We present our last numerical and experimental results on a mid-infrared source based on a tunable Yb-based hybrid MOPA pump and a Backward Wave Optical Parametric Oscillators (BWOPO). The BWOPO has a record-low oscillation threshold of 19.2 MW/cm2 and generates mJ-level output with an overall conversion efficiency exceeding 70%. The BWOPO acts a frequency shifter of the pump radiation toward the forward wave, maintaining the pump spectral properties. The demonstrated tuning range of 10 GHz is already compliant for DIAL applications. We have also developed advanced numerical modelling of the BWOPO taking into account spectral and, for the first time, spatial beam profiles.
Efficiencies of nonlinear optical-to-terahertz (THz) conversion below one percent remain a limiting factor for applications of multicycle THz radiation like THz-driven acceleration and inspired the use of multi-line pump spectra. To overcome the difficulty of phase stabilization of multiple narrowband sources required by the multi-line approach, we exploit its temporal analog, i.e., regular pulse trains with THz repetition rate, in which the THz waves generated by rectifying the individual pulses add coherently. The optical setup producing the pulse trains consists of motorized interferometers and enables precise control over the pulse train parameters like pulse spacing and amplitude. It is operated with a laser providing 400 fs pulses and energies of up to 110 mJ, which is the highest yet attempted for a pulse-train-type experiment. Opposed to earlier work, pulse division is done after amplification making the system more flexible in terms of tuning the pulse number. We present initial results of an experimental campaign of multicycle THz generation in custom periodically poled crystals with large apertures up to 10x20 mm2. The available pump energy allows filling these apertures at high fluences, promising increased THz yields. We investigate the dependence of the conversion efficiency on the single pulse duration and aim to find the optimum pulse number for different crystal lengths to determine the efficiency limitations in a regime avoiding laser-induced damage. Since crystal length and pulse number define the bandwidth of the THz pulses, this work demonstrates a path to an optimized THz source tunable to different requirements of applications.
A highly efficient mirrorless OPO tunable in the mid-infrared around 2 μm has been developed and characterized in an original pumping configuration comprising a tunable high power hybrid Ytterbium laser MOPA (Master Oscillator Power Amplifier) in the nanosecond regime. The hybrid pump laser is based on a fiber laser seeder continuously tunable over several GHz at 1030 nm, which is shaped in the time domain with acousto-optic modulators (AOM), and power amplified in a dual stage Ytterbium doped fiber amplifiers, followed by two Yb:YAG bulk amplifiers. The pump delivers up to 3.5 mJ of energy within narrowband 15 ns pulses with a 5 kHz repetition rate. The output was focused into Periodically Poled KTP (PPKTP) crystals with a quasi-Phase Matching (QPM) period of 580 nm, producing Backward Optical Parametric Oscillation (BWOPO), with a forward signal wave at 1981 nm and a backward traveling idler at 2145 nm. We report significant optical to optical efficiencies exceeding 70 % depending on crystal length and input power. As theoretically expected, the forward wave could be continuously tuned over 10 GHz following the pump frequency sweep, while the backward wave remains almost stable, both being free from mode hops. These properties obtained from an optical arrangement without free-space cavities are attractive for future space Integrated Path Differential Absorption (IPDA) Lidar applications, which require robust and efficient tunable frequency converters in the mid-infrared. Additional presentation content can be accessed on the supplemental content page.
Yb:KYW laser pulses at 1030 nm were frequency-broadened and compressed by single-pass propagation in a 12 mm single-domain KTP crystal. The compression mechanism relies on refractive index modulation by the polariton shock-wave generated by impulse excitation of the lattice vibration modes, with a large dipole moment parallel to the crystal polar axis. Coherent Stokes sidebands generated by the index modulation lead to pulse compression under normal dispersion conditions. A compression ratio of about eight times was obtained for 170fs-long Yb:KYW laser pulses.
The principles behind up-conversion time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) lidar are presented. This technique can easily extend the detection range of conventional SPADs to reach into the MIR by utilising nonlinear processes to up-convert the wavelength of the MIR to the visible or NIR. The up-converted light can then be detected by a standard Si-SPAD. This allows for high resolution and sensitivity to be achieved while operating the system at room temperature. The technique is demonstrated through a short-range lidar system measuring off diffusely reflecting targets. The system was operating at 3 μm with pulse energies around 3 nJ and a pulse width of 300 fs. The up-conversion was performed inside a PPRKTP crystal placed within a Nd:YVO4 laser cavity operating at 1064 nm, which generated pulses at 790 nm. The temporal FWHM of the lidar response was 76 ps, and the system showed sub-mm range accuracy, demonstrated by scanning 3D targets.
