August in 1997. Since then, the behavior of the new gun has been tested and the characteristic parameters have been evaluated. At the exit of the gun, the energy is 4.7 MeV, the charge per bunch 1 nC, the pulse width is 10 ps(FWHM), respectively, for 6 MW RF power supply from a klystron. The electron bunch is accelerated up to 17 MeV. The horizontal normalized emittance is 1 {pi} mm.mrad. Then, the bunch is compressed to be 440 fs(FWHM) with 0.35 nC by the chicane-type magnetic pulse compressor. The gun is planned to be used for femtosecond X-ray generation via the head-on Thomson scattering and laser wakefield acceleration in 1998. (author)

Modulations of anisotropic optical transmission on alumina-doped zinc oxide surface by femtosecond laser induced ripples

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yanhui; Jiang, Lan; Sun, Jingya; Cao, Qiang; Wang, Qingsong; Han, Weina; Lu, Yongfeng

2018-04-01

This study demonstrated that femtosecond-laser-induced ripples on an alumina-doped zinc oxide (AZO) film with space intervals of approximately 340 and 660 nm exhibit modulations of anisotropic optical transmission. At low laser fluence, ripples can not affect the original absorption peak of AZO film, but at higher laser fluence, the absorption peak of AZO film is disappeared due to the modulation by femtosecond laser induced ripples. Moreover, the relationship between the anisotropic optical transmission and the features of nanostructures is discussed. Ripples with a space interval of approximately 660 nm have a higher ability to block light than nanostructures with a space interval of approximately 340 nm. These observations indicate that anisotropic optical transmission has potential applications in the field of optoelectronics.

Formation of plasma channels in air under filamentation of focused ultrashort laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ionin, A A; Seleznev, L V; Sunchugasheva, E S

2015-01-01

The formation of plasma channels in air under filamentation of focused ultrashort laser pulses was experimentally and theoretically studied together with theoreticians of the Moscow State University and the Institute of Atmospheric Optics. The influence of various characteristics of ultrashort laser pulses on these plasma channels is discussed. Plasma channels formed under filamentation of focused laser beams with a wavefront distorted by spherical aberration (introduced by adaptive optics) and by astigmatism, with cross-section spatially formed by various diaphragms and with different UV and IR wavelengths, were experimentally and numerically studied. The influence of plasma channels created by a filament of a focused UV or IR femtosecond laser pulse (λ = 248 nm or 740 nm) on characteristics of other plasma channels formed by a femtosecond pulse at the same wavelength following the first one with varied nanosecond time delay was also experimentally studied. An application of plasma channels formed due to the filamentation of focused UV ultrashort laser pulses including a train of such pulses and a combination of ultrashort and long (∼100 ns) laser pulses for triggering and guiding long (∼1 m) electric discharges is discussed. (topical review)

RESEARCH OF LINEAR AND NONLINEAR PROCESSES AT FEMTOSECOND LASER RADIATION PROPAGATION IN THE MEDIUM SIMULATING THE HUMAN EYE VITREOUS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Y. Rogov

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with mathematical model of linear and nonlinear processes occurring at the propagation of femtosecond laser pulses in the vitreous of the human eye. Methods of computing modeling are applied for the nonlinear spectral equation solution describing the dynamics of a two-dimensional TE-polarized radiation in a homogeneous isotropic medium with cubic fast-response nonlinearity without the usage of slowly varying envelope approximation. Environments close to the optical media parameters of the eye were used for the simulation. The model of femtosecond radiation propagation takes into account the process dynamics for dispersion broadening of pulses in time and the occurence of the self-focusing near the retina when passing through the vitreous body of the eye. Dependence between the pulse duration on the retina has been revealed and the duration of the input pulse and the values of power density at which there is self-focusing have been found. It is shown that the main mechanism of radiation damage with the use of titanium-sapphire laser is photoionization. The results coincide with those obtained by the other scientists, and are usable for creation Russian laser safety standards for femtosecond laser systems.

Temperature effects on the geometry during the formation of micro-holes fabricated by femtosecond laser in PMMA

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Fan; Dong, Xinran; Yin, Kai; Song, Yuxin; Tian, Yaxiang; Wang, Cong; Duan, Ji'an

2018-03-01

In this study, the temperature effects on hole geometry of the PMMA during micro-holes drilling by femtosecond laser has been studied under various pulse energy and number of pulse. The laser-induced hole's diameter is considerably increased by 73% as the temperature rises from 20 °C to 90 °C. Remarkable enhancement in the removal volume of micro-hole is also observed under high temperature. The possible mechanism for such changes is discussed in detail on account of optical absorption enhancement and higher density of surface plasma. The atomic percentage of oxygen obviously increases with the increase of temperature, which is beneficial to femtosecond laser fabrication of PMMA micro-hole. The spatter area of micro-hole has been found to tremendously extend with the increase of temperature, which is due to recoil pressure effect. These results demonstrate that temperature plays a crucial role to tailor micro-hole fabrication by femtosecond laser.

Impact of pumping configuration on all-fibered femtosecond chirped pulse amplification

Science.gov (United States)

Lecourt, Jean-Bernard; Duterte, Charles; Bertrand, Anthony; Liégeois, Flavien; Hernandez, Yves; Giannone, Domenico

2008-04-01

We experimentally compared the co- and counter-propagative pumping scheme for the amplification of ultra-short optical pulses. According to pumping direction we show that optical pulses with a duration of 75 fs and 100mW of average output power can be obtained for co-propagative pumping, while pulse duration is never shorter than 400 fs for the counter-propagative case. We show that the impact of non-linear effects on pulse propagation is different for the two pumping configurations. We assume that Self Phase Modulation (SPM) is the main effect in the copropagative case, whereas the impact of Stimulated Raman Scattering is bigger for the counter-propagative case.

Observation and investigation of narrow optical transitions of 167Er3+ ions in femtosecond laser printed waveguides in 7LiYF4 crystal

Science.gov (United States)

Minnegaliev, M. M.; Dyakonov, I. V.; Gerasimov, K. I.; Kalinkin, A. A.; Kulik, S. P.; Moiseev, S. A.; Saygin, M. Yu; Urmancheev, R. V.

2018-04-01

We produced optical waveguides in the 167Er3+:7 LiYF4 crystal with diameters ranging from 30 to 100 μm by using the depressed-cladding approach with femtosecond laser. Stationary and coherent spectroscopy was performed on the 809 nm optical transitions between the hyperfine sublevels of 4I15/2 and 4I9/2 multiplets of 167Er3+ ions both inside and outside of waveguides. It was found that the spectra of 167Er3+ were slightly broadened and shifted inside the waveguides compared to the bulk crystal spectra. We managed to observe a two-pulse photon echo on this transition and determined phase relaxation times for each waveguide. The experimental results show that the created crystal waveguides doped by rare-earth ions can be used in optical quantum memory and integrated quantum schemes.

Transverse Writing of Multimode Interference Waveguides inside Silica Glass by Femtosecond Laser Pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Da-Yong, Liu; Yan, Li; Yan-Ping, Dou; Heng-Chang, Guo; Hong, Yang; Qi-Huang, Gong

2008-01-01

Multi-mode interference waveguides are fabricated inside silica glass by transverse writing geometry with femtosecond laser pulses. The influences of several writing and reading factors on the output mode are systematically studied. The experimental results of straight waveguides are in good agreement with the simulations by the beam propagation method. By integrating a straight waveguide with a bent waveguide, a 1 × 2 multi-mode splitter is formed and 2 × 3 lobes are observed in the output mode. (fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications))

Optical spectroscopy in channel waveguides made in Nd:YAG crystals by femtosecond laser writing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torchia, G.A.; Mendez, C.; Roso, L.; Tocho, J.O.

2008-01-01

In this work, we present an optical characterization of channel waveguides fabricated by means of femtosecond laser writing on Nd:YAG substrates. These guiding structures show a refractive index increment of about 1x10 -3 which allows TE propagation. By pumping with a CW solid-state laser at 532 nm reaching the 2 G 9/2 and 4 G 7/2 manifolds of Nd 3+ ions, we have explored the emission band corresponding to 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 9/2 optical transitions (peaked at 890 nm). From data, we have found that emission showed similar characteristics for waveguide and bulk. On the other hand, the lifetime corresponding to the 4 F 3/2 metaestable level was determined to be 240 μs for bulk and waveguide. Summarizing, we have made suitable channel waveguides in Nd:YAG crystals, by fs interaction, with similar spectroscopic properties to those of the bulk, a fact that boosters the photonics application of these devices. For the first time to our knowledge, a direct index increment waveguide made by interaction with ultra-short intense pulses in YAG crystals has been performed. This fabrication procedure can be an efficient tool to make several optical circuits in active materials by means of the one-step, fast and low-cost processing

Nonlinear optical studies in semiconductor-doped glasses under ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. Nonlinear optical studies in semiconductor-doped glasses (SDGs) are per- formed under femtosecond laser pulse excitation. Z-scan experiments with 800 nm wave- length pulses are used to excite SDG samples in the resonance and non-resonance regimes. Schott colour glass filter OG 515 shows stronger ...

Dual-scale nanoripple/nanoparticle-covered microspikes on silicon by femtosecond double pulse train irradiation in water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meng, Ge; Jiang, Lan [Laser Micro/Nano Fabrication Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China); Li, Xin, E-mail: lixin02@bit.edu.cn [Laser Micro/Nano Fabrication Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China); Xu, Yongda; Shi, Xuesong; Yan, Ruyu [Laser Micro/Nano Fabrication Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China); Lu, Yongfeng [Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0511 (United States)

2017-07-15

Highlights: • A simple method to fabricate dual-scale structures on silicon is proposed. • Nanoripple-covered or nanoparticle-covered microspikes are obtained on Si firstly. • They are obtained by temporally-shaped fs laser one-step irradiation in water. • Their application in SERS was proved with a high sensitivity of up to 10{sup 8}. - Abstract: Novel dual-scale structures were obtained by femtosecond double pulse train (subpulse delay Δt > 0 ps) one-step irradiating silicon in water. The dual-scale structures consist of microspikes of ∼2 μm width and ∼0.5 μm height, and nanoripples with a mean period of 146 nm or nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 90 nm which entirely cover on the microspikes, for linearly polarized or circularly polarized femtosecond laser respectively. The formation of dual-scale structures involves the following processes: (1) Continuously laser energy deposited at femtosecond to picosecond timescales within silicon surfaces and central regions, will result in enhanced capillary waves and thinner melted silicon layers. Hence, the microspikes can be induced at laser fluences below ablation threshold; (2) Later (>500–800 pulses), a mass of debris and bubbles produced will lead to the remarkably and uniformly scattering or shielding of subsequent incident laser energy. Hence, the nanostructures can be induced. The novel structures exhibit high-sensitive surface enhanced Raman scattering with an enhancement factor of 10{sup 8} for Rhodamine 6G detecting. Besides, the novel structures have application potentials in improving the silicon hydrophobicity, antireflection, etc.

Femtosecond lasers for microsurgery of cornea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vartapetov, Sergei K; Khudyakov, D V; Lapshin, Konstantin E; Obidin, Aleksei Z; Shcherbakov, Ivan A

2012-01-01

The review of femtosecond laser installations for medical applications is given and a new femtosecond ophthalmologic system for creation of a flap of corneal tissue during the LASIK operation is described. An all-fibre femtosecond laser emitting ∼400-fs pulses at 1067 nm is used. The pulse repetition rate can vary from 200 kHz up to 1 MHz. The output energy of the femtosecond system does not exceed 1 μJ. A specially developed objective with small spherical and chromatic aberrations is applied to focus laser radiation to an area of an eye cornea. The size of the focusing spot does not exceed 3 μm. To process the required area, scanning by a laser beam is applied with a speed no less than 5 m s -1 . At a stage of preliminary tests of the system, the Κ8 glass, organic PMMA glass and specially prepared agarose gels are used as a phantom of an eye. The femtosecond system is successfully clinically tested on a plenty of eyes of a pig and on several human eyes. The duration of the procedure of creation of a corneal flap does not exceed 20 s.

Femtosecond lasers for microsurgery of cornea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vartapetov, Sergei K; Khudyakov, D V; Lapshin, Konstantin E; Obidin, Aleksei Z; Shcherbakov, Ivan A

2012-03-31

The review of femtosecond laser installations for medical applications is given and a new femtosecond ophthalmologic system for creation of a flap of corneal tissue during the LASIK operation is described. An all-fibre femtosecond laser emitting {approx}400-fs pulses at 1067 nm is used. The pulse repetition rate can vary from 200 kHz up to 1 MHz. The output energy of the femtosecond system does not exceed 1 {mu}J. A specially developed objective with small spherical and chromatic aberrations is applied to focus laser radiation to an area of an eye cornea. The size of the focusing spot does not exceed 3 {mu}m. To process the required area, scanning by a laser beam is applied with a speed no less than 5 m s{sup -1}. At a stage of preliminary tests of the system, the {Kappa}8 glass, organic PMMA glass and specially prepared agarose gels are used as a phantom of an eye. The femtosecond system is successfully clinically tested on a plenty of eyes of a pig and on several human eyes. The duration of the procedure of creation of a corneal flap does not exceed 20 s.

Fiber Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification of Sub-Picosecond Pulses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cristofori, Valentina; Lali-Dastjerdi, Zohreh; Da Ros, Francesco

2013-01-01

We demonstrate experimentally, for the first time to our knowledge, fiber optical parametric chirped pulse amplification of 400-fs pulses. The 400-fs signal is stretched, amplified by 26 dB and compressed back to 500 fs.......We demonstrate experimentally, for the first time to our knowledge, fiber optical parametric chirped pulse amplification of 400-fs pulses. The 400-fs signal is stretched, amplified by 26 dB and compressed back to 500 fs....

Metal-like self-organization of periodic nanostructures on silicon and silicon carbide under femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gemini, Laura; Hashida, Masaki; Shimizu, Masahiro; Miyasaka, Yasuhiro; Inoue, Shunsuke; Tokita, Shigeki; Sakabe, Shuji; Limpouch, Jiri; Mocek, Tomas

2013-01-01

Periodic structures were generated on Si and SiC surfaces by irradiation with femtosecond laser pulses. Self-organized structures with spatial periodicity of approximately 600 nm appear on silicon and silicon carbide in the laser fluence range just above the ablation threshold and upon irradiation with a large number of pulses. As in the case of metals, the dependence of the spatial periodicity on laser fluence can be explained by the parametric decay of laser light into surface plasma waves. The results show that the proposed model might be universally applicable to any solid state material

Steering dissociation of Br2 molecules with two femtosecond pulses via wave packet interference.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Yong-Chang; Yuan, Kai-Jun; Hu, Wen-Hui; Yan, Tian-Min; Cong, Shu-Lin

2008-04-07

The dissociation dynamics of Br2 molecules induced by two femtosecond pump pulses are studied based on the calculation of time-dependent quantum wave packet. Perpendicular transition from X 1Sigma g+ to A 3Pi 1u+ and 1Pi 1u+ and parallel transition from X 1Sigma g+ to B 3Pi 0u+, involving two product channels Br (2P3/2)+Br (2P3/2) and Br (2P3/2)+Br* (2P1/2), respectively, are taken into account. Two pump pulses create dissociating wave packets interfering with each other. By varying laser parameters, the interference of dissociating wave packets can be controlled, and the dissociation probabilities of Br2 molecules on the three excited states can be changed to different degrees. The branching ratio of Br*/(Br+Br*) is calculated as a function of pulse delay time and phase difference.

High Intensity Femtosecond XUV Pulse Interactions with Atomic Clusters: Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ditmire, Todd [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Center for High Energy Density Science

2016-10-12

We propose to expand our recent studies on the interactions of intense extreme ultraviolet (XUV) femtosecond pulses with atomic and molecular clusters. The work described follows directly from work performed under BES support for the past grant period. During this period we upgraded the THOR laser at UT Austin by replacing the regenerative amplifier with optical parametric amplification (OPA) using BBO crystals. This increased the contrast of the laser, the total laser energy to ~1.2 J , and decreased the pulse width to below 30 fs. We built a new all reflective XUV harmonic beam line into expanded lab space. This enabled an increase influence by a factor of 25 and an increase in the intensity by a factor of 50. The goal of the program proposed in this renewal is to extend this class of experiments to available higher XUV intensity and a greater range of wavelengths. In particular we plan to perform experiments to confirm our hypothesis about the origin of the high charge states in these exploding clusters, an effect which we ascribe to plasma continuum lowering (ionization potential depression) in a cluster nano-­plasma. To do this we will perform experiments in which XUV pulses of carefully chosen wavelength irradiate clusters composed of only low-Z atoms and clusters with a mixture of this low-­Z atom with higher Z atoms. The latter clusters will exhibit higher electron densities and will serve to lower the ionization potential further than in the clusters composed only of low Z atoms. This should have a significant effect on the charge states produced in the exploding cluster. We will also explore the transition of explosions in these XUV irradiated clusters from hydrodynamic expansion to Coulomb explosion. The work proposed here will explore clusters of a wider range of constituents, including clusters from solids. Experiments on clusters from solids will be enabled by development we performed during the past grant period in which we constructed and

Type-I cascaded quadratic soliton compression in lithium niobate: Compressing femtosecond pulses from high-power fiber lasers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bache, Morten; Wise, Frank W.

2010-01-01

The output pulses of a commercial high-power femtosecond fiber laser or amplifier are typically around 300–500 fs with wavelengths of approximately 1030 nm and tens of microjoules of pulse energy. Here, we present a numerical study of cascaded quadratic soliton compression of such pulses in LiNbO3....... However, the strong group-velocity dispersion implies that the pulses can achieve moderate compression to durations of less than 130 fs in available crystal lengths. Most of the pulse energy is conserved because the compression is moderate. The effects of diffraction and spatial walk-off are addressed......, and in particular the latter could become an issue when compressing such long crystals (around 10 cm long). We finally show that the second harmonic contains a short pulse locked to the pump and a long multi-picosecond red-shifted detrimental component. The latter is caused by the nonlocal effects...

Plasma channels during filamentation of a femtosecond laser pulse with wavefront astigmatism in air

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dergachev, A A; Kandidov, V P; Shlenov, S A [Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Physics, Moscow (Russian Federation); Ionin, A A; Mokrousova, D V; Seleznev, L V; Sinitsyn, D V; Sunchugasheva, E S; Shustikova, A P [P N Lebedev Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2014-12-31

We have demonstrated experimentally and numerically the possibility of controlling parameters of plasma channels formed during filamentation of a femtosecond laser pulse by introducing astigmatism in the laser beam wavefront. It is found that weak astigmatism increases the length of the plasma channel in comparison with the case of aberration-free focusing and that strong astigmatism can cause splitting of the plasma channel into two channels located one after another on the filament axis. (interaction of laser radiation with matter. laser plasma)

Fabrication of polycrystalline diamond refractive X-ray lens by femtosecond laser processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kononenko, T.V.; Ralchenko, V.G.; Ashkinazi, E.E.; Konov, V.I. [General Physics Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation); National Research Nuclear University ' ' MEPhI' ' , Moscow (Russian Federation); Polikarpov, M.; Ershov, P. [Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Functional Nanomaterials, Kaliningrad (Russian Federation); Kuznetsov, S.; Yunkin, V. [Institute of Microelectronics Technology RAS, Chernogolovka, Moscow region (Russian Federation); Snigireva, I. [European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble (France)

2016-03-15

X-ray planar compound refractive lenses were fabricated from a polycrystalline diamond plate grown by chemical vapor deposition, by precise through cutting with femtosecond laser pulses. The lens geometry and the surface morphology were investigated with optical and scanning electron microscopy, while the material structure modification was analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. The results of the preliminary lens test at 9.25-keV X-rays are presented. (orig.)

Fabrication of polycrystalline diamond refractive X-ray lens by femtosecond laser processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kononenko, T.V.; Ralchenko, V.G.; Ashkinazi, E.E.; Konov, V.I.; Polikarpov, M.; Ershov, P.; Kuznetsov, S.; Yunkin, V.; Snigireva, I.

2016-01-01

X-ray planar compound refractive lenses were fabricated from a polycrystalline diamond plate grown by chemical vapor deposition, by precise through cutting with femtosecond laser pulses. The lens geometry and the surface morphology were investigated with optical and scanning electron microscopy, while the material structure modification was analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. The results of the preliminary lens test at 9.25-keV X-rays are presented. (orig.)

Femtosecond laser's application in the corneal surgery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shu-Liang Wang

2015-10-01

Full Text Available With the rapid development over the past two decades,femtosecond(10-15slasers(FShas become a new application in ophthalmic surgery. As laser power is defined as energy delivered per unit time, decreasing the pulse duration to femtosecond level(100fsnot only increases the power delivered but also decreases the fluence threshold for laser induced optical breakdown. In ablating tissue, FS has an edge over nanosecond lasers as there is minimal collateral damage from shock waves and heat conduction during surgical ablation. Thus, application of FS has been widely spread, from flap creation for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis(LASIKsurgery, cutting of donor and recipient corneas in keratoplasty, creation of pockets for intracorneal ring implantation. FS applied in keratoplasty is mainly used in making graft and recipient bed, and can exactly cut different tissue of keratopathy. FS can also cut partial tissue of cornea, even if it is under the moderate corneal macula and corneal edema condition.

Design and analysis of X-band femtosecond linac

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uesaka, M; Kozawa, T; Takeshita, A; Kobayashi, T; Ueda, T; Miya, K [Tokyo Univ., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Nuclear Engineering Research Lab.

1997-03-01

Femtosecond quantum phenomena research project is proposed at Nuclear Engineering Research Laboratory, University of Tokyo. The research facility consists of an X-band (11.424GHz) femtosecond electron linac, a femtosecond wavelength tunable laser, two S-band (2.856GHz) picosecond electron linacs and measuring equipments. Especially, we aim to generate a 100 fs (FWHM) electron single bunch with more than 1 nC at the X-band femtosecond linac. Ultrafast processes in radiation physics, chemistry, material science and microscopic electromagnetic phenomena are going to be analyzed there. Here the design and analysis of an X-band femtosecond linac is presented. The simulation of electron dynamics is carried out including magnetic pulse compression by using PARMELA and SUPERFISH. It is found by the simulation that the 600 ps (tail-to-tail) electron emission from a 200 kV thermionic gun can be bunched and compressed to 110 fs (FWHM) with the charge of 0.8 nC which gives 7.3 kA. We plan to use one high power X-band klystron which can supply 60 MW with more than 200 ns pulse duration. The flatness of plateau of the pulse should be 0.2% for stable ultrashort bunch generation. (author)

Preclinical investigations of articular cartilage ablation with femtosecond and pulsed infrared lasers as an alternative to microfracture surgery

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Erica; Sun, Hui; Juhasz, Tibor; Wong, Brian J. F.

2014-09-01

Microfracture surgery is a bone marrow stimulation technique for treating cartilage defects and injuries in the knee. Current methods rely on surgical skill and instrumentation. This study investigates the potential use of laser technology as an alternate means to create the microfracture holes. Lasers investigated in this study include an erbium:YAG laser (λ=2.94 μm), titanium:sapphire femtosecond laser system (λ=1700 nm), and Nd:glass femtosecond laser (λ=1053 nm). Bovine samples were ablated at fluences of 8 to 18 J/cm2 with the erbium:YAG laser, at a power of 300±15 mW with the titanium:sapphire femtosecond system, and at an energy of 3 μJ/pulse with the Nd:glass laser. Samples were digitally photographed and histological sections were taken for analysis. The erbium:YAG laser is capable of fast and efficient ablation; specimen treated with fluences of 12 and 18 J/cm2 experienced significant amounts of bone removal and minimal carbonization with saline hydration. The femtosecond laser systems successfully removed cartilage but not clinically significant amounts of bone. Precise tissue removal was possible but not to substantial depths due to limitations of the systems. With additional studies and development, the use of femtosecond laser systems to ablate bone may be achieved at clinically valuable ablation rates.

Single-shot optical conductivity measurement of dense aluminum plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Churina, I. V.; Cho, B.-I.; Bernstein, A.; Stoker, D. S.; Dalton, A.; Symes, D. R.; Ditmire, T.

2009-01-01

The optical conductivity of a dense femtosecond laser-heated aluminum plasma heated to 0.1-1.5 eV was measured using frequency-domain interferometry with chirped pulses, permitting simultaneous observation of optical probe reflectivity and probe pulse phase shift. Coupled with published models of bound-electron contributions to the conductivity, these two independent experimental data yielded a direct measurement of both real and imaginary components of the plasma conductivity.

Optical Cladding Waveguides in Dielectric Crystals Produced by Femtosecond Laser Inscription

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Feng

2013-11-01

Full Text Available In this work, the recent progress of our research on optical cladding waveguides in dielectric crystals produced by femtosecond laser inscription has been overviewed. With different scales at cross sections, the cladding waveguides support guidance from single mode to highly multi-modes, and work for wavelength till mid-infrared regimes. Applications of the fabricated cladding structures as new integrated light sources are introduced.

Diagnostics of plasma produced by femtosecond laser pulse impact upon a target with an internal nanostructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skobelev, I. Yu.; Faenov, A. Ya.; Gasilov, S. V.; Pikuz, T. A.; Pikuz, S. A.; Magunov, A. I.; Boldarev, A. S.; Gasilov, V. A.

2010-01-01

X-ray diagnostics of the interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with intensities of 10 16 -10 18 W/cm 2 with CO 2 clusters and frozen nanosize water particles is carried out. The stage of cluster expansion and the formation of a plasma channel, which governs the parameters of the formed X-ray radiation source and accelerated ion flows, is studied. The measurements are based on recording spatially resolved X-ray spectra of H- and He-like oxygen ions. Utilization of Rydberg transitions for spectra diagnostics makes it possible to determine plasma parameters on a time scale of t ∼ 10 ps after the beginning of a femtosecond pulse. The role of the rear edge of the laser pulse in sustaining the plasma temperature at a level of ∼100 eV in the stage of a nonadiabatic cluster expansion is shown. The analysis of the profiles and relative intensities of spectral lines allows one to determine the temperature and density of plasma electrons and distinguish the populations of 'thermal' ions and ions that are accelerated up to energies of a few tens of kiloelectronvolts. It is shown that the use of solid clusters made of frozen nanoscale water droplets as targets leads to a substantial increase in the number of fast He-like ions. In this case, however, the efficiency of acceleration of H-like ions does not increase, because the time of their ionization in plasma exceeds the time of cluster expansion.

Enhanced optical confinement of dye-doped dielectric nanoparticles using a picosecond-pulsed near-infrared laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kittiravechote, A; Chiang, W-Y; Usman, A; Liau, I; Masuhara, H

2014-01-01

We demonstrate a novel strategy to increase the capability of confining numerous dye-doped polymeric nanobeads (diameter 100 nm) with laser trapping. Unlike most classical works of optical trapping that address mainly the stiffness of the optical trap, our work concerns an increase in the number of particles confined near the laser focus. We developed an imaging system of light scattering in which a condenser lamp was employed to illuminate the focal plane of the objective lens, and the scattering of the incoherent light was specifically measured to determine the number of confined nanobeads. In contrast to preceding work that used mainly continuous-wave or femtosecond-pulsed lasers, we employed a picosecond-pulsed laser with the half-wavelength of the laser particularly falling within the absorption band of the dopant. Our results show that the number of doped nanobeads held by the laser is significantly greater than that of the bare nanobeads of the same dimension. In striking contrast, the confinement of the nanobeads of the two types was comparable when a continuous-wave laser of the same wavelength and power was employed. The number of confined dye-doped nanobeads increased nonlinearly with the power of the pulsed laser; this dependence was fitted satisfactorily with a second-order polynomial. Supported by theoretical analysis, we attribute the enhanced confinement of doped nanobeads in part to an increased effective refractive index resulting from two-photon resonance between the optical field of the laser and the dopant of the nanobead. We envisage that our findings would evoke applications that benefit from controlled confinement or aggregation of nanomaterials with the employment of near-infrared pulsed lasers. (letter)

Femtosecond pulse-width dependent trapping and directional ejection dynamics of dielectric nanoparticles

KAUST Repository

Chiang, Weiyi

2013-09-19

We demonstrate that laser pulse duration, which determines its impulsive peak power, is an effective parameter to control the number of optically trapped dielectric nanoparticles, their ejections along the directions perpendicular to polarization vector, and their migration distances from the trapping site. This ability to controllably confine and eject the nanoparticle is explained by pulse width-dependent optical forces exerted on nanoparticles in the trapping site and ratio between the repulsive and attractive forces. We also show that the directional ejections occur only when the number of nanoparticles confined in the trapping site exceeds a definite threshold. We interpret our data by considering the formation of transient assembly of the optically confined nanoparticles, partial ejection of the assembly, and subsequent filling of the trapping site. The understanding of optical trapping and directional ejections by ultrashort laser pulses paves the way to optically controlled manipulation and sorting of nanoparticles. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Tomographic measurement of femtosecond-laser induced stress changes in optical fibers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duerr, F.; Limberger, H.G.; Salathe, R.P.; Hindle, F.; Douay, M.; Fertein, E.; Przygodzki, C.

2004-01-01

The tomographic measurement of the residual stress profile in femtosecond-laser irradiated standard SMF-28 germanium-doped telecommunication fiber is demonstrated. The fiber is irradiated with weakly focused pulses to realize long-period fiber gratings. In the irradiated grating regions, an asymmetrical increase in axial core stress up to 6.2 kg/mm2 is found. The increase in stress is attributed to a densification of the irradiated glass matrix. The stress-induced anisotropic index distribution is calculated and related to the absolute index change in the irradiated regions

Dynamic Characterization of Fiber Optical Chirped Pulse Amplification for Sub-ps Pulses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cristofori, Valentina; Lali-Dastjerdi, Zohreh; Rishøj, Lars Søgaard

2013-01-01

We investigate experimentally the propagation of sub-picosecond pulses in fiber optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers, showing a significant broadening of the pulses from 450 fs up to 720 fs due to dispersion and self-phase modulation.......We investigate experimentally the propagation of sub-picosecond pulses in fiber optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers, showing a significant broadening of the pulses from 450 fs up to 720 fs due to dispersion and self-phase modulation....

Structural Changes Induced in Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. DNA by Femtosecond IR Laser Pulses: A Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopic Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicoleta E. Dina

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In this work, surface-enhanced Raman spectra of ten genomic DNAs extracted from leaf tissues of different grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. varieties, respectively, are analyzed in the wavenumber range 300–1800 cm−1. Furthermore, structural changes induced in grapevine genomic nucleic acids upon femtosecond (170 fs infrared (IR laser pulse irradiation (λ = 1100 nm are discussed in detail for seven genomic DNAs, respectively. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS signatures, vibrational band assignments and structural characterization of genomic DNAs are reported for each case. As a general observation, the wavenumber range between 1500 and 1660 cm−1 of the spectra seems to be modified upon laser treatment. This finding could reflect changes in the base-stacking interactions in DNA. Spectral shifts are mainly attributed to purines (dA, dG and deoxyribose. Pyrimidine residues seem to be less affected by IR femtosecond laser pulse irradiation. Furthermore, changes in the conformational properties of nucleic acid segments are observed after laser treatment. We have found that DNA isolated from Feteasca Neagra grapevine leaf tissues is the most structurally-responsive system to the femtosecond IR laser irradiation process. In addition, using unbiased computational resources by means of principal component analysis (PCA, eight different grapevine varieties were discriminated.

Etude d'un continuum de lumière en régime femtoseconde. Applications au domaine biologique : microscopies et spectroscopie en temps résolu.

OpenAIRE

Courvoisier , Céline

2006-01-01

For few years, a new type of source, called "continuum of light", has been developed. It presents many advantages like a wideband spectrum, a huge brilliancy, a pulsed nature. The aim of this work is to perform a complete characterization of a continuum generated by the injection of femtosecond pulses into a microstructured fiber, and to consider the use of this continuum as optical source for biomedical applications.With acousto-optic filters, the continuum has been successfully employed as ...

Femtosecond laser micromachining of polylactic acid/graphene composites for designing interdigitated microelectrodes for sensor applications

Science.gov (United States)

Paula, Kelly T.; Gaál, Gabriel; Almeida, G. F. B.; Andrade, M. B.; Facure, Murilo H. M.; Correa, Daniel S.; Riul, Antonio; Rodrigues, Varlei; Mendonça, Cleber R.

2018-05-01

There is an increasing interest in the last years towards electronic applications of graphene-based materials and devices fabricated from patterning techniques, with the ultimate goal of high performance and temporal resolution. Laser micromachining using femtosecond pulses is an attractive methodology to integrate graphene-based materials into functional devices as it allows changes to the focal volume with a submicrometer spatial resolution due to the efficient nonlinear nature of the absorption, yielding rapid prototyping for innovative applications. We present here the patterning of PLA-graphene films spin-coated on a glass substrate using a fs-laser at moderate pulse energies to fabricate interdigitated electrodes having a minimum spatial resolution of 5 μm. Raman spectroscopy of the PLA-graphene films indicated the presence of multilayered graphene fibers. Subsequently, the PLA-graphene films were micromachined using a femtosecond laser oscillator delivering 50-fs pulses and 800 nm, where the pulse energy and scanning speed was varied in order to determine the optimum irradiation parameters (16 nJ and 100 μm/s) to the fabrication of microstructures. The micromachined patterns were characterized by optical microscopy and submitted to electrical measurements in liquid samples, clearly distinguishing all tastes tested. Our results confirm the femtosecond laser micromachining technique as an interesting approach to efficiently pattern PLA-graphene filaments with high precision and minimal mechanical defects, allowing the easy fabrication of interdigitated structures and an alternative method to those produced by conventional photolithography.

Air-guided photonic-crystal-fiber pulse-compression delivery of multimegawatt femtosecond laser output for nonlinear-optical imaging and neurosurgery

Science.gov (United States)

Lanin, Aleksandr A.; Fedotov, Il'ya V.; Sidorov-Biryukov, Dmitrii A.; Doronina-Amitonova, Lyubov V.; Ivashkina, Olga I.; Zots, Marina A.; Sun, Chi-Kuang; Ömer Ilday, F.; Fedotov, Andrei B.; Anokhin, Konstantin V.; Zheltikov, Aleksei M.

2012-03-01

Large-core hollow photonic-crystal fibers (PCFs) are shown to enable a fiber-format air-guided delivery of ultrashort infrared laser pulses for neurosurgery and nonlinear-optical imaging. With an appropriate dispersion precompensation, an anomalously dispersive 15-μm-core hollow PCF compresses 510-fs, 1070-nm light pulses to a pulse width of about 110 fs, providing a peak power in excess of 5 MW. The compressed PCF output is employed to induce a local photodisruption of corpus callosum tissues in mouse brain and is used to generate the third harmonic in brain tissues, which is captured by the PCF and delivered to a detector through the PCF cladding.

ALL-OPTICAL CONTROL OF THZ RADIATION IN PARALLEL PLATE WAVEGUIDES

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2010-01-01

The invention relates to control of THz radiation in parallel plate waveguides (PPWG) by forming components in the waveguide by use of optical radiation pulses. Patterns of excited regions induced in the PPWG by an optical excitation pulses changes the electromagnetic properties of the waveguide...... medium in the THz regime, thereby forming transient passive and active components for controlling THz radiation signals. The excitation can be generation of free charge carriers in a semiconductor material in the PPWG, to create metallic regions that form mirrors, lenses or photonic crystal structures......-on-a-chip applications. The optical and THz radiation can be ultrashort pulses with picosecond or femtosecond pulse durations. L...

Femtosecond laser control of chemical reactions

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Du Plessis, A

2010-08-31

Full Text Available Femtosecond laser control of chemical reactions is made possible through the use of pulse-shaping techniques coupled to a learning algorithm feedback loop – teaching the laser pulse to control the chemical reaction. This can result in controllable...

Direct fabrication of periodic patterns with hierarchical sub-wavelength structures on poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) thin films using femtosecond laser interference patterning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lasagni, Andres F.; Shao, Peng; Hendricks, Jeffrey L.; Shaw, Charles M.; Martin, David C.; Das, Suman

2010-01-01

A simple optical interference method for the fabrication of simply periodic and periodic with a substructure on poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) using femtosecond laser interference patterns is demonstrated. The femtosecond laser pulse was split by a diffractive beam splitter and overlapped with two lenses. Homogeneous periodic arrays could be fabricated even using a single laser pulse. In addition, multipulse irradiation resulted in reproducible sub-wavelength ripples oriented perpendicularly to the laser polarization with spatial period from 170 to 220 nm (around one-fourth of the laser wavelength). In addition, the observed size of the spatial period was not affected by the number of incident laser pulses or accumulated energy density. Using high energy pulses it was possible to completely remove the PEDOT:PSS layer without inducing damage to the underneath substrate.

Development of subpicosecond pulse radiolysis system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozawa, T.; Saeki, A.; Okamoto, K.; Numata, Y.; Kaseda, K.; Yamamoto, T.; Suemine, S.; Yoshida, Y.; Tagawa, S.

2000-01-01

Subpicosecond pulse radiolysis system was developed to elucidate the primary processes of radiation chemistry in the time region of femtosecond. The system consists of a femtosecond electron linac as an irradiation source, a femtosecond laser as an analyzing light and a jitter compensation system which was designed to reduce the effect of jitter between an electron pulse and a laser pulse on the time resolution. The time resolution of 800 fs was achieved. (author)

Selective appearance of several laser-induced periodic surface structure patterns on a metal surface using structural colors produced by femtosecond laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yao Jianwu; Zhang Chengyun; Liu Haiying; Dai Qiaofeng; Wu Lijun [Laboratory of Photonic Information Technology, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Lan, Sheng, E-mail: slan@scnu.edu.cn [Laboratory of Photonic Information Technology, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Gopal, Achanta Venu [Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Material Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400005 (India); Trofimov, Vyacheslav A.; Lysak, Tatiana M. [Department of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119992 (Russian Federation)

2012-07-15

Ripples with a subwavelength period were induced on the surface of a stainless steel (301 L) foil by femtosecond laser pulses. By optimizing the irradiation fluence of the laser pulses and the scanning speed of the laser beam, ripples with large amplitude ({approx}150 nm) and uniform period could be obtained, rendering vivid structural colors when illuminating the surface with white light. It indicates that these ripples act as a surface grating that diffracts light efficiently. The strong dependence of the ripple orientation on the polarization of laser light offers us the opportunity of decorating different regions of the surface with different types of ripples. As a result, different patterns can be selectively displayed with structural color when white light is irradiated on the surface from different directions. More interestingly, we demonstrated the possibility of decorating the same region with two or more types of ripples with different orientations. In this way, different patterns with spatial overlapping can be selectively displayed with structural color. This technique may find applications in the fields of anti-counterfeiting, color display, decoration, encryption and optical data storage.

Comparative study of femtosecond and nanosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of depleted uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emmert, Luke A.; Chinni, Rosemarie C.; Cremers, David A.; Jones, C. Randy; Rudolph, Wolfgang

2011-01-01

We present spectra of depleted uranium metal from laser plasmas generated by nanosecond Nd:YAG (1064 nm) and femtosecond Ti:sapphire (800 nm) laser pulses. The latter pulses produce short-lived and relatively cool plasmas in comparison to the longer pulses, and the spectra of neutral uranium atoms appear immediately after excitation. Evidence for nonequilibrium excitation with femtosecond pulses is found in the dependence of spectral line intensities on the pulse chirp.

Frequency-resolved measurement of the orbital angular momentum spectrum of femtosecond ultra-broadband optical-vortex pulses based on field reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamane, Keisaku; Yang, Zhili; Toda, Yasunori; Morita, Ryuji

2014-01-01

We propose a high-precision method for measuring the orbital angular momentum (OAM) spectrum of ultra-broadband optical-vortex (OV) pulses from fork-like interferograms between OV pulses and a reference plane-wave pulse. It is based on spatial reconstruction of the electric fields of the pulses to be measured from the frequency-resolved interference pattern. Our method is demonstrated experimentally by obtaining the OAM spectra for different spectral components of the OV pulses, enabling us to characterize the frequency dispersion of the topological charge of the OAM spectrum by a simple experimental setup. Retrieval is carried out in quasi-real time, allowing us to investigate OAM spectra dynamically. Furthermore, we determine the relative phases (including the sign) of the topological-charge-resolved electric-field amplitudes, which are significant for evaluating OVs or OV pulses with arbitrarily superposed modes. (paper)

Long distance measurement with a femtosecond laser based frequency comb

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharya, N.; Cui, M.; Zeitouny, M. G.; Urbach, H. P.; van den Berg, S. A.

2017-11-01

Recent advances in the field of ultra-short pulse lasers have led to the development of reliable sources of carrier envelope phase stabilized femtosecond pulses. The pulse train generated by such a source has a frequency spectrum that consists of discrete, regularly spaced lines known as a frequency comb. In this case both the frequency repetition and the carrier-envelope-offset frequency are referenced to a frequency standard, like an atomic clock. As a result the accuracy of the frequency standard is transferred to the optical domain, with the frequency comb as transfer oscillator. These unique properties allow the frequency comb to be applied as a versatile tool, not only for time and frequency metrology, but also in fundamental physics, high-precision spectroscopy, and laser noise characterization. The pulse-to-pulse phase relationship of the light emitted by the frequency comb has opened up new directions for long range highly accurate distance measurement.

3D features of modified photostructurable glass-ceramic with infrared femtosecond laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernandez-Pradas, J.M., E-mail: jmfernandez@ub.edu [Universitat de Barcelona, Departament de Fisica Aplicada i Optica, Marti i Franques 1, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain); Serrano, D.; Bosch, S.; Morenza, J.L.; Serra, P. [Universitat de Barcelona, Departament de Fisica Aplicada i Optica, Marti i Franques 1, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain)

2011-04-01

The exclusive ability of laser radiation to be focused inside transparent materials makes lasers a unique tool to process inner parts of them unreachable with other techniques. Hence, laser direct-write can be used to create 3D structures inside bulk materials. Infrared femtosecond lasers are especially indicated for this purpose because a multiphoton process is usually required for absorption and high resolution can be attained. This work studies the modifications produced by 450 fs laser pulses at 1027 nm wavelength focused inside a photostructurable glass-ceramic (Foturan) at different depths. Irradiated samples were submitted to standard thermal treatment and subsequent soaking in HF solution to form the buried microchannels and thus unveil the modified material. The voxel dimensions of modified material depend on the laser pulse energy and the depth at which the laser is focused. Spherical aberration and self-focusing phenomena are required to explain the observed results.

Direct welding of glass and metal by 1  kHz femtosecond laser pulses.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guodong; Cheng, Guanghua

2015-10-20

In the welding process between similar or dissimilar materials, inserting an intermediate layer and pressure assistance are usually thought to be necessary. In this paper, the direct welding between alumina-silicate glass and metal (aluminum, copper, and steel), under exposure from 1 kHz femtosecond laser pulses without any auxiliary processes, is demonstrated. The micron/nanometer-sized metal particles induced by laser ablation were considered to act as the adhesive in the welding process. The welding parameters were optimized by varying the pulse energy and the translation velocity of the sample. The shear joining strength characterized by a shear force testing equipment was as high as 2.34 MPa. This direct bonding technology has potential for applications in medical devices, sensors, and photovoltaic devices.

Femtosecond nonlinear fiber optics in the ionization regime.

Science.gov (United States)

Hölzer, P; Chang, W; Travers, J C; Nazarkin, A; Nold, J; Joly, N Y; Saleh, M F; Biancalana, F; Russell, P St J

2011-11-11

By using a gas-filled kagome-style photonic crystal fiber, nonlinear fiber optics is studied in the regime of optically induced ionization. The fiber offers low anomalous dispersion over a broad bandwidth and low loss. Sequences of blueshifted pulses are emitted when 65 fs, few-microjoule pulses, corresponding to high-order solitons, are launched into the fiber and undergo self-compression. The experimental results are confirmed by numerical simulations which suggest that free-electron densities of ∼10(17) cm(-3) are achieved at peak intensities of 10(14) W/cm(2) over length scales of several centimeters.

Elemental fractionation in 785 nm picosecond and femtosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaheen, M.E.; Gagnon, J.E.; Fryer, B.J.

2015-01-01

Elemental fractionation and ICP-MS signal response were investigated for two different pulse width laser beams originating from the same laser system. Femtosecond and picosecond laser beams at pulse widths of 130 fs and 110 ps, respectively, and wavelength of 785 nm were used to ablate NIST 610 synthetic glass and SRM 1107 Naval Brass B at the same spot for 800 to 1000 laser pulses at different repetition rates (5 to 50 Hz). Elemental fractionation was found to depend on repetition rate and showed a trend with femtosecond laser ablation that is opposite to that observed in picosecond laser ablation for most measured isotopes. ICP-MS signal intensity was higher in femtosecond than picosecond LA-ICP-MS in both NIST 610 and naval brass when ablation was conducted under the same fluence and repetition rate. The differences in signal intensity were partly related to differences in particle size distribution between particles generated by femtosecond and picosecond laser pulses and the consequent differences in transport and ionization efficiencies. The main reason for the higher signal intensity resulting from femtosecond laser pulses was related to the larger crater sizes compared to those created during picosecond laser ablation. Elemental ratios measured using 66 Zn/ 63 Cu, 208 Pb/ 238 U, 232 Th/ 238 U, 66 Zn/ 232 Th and 66 Zn/ 208 Pb were found to change with the number of laser pulses with data points being more scattered in picosecond than femtosecond laser pulses. Reproducibility of replicate measurements of signal intensities, fractionation and elemental ratios was better for fs-LA-ICP-MS (RSD ~ 3 to 6%) than ps-LA-ICP-MS (RSD ~ 7 to 11%). - Highlights: • Fractionation and ICP-MS signal response were investigated for two different pulse widths using NIST 610 and Naval Brass. • Dependence of fractionation indices on repetition rate and pulse width. • Higher ablation rate was observed in picosecond compared to femtosecond laser ablation of NIST 610 and Brass

Subdiffraction field localisation in the scattering of femtosecond laser radiation by a dielectric microsphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Geints, Yu E; Zemlyanov, A A; Panina, E K [V.E. Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk (Russian Federation)

2014-01-31

The time dynamics of the optical field was theoretically considered in the near-field diffraction zone in the scattering of a femtosecond laser pulse by a transparent spherical microparticle. The spatial region of field focusing by the particle (the 'photonic jet' zone) was investigated; the evolution of the jet shape and the peak intensity in this region were analysed. For the first time it was determined that an extremely tight optical field localisation to a subdiffraction size is possible at a certain (resonance) temporal stage of photonic jet development. (radiation scattering)

Generation of a few femtoseconds pulses in seeded FELs using a seed laser with small transverse size

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Heting, E-mail: liheting@ustc.edu.cn; Jia, Qika

2016-09-11

We propose a simple method to generate a few femtosecond pulses in seeded FELs. We use a longitudinal energy-chirped electron beam passing through a dogleg where transverse dispersion will generate a horizontal energy chirp, then in the modulator, a seed laser with narrow beam radius will only modulate the center portion of the electron beam and then short pulses at high harmonics will be generated in the radiator. Using a representative realistic set of parameters, we show that 30 nm XUV pulse based on the HGHG scheme and 9 nm soft x-ray pulse based on the EEHG scheme with duration of about 8 fs (FWHM) and peak power of GW level can be generated from a 180 nm UV seed laser with beam waist of 75 μm. This new scheme can provide an optional operation mode for the existing seeded FEL facilities to meet the requirement of short-pulse FEL.

Chalcogen doping of silicon via intense femtosecond-laser irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheehy, Michael A.; Tull, Brian R.; Friend, Cynthia M.; Mazur, Eric

2007-01-01

We have previously shown that doping silicon with sulfur via femtosecond-laser irradiation leads to near-unity absorption of radiation from ultraviolet wavelengths to below band gap short-wave infrared wavelengths. Here, we demonstrate that doping silicon with two other group VI elements (chalcogens), selenium and tellurium, also leads to near-unity broadband absorption. A powder of the chalcogen dopant is spread on the silicon substrate and irradiated with femtosecond-laser pulses. We examine and compare the resulting morphology, optical properties, and chemical composition for each chalcogen-doped substrate before and after thermal annealing. Thermal annealing reduces the absorption of below band gap radiation by an amount that correlates with the diffusivity of the chalcogen dopant used to make the sample. We propose a mechanism for the absorption of below band gap radiation based on defects in the lattice brought about by the femtosecond-laser irradiation and the presence of a supersaturated concentration of chalcogen dopant atoms. The selenium and tellurium doped samples show particular promise for use in infrared photodetectors as they retain most of their infrared absorptance even after thermal annealing-a necessary step in many semiconductor device manufacturing processes

Irradiation of amorphous Ta{sub 42}Si{sub 13}N{sub 45} film with a femtosecond laser pulse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Romano, V. [University of Bern, Institute of Applied Physics, Bern (Switzerland); Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern (Switzerland); Meier, M. [University of Bern, Institute of Applied Physics, Bern (Switzerland); Theodore, N.D. [Freescale Semiconductor Inc., Tempe, AZ (United States); Marble, D.K. [Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX (United States); Nicolet, M.A. [California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States)

2011-07-15

Films of 260 nm thickness, with atomic composition Ta{sub 42}Si{sub 13}N{sub 45}, on 4'' silicon wafers, have been irradiated in air with single laser pulses of 200 femtoseconds duration and 800 nm wave length. As sputter-deposited, the films are structurally amorphous. A laterally truncated Gaussian beam with a near-uniform fluence of {proportional_to}0.6 J/cm{sup 2} incident normally on such a film ablates 23 nm of the film. Cross-sectional transmission electron micrographs show that the surface of the remaining film is smooth and flat on a long-range scale, but contains densely distributed sharp nanoprotrusions that sometimes surpass the height of the original surface. Dark field micrographs of the remaining material show no nanograins. Neither does glancing angle X-ray diffraction with a beam illuminating many diffraction spots. By all evidence, the remaining film remains amorphous after the pulsed femtosecond irradiation. The same single pulse, but with an enhanced and slightly peaked fluence profile, creates a spot with flat peripheral terraces whose lateral extents shrink with depth, as scanning electron and atomic force micrographs revealed. Comparison of the various figures suggests that the sharp nanoprotrusions result from an ejection of material by brittle fraction and spallation, not from ablation by direct beam-solid interaction. Conditions under which spallation should dominate over ablation are discussed. (orig.)

Structural changes in femtosecond laser modified regions inside fused silica

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juodkazis, Saulius; Kohara, Shinji; Ohishi, Yasuo; Hirao, Norihisa; Vailionis, Arturas; Mizeikis, Vygantas; Saito, Akira; Rode, Andrei

2010-01-01

Structural characterization of photomodified microvolumes formed by tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses inside silica glass was carried out using synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The observed distinct separation between the O–O and Si–Si pair correlation peaks can be interpreted as a phase separation induced by microexplosions at the focal volume. The mechanisms of structural transitions induced by femtosecond laser pulses inside dielectrics are discussed

Single-shot femtosecond laser ablation of gold surface in air and isopropyl alcohol

Science.gov (United States)

Kudryashov, S. I.; Saraeva, I. N.; Lednev, V. N.; Pershin, S. M.; Rudenko, A. A.; Ionin, A. A.

2018-05-01

Single-shot IR femtosecond-laser ablation of gold surfaces in ambient air and liquid isopropyl alcohol was studied by scanning electron microscopy characterization of crater topographies and time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy of ablative plumes in regimes, typical for non-filamentary and non-fragmentation laser production of nanoparticle sols. Despite one order of magnitude shorter (few nanoseconds) lifetimes and almost two orders of magnitude lower intensities of the quenched ablative plume emission in the alcohol ambient at the same peak laser fluence, craters for the dry and wet conditions appeared with rather similar nanofoam-like spallative topographies and the same thresholds. These facts envision the underlying surface spallation as one of the basic ablation mechanisms relevant for both dry and wet advanced femtosecond laser surface nano/micro-machining and texturing, as well as for high-throughput femtosecond laser ablative production of colloidal nanoparticles by MHz laser-pulse trains via their direct nanoscale jetting from the nanofoam in air and fluid environments.

Using Femtosecond Laser Subcellular Surgery as a Tool to Study Cell Biology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shen, N; Colvin, M E; Huser, T

2007-02-27

Research on cellular function and regulation would be greatly advanced by new instrumentation using methods to alter cellular processes with spatial discrimination on the nanometer-scale. We present a novel technique for targeting submicrometer sized organelles or other biologically important regions in living cells using femtosecond laser pulses. By tightly focusing these pulses beneath the cell membrane, we can vaporize cellular material inside the cell through nonlinear optical processes. This technique enables non-invasive manipulation of the physical structure of a cell with sub-micrometer resolution. We propose to study the role mitochondria play in cell proliferation and apoptosis. Our technique provides a unique tool for the study of cell biology.

Demonstration of Femtosecond-Phase Stabilization in 2 km Optical Fiber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staples, J.W.; Wilcox, R.; Byrd, J.M.

2007-01-01

Long-term phase drifts of less than a femtosecond per hour have been demonstrated in a 2 km length of single-mode optical fiber, stabilized interferometrically at 1530 nm. Recent improvements include a wide-band phase detector that reduces the possibility of fringe jumping due to fast external perturbations of the fiber and locking of the master CW laser wavelength to an atomic absorption line. Mode-locked lasers may be synchronized using two wavelengths of the comb, multiplexed over one fiber, each wavelength individually interferometrically stabilized

Temporal evolution of plasma density in femtosecond light filaments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Haitao; Fan Chengyu; Shen Hong; Qiao Chunhong; Zhang Jinghui; Zhang Pengfei; Ma Huimin; Xu Huiling

2012-01-01

By using a legible and comprehensive physical model describing the generation and evolvement of ion densities in the plasma channel induced by intense femtosecond laser pulse, the work studied the temporal evolution of the plasma densities in femtosecond light filaments. It shows that the contribution of the ionization of oxygen and nitrogen molecules to the total electron densities varies much for different laser pulse shapes, and the pulse shapes have more effects on the lifetime of the higher density plasma. It is necessary to control the pulse shape for efficient using of the plasma channel. Pulses of long duration and short wavelength can obtain a plasma channel with higher electron density, but the channel lifetime thoroughly depends on the later evolution of the self-guided channel. (authors)

Fiscal 1997 report under consignment from NEDO on the R and D of femto-second technology (development of ultra short pulse optoelectronics technology); 1997 nendo Shin energy Sangyo Gijutsu Sogo Kaihatsu Kiko itaku femto gyo technology no kenkyu kaihatsu (chotan pulse ko electronics gijutsu kaihatsu) seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

Very high speed electronics technology is indispensable for the creation of industrial base technology which supports high grade informatizing in the 21st century. The state of light and electronics is controlled in the femto-second time domain. As to the development of femto-second light pulse generation/transmission technology, mode synchronous semiconductor laser was manufactured using the strain quantum well structure aiming at heightening profit, and the repeated frequency, 166GHz, was achieved. Relating to the pulse compression element, exciton photonic band was newly designed. A technology of coding was also studied. As to the development of technology of femto-second light pulse control/distribution, shortening of the wavelength down to 1.5{mu}m and a possibility of femto-second domain high speed response were indicated by the combined double quantum well structure. The quantitative measurement of spin relaxation characteristics was successfully made. By the Mach-Zehnder light switch, obtained was the world`s fastest light switching characteristic. To realize the femto-second class very high speed element, conditions were grasped on the crystal growth of Sb based ultra thin films operating in the 1.5{mu}m zone by studying the quantum well using transition among sub-bands. 242 refs., 280 figs., 12 tabs.

Pulse energy dependence of refractive index change in lithium niobium silicate glass during femtosecond laser direct writing.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Jing; Poumellec, Bertrand; Brisset, François; Lancry, Matthieu

2018-03-19

Femtosecond laser-induced refractive index changes in lithium niobium silicate glass were explored at high repetition rate (300 fs, 500 kHz) by polarized light microscopy, full-wave retardation plate, quantitative birefringence microscopy, and digital holographic microscopy. We found three regimes on energy increase. The first one corresponds to isotropic negative refractive index change (for pulse energy ranging 0.4-0.8 μJ/pulse, 0.6 NA, 5μm/s, 650μm focusing depth in the glass). The second one (0.8-1.2 μJ/pulse) corresponds to birefringence with well-defined slow axis orientation. The third one (above 1.2 μJ/pulse) is related to birefringence direction fluctuation. Interestingly, these regimes are consistent with crystallization ones. In addition, an asymmetric orientational writing effect has been detected on birefringence. These topics extend the possibility of controlling refractive index change in multi-component glasses.

Techniques for Pump-Probe Synchronisation of Fsec Radiation Pulses

CERN Document Server

Schlarb, Holger

2005-01-01

The increasing interest on the production of ultra-short photon pulses in future generations of Free-Electron Lasers operating in the UV, VUV or X-ray regime demands new techniques to reliably measure and control the arrival time of the FEL-pulses at the experiment. For pump-probe experiments using external optical lasers the desired synchronisation is in the order of tens of femtoseconds, the typical duration of the FEL pulse. Since, the accelerators are large scale facilities of the length of several hundred meters or even kilometers, the problem of synchronisation has to be attacked twofold. First, the RF acceleration sections upstream of the magnetic bunch compressors need to be stabilised in amplitude and phase to high precision. Second, the remain electron beam timing jitter needs to be determined with femtosecond accuracy for off-line analysis. In this talk, several techniques using the electron or the FEL beam to monitor the arrival time are presented, and the proposed layout of the synchronisation sy...

Coherence Properties of Individual Femtosecond Pulses of an X-ray Free-Electron Laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vartanyants, I.A.; /DESY /Moscow Phys. Eng. Inst.; Singer, A.; Mancuso, A.P.; Yefanov, O.M.; /DESY; Sakdinawat, A.; Liu, Y.; Bang, E.; /UC, Berkeley; Williams, G.J.; /SLAC; Cadenazzi, G.; Abbey, B.; /Melbourne U.; Sinn, H.; /European XFEL, Hamburg; Attwood, D.; /UC, Berkeley; Nugent, K.A.; /Melbourne U.; Weckert, E.; /DESY; Wang, T.; Zhu, D.; Wu, B.; Graves, C.; Scherz, A.; Turner, J.J.; Schlotter, W.F.; /SLAC /LERMA, Ivry /Zurich, ETH /LBL, Berkeley /ANL, APS /Argonne /SLAC /LLNL, Livermore /Latrobe U. /SLAC /SLAC /European XFEL, Hamburg /SLAC /Hamburg U.

2012-06-06

Measurements of the spatial and temporal coherence of single, femtosecond x-ray pulses generated by the first hard x-ray free-electron laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source, are presented. Single-shot measurements were performed at 780 eV x-ray photon energy using apertures containing double pinholes in 'diffract-and-destroy' mode. We determined a coherence length of 17 {micro}m in the vertical direction, which is approximately the size of the focused Linac Coherent Light Source beam in the same direction. The analysis of the diffraction patterns produced by the pinholes with the largest separation yields an estimate of the temporal coherence time of 0.55 fs. We find that the total degree of transverse coherence is 56% and that the x-ray pulses are adequately described by two transverse coherent modes in each direction. This leads us to the conclusion that 78% of the total power is contained in the dominant mode.

Femtosecond laser-induced herringbone patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Garcell, Erik M.; Lam, Billy; Guo, Chunlei

2018-06-01

Femtosecond laser-induced herringbone patterns are formed on copper (Cu). These novel periodic structures are created following s-polarized, large incident angle, femtosecond laser pulses. Forming as slanted and axially symmetric laser-induced periodic surface structures along the side walls of ablated channels, the result is a series of v-shaped structures that resemble a herringbone pattern. Fluence mapping, incident angle studies, as well as polarization studies have been conducted and provide a clear understanding of this new structure.

Diode-pumped mode-locked femtosecond Tm:CLNGG disordered crystal laser.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, J; Xie, G Q; Gao, W L; Yuan, P; Qian, L J; Yu, H H; Zhang, H J; Wang, J Y

2012-04-15

A diode-end-pumped passively mode-locked femtosecond Tm-doped calcium lithium niobium gallium garnet (Tm:CLNGG) disordered crystal laser was demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. With a 790 nm laser diode pumping, stable CW mode-locking operation was obtained by using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. The disordered crystal laser generated mode-locked pulses as short as 479 fs, with an average output power of 288 mW, and repetition rate of 99 MHz in 2 μm spectral region. © 2012 Optical Society of America

Optical surgical navigation system causes pulse oximeter malfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Satoh, Masaaki; Hara, Tetsuhito; Tamai, Kenji; Shiba, Juntaro; Hotta, Kunihisa; Takeuchi, Mamoru; Watanabe, Eiju

2015-01-01

An optical surgical navigation system is used as a navigator to facilitate surgical approaches, and pulse oximeters provide valuable information for anesthetic management. However, saw-tooth waves on the monitor of a pulse oximeter and the inability of the pulse oximeter to accurately record the saturation of a percutaneous artery were observed when a surgeon started an optical navigation system. The current case is thought to be the first report of this navigation system interfering with pulse oximetry. The causes of pulse jamming and how to manage an optical navigation system are discussed.

Generation of polarization-entangled photon pairs in a cascade of two type-I crystals pumped by femtosecond pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nambu, Yoshihiro; Usami, Koji; Tsuda, Yoshiyuki; Matsumoto, Keiji; Nakamura, Kazuo

2002-01-01

We report the generation of polarization-entangled photons by femtosecond-pulse-pumped spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a cascade of two type-I crystals. Highly entangled pulsed states were obtained by introducing a temporal delay between the two orthogonal polarization components of the pump field. They exhibited high-visibility quantum interference and a large concurrence value, without the need of postselection using narrow-bandwidth spectral filters. The results are well explained by the theory which incorporates the space-time dependence of interfering two-photon amplitudes if dispersion and birefringence in the crystals are appropriately taken into account. Such a pulsed entangled photon well localized in time domain is useful for various quantum communication experiments, such as quantum cryptography and quantum teleportation

Generation of frequency-chirped optical pulses with felix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knippels, G.M.H.; Meer, A.F.G. van der; Mols, R.F.X.A.M. [FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics, Nieuwegein (Netherlands)] [and others

1995-12-31

Frequency-chirped optical pulses have been produced in the picosecond regime by varying the energy of the electron beam on a microsecond time scale. These pulses were then compressed close to their bandwidth limit by an external pulse compressor. The amount of chirp can be controlled by varying the sweep rate on the electron beam energy and by cavity desynchronisation. To examine the generated chirp we used the following diagnostics: a pulse compressor, a crossed beam autocorrelator, a multichannel electron spectrometer and multichannel optical spectrometer. The compressor is build entirely using reflective optics to permit broad band operation. The autocorrelator is currently operating from 6 {mu}m to 30 {mu}m with one single crystal. It has been used to measure pulses as short as 500 fs. All diagnostics are evacuated to prevent pulse shape distortion or pulse lengthening caused by absorption in ambient water vapour. Pulse length measurements and optical spectra will be presented for different electron beam sweep rates, showing the presence of a frequency chirp. Results on the compression of the optical pulses to their bandwidth limit are given for different electron sweep rates. More experimental results showing the dependence of the amount of chirp on cavity desynchronisation will be presented.

Time-resolved study of femtosecond laser induced micro-modifications inside transparent brittle materials

Science.gov (United States)

Hendricks, F.; Matylitsky, V. V.; Domke, M.; Huber, Heinz P.

2016-03-01

Laser processing of optically transparent or semi-transparent, brittle materials is finding wide use in various manufacturing sectors. For example, in consumer electronic devices such as smartphones or tablets, cover glass needs to be cut precisely in various shapes. The unique advantage of material processing with femtosecond lasers is efficient, fast and localized energy deposition in nearly all types of solid materials. When an ultra-short laser pulse is focused inside glass, only the localized region in the neighborhood of the focal volume absorbs laser energy by nonlinear optical absorption. Therefore, the processing volume is strongly defined, while the rest of the target stays unaffected. Thus ultra-short pulse lasers allow cutting of the chemically strengthened glasses such as Corning Gorilla glass without cracking. Non-ablative cutting of transparent, brittle materials, using the newly developed femtosecond process ClearShapeTM from Spectra-Physics, is based on producing a micron-sized material modification track with well-defined geometry inside. The key point for development of the process is to understand the induced modification by a single femtosecond laser shot. In this paper, pump-probe microscopy techniques have been applied to study the defect formation inside of transparent materials, namely soda-lime glass samples, on a time scale between one nanosecond to several tens of microseconds. The observed effects include acoustic wave propagation as well as mechanical stress formation in the bulk of the glass. Besides better understanding of underlying physical mechanisms, our experimental observations have enabled us to find optimal process parameters for the glass cutting application and lead to better quality and speed for the ClearShapeTM process.

Ultrashort hard x-ray pulses generated by 90 degrees Thomson scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chin, A.H.; Schoenlein, R.W.; Glover, T.E.

1997-01-01

Ultrashort x-ray pulses permit observation of fast structural dynamics in a variety of condensed matter systems. The authors have generated 300 femtosecond, 30 keV x-ray pulses by 90 degrees Thomson scattering between femtosecond laser pulses and relativistic electrons. The x-ray and laser pulses are synchronized on a femtosecond time scale, an important prerequisite for ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy. Analysis of the x-ray beam properties also allows for electron bunch characterization on a femtosecond time scale

Elemental fractionation in 785 nm picosecond and femtosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaheen, M.E., E-mail: mshaheen73@science.tanta.edu.eg [Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Tanta University, Tanta (Egypt); Gagnon, J.E.; Fryer, B.J. [Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER), University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4 (Canada); Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4 (Canada)

2015-05-01

Elemental fractionation and ICP-MS signal response were investigated for two different pulse width laser beams originating from the same laser system. Femtosecond and picosecond laser beams at pulse widths of 130 fs and 110 ps, respectively, and wavelength of 785 nm were used to ablate NIST 610 synthetic glass and SRM 1107 Naval Brass B at the same spot for 800 to 1000 laser pulses at different repetition rates (5 to 50 Hz). Elemental fractionation was found to depend on repetition rate and showed a trend with femtosecond laser ablation that is opposite to that observed in picosecond laser ablation for most measured isotopes. ICP-MS signal intensity was higher in femtosecond than picosecond LA-ICP-MS in both NIST 610 and naval brass when ablation was conducted under the same fluence and repetition rate. The differences in signal intensity were partly related to differences in particle size distribution between particles generated by femtosecond and picosecond laser pulses and the consequent differences in transport and ionization efficiencies. The main reason for the higher signal intensity resulting from femtosecond laser pulses was related to the larger crater sizes compared to those created during picosecond laser ablation. Elemental ratios measured using {sup 66}Zn/{sup 63}Cu, {sup 208}Pb/{sup 238}U, {sup 232}Th/{sup 238}U, {sup 66}Zn/{sup 232}Th and {sup 66}Zn/{sup 208}Pb were found to change with the number of laser pulses with data points being more scattered in picosecond than femtosecond laser pulses. Reproducibility of replicate measurements of signal intensities, fractionation and elemental ratios was better for fs-LA-ICP-MS (RSD ~ 3 to 6%) than ps-LA-ICP-MS (RSD ~ 7 to 11%). - Highlights: • Fractionation and ICP-MS signal response were investigated for two different pulse widths using NIST 610 and Naval Brass. • Dependence of fractionation indices on repetition rate and pulse width. • Higher ablation rate was observed in picosecond compared to

High current table-top setup for femtosecond gas electron diffraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Omid Zandi

2017-07-01

Full Text Available We have constructed an experimental setup for gas phase electron diffraction with femtosecond resolution and a high average beam current. While gas electron diffraction has been successful at determining molecular structures, it has been a challenge to reach femtosecond resolution while maintaining sufficient beam current to retrieve structures with high spatial resolution. The main challenges are the Coulomb force that leads to broadening of the electron pulses and the temporal blurring that results from the velocity mismatch between the laser and electron pulses as they traverse the sample. We present here a device that uses pulse compression to overcome the Coulomb broadening and deliver femtosecond electron pulses on a gas target. The velocity mismatch can be compensated using laser pulses with a tilted intensity front to excite the sample. The temporal resolution of the setup was determined with a streak camera to be better than 400 fs for pulses with up to half a million electrons and a kinetic energy of 90 keV. The high charge per pulse, combined with a repetition rate of 5 kHz, results in an average beam current that is between one and two orders of magnitude higher than previously demonstrated.

Superhydrophylic textures fabricated by femtosecond laser pulses on sub-micro- and nano-crystalline titanium surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolobov, Yury R; Smolyakova, Marina Yu; Kolobova, Anastasia Yu; Ionin, Andrey A; Kudryashov, Sergey I; Makarov, Sergey V; Saltuganov, Pavel N; Zayarny, Dmitry A; Ligachev, Alexander E

2014-01-01

Sub-micron quasi-regular surface textures were fabricated on surfaces of pure titanium (VT1-0) with micro- and ultrafine-grained bulk structures by multiple femtosecond laser pulses in the scanning mode and characterized by scanning electron and atomic force microscopy. Their wetting characteristics acquired for the initial non-textured and as-textured samples, as well as upon ultrasonic and plasma cleaning, demonstrate corresponding drastic changes of the wetting angles from 87° to ≤ 10°, with much more pronounced contamination, cleaning and wetting effects for the ultrafine-grained titanium. (letter)

Direct time integration of Maxwell's equations in linear dispersive media with absorption for scattering and propagation of femtosecond electromagnetic pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Rose M.; Hagness, Susan C.; Taflove, Allen

1991-01-01

The initial results for femtosecond pulse propagation and scattering interactions for a Lorentz medium obtained by a direct time integration of Maxwell's equations are reported. The computational approach provides reflection coefficients accurate to better than 6 parts in 10,000 over the frequency range of dc to 3 x 10 to the 16th Hz for a single 0.2-fs Gaussian pulse incident upon a Lorentz-medium half-space. New results for Sommerfeld and Brillouin precursors are shown and compared with previous analyses. The present approach is robust and permits 2D and 3D electromagnetic pulse propagation directly from the full-vector Maxwell's equations.

Solitonic supercontinuum of femtosecond mid-IR pulses in W-type index tellurite fibers with two zero dispersion wavelengths

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Kedenburg

2016-11-01

Full Text Available We present a detailed experimental parameter study on mid-IR supercontinuum generation in W-type index tellurite fibers, which reveals how the core diameter, pump wavelength, fiber length, and pump power dramatically influence the spectral broadening. As pump source, we use femtosecond mid-IR pulses from a post-amplified optical parametric oscillator tunable between 1.7 μm and 4.1 μm at 43 MHz repetition rate. We are able to generate red-shifted dispersive waves up to a wavelength of 5.1 μm by pumping a tellurite fiber in the anomalous dispersion regime between its two zero dispersion wavelengths. Distinctive soliton dynamics can be identified as the main broadening mechanism resulting in a maximum spectral width of over 2000 nm with output powers of up to 160 mW. We experimentally demonstrated that efficient spectral broadening with considerably improved power proportion in the important first atmospheric transmission window between 3 and 5 μm can be achieved in robust W-type tellurite fibers pumped at long wavelengths by ultra-fast lasers.

Femtosecond laser written waveguides deep inside silicon.

Science.gov (United States)

Pavlov, I; Tokel, O; Pavlova, S; Kadan, V; Makey, G; Turnali, A; Yavuz, Ö; Ilday, F Ö

2017-08-01

Photonic devices that can guide, transfer, or modulate light are highly desired in electronics and integrated silicon (Si) photonics. Here, we demonstrate for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, the creation of optical waveguides deep inside Si using femtosecond pulses at a central wavelength of 1.5 μm. To this end, we use 350 fs long, 2 μJ pulses with a repetition rate of 250 kHz from an Er-doped fiber laser, which we focused inside Si to create permanent modifications of the crystal. The position of the beam is accurately controlled with pump-probe imaging during fabrication. Waveguides that were 5.5 mm in length and 20 μm in diameter were created by scanning the focal position along the beam propagation axis. The fabricated waveguides were characterized with a continuous-wave laser operating at 1.5 μm. The refractive index change inside the waveguide was measured with optical shadowgraphy, yielding a value of 6×10 -4 , and by direct light coupling and far-field imaging, yielding a value of 3.5×10 -4 . The formation mechanism of the modification is discussed.

Mechanism of equivalent electric dipole oscillation for high-order harmonic generation from grating-structured solid-surface by femtosecond laser pulse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Yang; Song, Hai-Ying; Liu, H.Y.; Liu, Shi-Bing, E-mail: sbliu@bjut.edu.cn

2017-07-12

Highlights: • Proposed a valid mechanism of high harmonic generation by laser grating target interaction: oscillation of equivalent electric dipole (OEED). • Found that there also exist harmonic emission at large emission angle but not just near-surface direction as the former researches had pointed out. • Show the process of the formation and motion of electron bunches at the grating-target surface irradiating with femtosecond laser pulse. - Abstract: We theoretically study high-order harmonic generation (HHG) from relativistically driven overdense plasma targets with rectangularly grating-structured surfaces by femtosecond laser pulses. Our particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations show that, under the conditions of low laser intensity and plasma density, the harmonics emit principally along small angles deviating from the target surface. Further investigation of the surface electron dynamics reveals that the electron bunches are formed by the interaction between the laser field and the target surface, giving rise to the oscillation of equivalent electric-dipole (OEED), which enhances specific harmonic orders. Our work helps understand the mechanism of harmonic emissions from grating targets and the distinction from the planar harmonic scheme.

Ultrashort pulse chirp measurement via transverse second-harmonic generation in strontium barium niobate crystal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trull, J.; Wang, B.; Parra, A.; Vilaseca, R.; Cojocaru, C. [Departament de Física i Enginyeria Nuclear, Universitat Politècnica Catalunya, Terrassa 08222 (Spain); Sola, I. [Grupo de Investigación en Óptica Extrema (GIOE), Departamento de Física Aplicada, Universidad de Salamanca, Plaza de la Merced s/n, 37008 Salamanca (Spain); Krolikowski, W. [Laser Physics Centre, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia); Science Program, Texas A and M University at Qatar, Doha (Qatar); Sheng, Y. [Laser Physics Centre, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia)

2015-06-01

Pulse compression in dispersive strontium barium niobate crystal with a random size and distribution of the anti-parallel orientated nonlinear domains is observed via transverse second harmonic generation. The dependence of the transverse width of the second harmonic trace along the propagation direction allows for the determination of the initial chirp and duration of pulses in the femtosecond regime. This technique permits a real-time analysis of the pulse evolution and facilitates fast in-situ correction of pulse chirp acquired in the propagation through an optical system.

Ultrashort pulse chirp measurement via transverse second-harmonic generation in strontium barium niobate crystal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trull, J.; Wang, B.; Parra, A.; Vilaseca, R.; Cojocaru, C.; Sola, I.; Krolikowski, W.; Sheng, Y.

2015-01-01

Pulse compression in dispersive strontium barium niobate crystal with a random size and distribution of the anti-parallel orientated nonlinear domains is observed via transverse second harmonic generation. The dependence of the transverse width of the second harmonic trace along the propagation direction allows for the determination of the initial chirp and duration of pulses in the femtosecond regime. This technique permits a real-time analysis of the pulse evolution and facilitates fast in-situ correction of pulse chirp acquired in the propagation through an optical system

Femtosecond Laser-Induced Formation of Gold-Rich Nanoalloys from the Aqueous Mixture of Gold-Silver Ions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuliati Herbani

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The synthesis of gold-silver (AuAg nanoalloys of various compositions has been performed by direct irradiation of highly intense femtosecond laser pulse in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP. The mixture of Au and Ag ions of low concentration was simply introduced into a glass vial and subjected to femtosecond laser pulses for several minutes. The AuAg nanoalloys of 2-3 nm with reasonably narrow size distribution were formed, and the position of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR increased monotonically with an increase in the gold molar fraction in the ion solutions. The high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM images exhibited the absence of core-shell structures, and the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX analysis confirmed that the particles were Au-rich alloys even for the samples with large fraction of Ag+ ions fed in the solution mixture. The formation mechanism of the alloy nanoparticles in the high intensity optical field was also discussed.

Fabrication of isolated platinum nanowire gratings and nanoparticles on silica substrate by femtosecond laser irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakajima, Yasutaka [School of Integrated Design Engineering, Keio University, 3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223- 8522 (Japan); Nedyalkov, Nikolay [Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzarigradsko shouse 72, Sofia 1784 (Bulgaria); Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Keio University, 3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, 223-8522 (Japan); Takami, Akihiro [School of Integrated Design Engineering, Keio University, 3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223- 8522 (Japan); Terakawa, Mitsuhiro, E-mail: terakawa@elec.keio.ac.jp [School of Integrated Design Engineering, Keio University, 3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223- 8522 (Japan); Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Keio University, 3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, 223-8522 (Japan)

2017-02-01

Highlights: • Formation of HSFL with periodicities shorter than 100 nm. • Structural evolution from platinum nanowire gratings to platinum nanoparticles only by increasing the number of pulses. • Melting and fragmentation of the nanowire gratings would play a key role in structural evolution. - Abstract: We demonstrate the fabrication of isolated platinum nanostructures on a silica substrate by using femtosecond laser. Nanowire gratings which have short periodicities of approximately 50 nm were formed by irradiating a platinum thin film deposited on a fused silica substrate with 800-nm wavelength femtosecond laser pulses. The structural evolution from the nanowire gratings to nanoparticles was observed only by increasing the number of pulses. The periodicities or diameters of the structures showed good uniformity. Scanning electron microscopy of the surfaces and theoretical calculation of temperature profile using a two-temperature model revealed that the structural evolution can be attributed to the fragmentation of the formed nanowires. The presented method provides a simple and high-throughput technique for fabricating both metal nanowire gratings and nanoparticles, which have the potential to be used for the fabrication of optical, electrical and biomedical devices.

Nonlinear propagation analysis of few-optical-cycle pulses for subfemtosecond compression and carrier envelope phase effect