In this work, we present the design and fabrication of a fiber device that performs digital droplet microfluidics for molecular diagnostics. A variety of fibers and capillaries were used to build three connected modules dedicated to droplet generation, incubation, and fluorescence detection which enables a uniaxial arrangement. This is in contrast to the traditional 2-dimensional lab-on-a-chip architecture. We characterize our fiber device using a fluorescein dilution series. Our observed detection limit is on the order of 10 nM fluorescein. We demonstrate our all-fiber device for the fluorescence readout after loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) of synthetic SARS-CoV-2. Our results suggest that this fiber device can successfully distinguish between positive and negative samples in molecular diagnostics. We propose that our fiber device offers benefits over microfluidic chip techniques such as easier optical integration, much simpler sample loading, and faster diagnosis with high specificity and sensitivity.
Fused silica glass is a commonly used high-performance material in scientific and industrial applications, due to the exceptional optical, mechanical and thermal properties. However, its production can be challenging and expensive due to the high processing temperatures required, in both manufacturing and geometrical structuring. In this work we have studied additive manufacturing of transparent fused silica glass using the laser cladding process. Here a CO2-laser is used to locally melt the glass, while injecting a stream of glass powder into the hot-zone. A challenge specifically addressed in this work is the shadowing effect, i.e., when the injected powder interacts with the laser beam resulting in non-stable heating dynamics, and partial sintering of powder prior to reaching the substrate surface. To reduce these effects, we have studied the use of sub-micron sized glass powders in order to minimize the laser beam interactions, both absorption and scattering. Using fumed silica powder injected via a single, off-axis nozzle, combined with additional powder cone shaping gas, transparent silica glass has been fabricated with an achieved deposition efficiency of up to 30 %. Typical, single deposition tracks have a width of approximately 850 μm with single layer heights of up to 150 μm.
Fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in a poled silicate fiber are used to detect external voltage applied to the fiber’s internal electrodes. This work shows a basic proof-of-concept of a single-ended, fiber-based voltage sensor that can be used to measure periodic high-voltage signals. The setup can be extended to a multiplexed e-field interrogation system and used in the electric power industry for remote sensing of transmission lines and power plants.
Bragg-grating-based distributed-feedback waveguide resonators, with a discrete phase shift introduced inside the Bragg grating, exhibit within their grating reflection band a Lorentzian-shaped resonance line with an ultranarrow linewidth. If the phase shift is π/2, the resonance is located at the center of the reflection band, i.e., at the Bragg wavelength, where the grating reflectivity is maximum, hence the resonance linewidth is minimum. Alternatively, the required π/2 phase shift is often introduced by a distributed change in effective refractive index, e.g. by adiabatically widening the waveguide. Despite careful design and fabrication, the experimentally observed resonance wavelength deviates from the designed one. Besides deviations owing to fabrication errors, a fundamental, systematic shift towards shorter wavelengths occurs. We show theoretically and experimentally that the decay of light intensity during propagation from the phase-shift center into both sides of the Bragg grating due to (i) reflection by the periodic grating and (ii) the adiabatic refractive-index change causes an incomplete accumulation of designed phase shift by the oscillating light, thereby systematically shifting the resonance to a shorter wavelength. Calculations are performed based on the characteristic-matrix approach. Experimental studies are carried out in distributed-feedback channel-waveguide resonators in an amorphous aluminum oxide thin film on silicon with a distributed phase shift introduced by adiabatic widening of the waveguide according to a sin2 function. Calculations and experiments show good agreement. Considering in the design the overlap integral between distributed phase shift and light intensity provides a performance that is much closer to the desired value.
Distributed-feedback waveguide lasers based on Bragg-grating resonators generate ultranarrow-linewidth emission. Oscillation at the center of the reflection band ensures maximum reflectivity, hence minimum laser linewidth. The required μ/2 phase shift is often introduced by a distributed change in effective refractive index, e.g. by adiabatically widening the waveguide. Despite careful design and fabrication, the experimentally observed resonance wavelength deviates, thereby placing the resonance and laser emission at a position with lower reflectivity inside the reflection band. This effect is usually incorrectly attributed to fabrication errors. Here we show theoretically and experimentally that the decay of light intensity during propagation from the phase-shift center into both sides of the Bragg grating due to (i) reflection by the periodic grating and (ii) the adiabatic refractive-index change causes an incomplete accumulation of designed phase shift, thereby systematically shifting the resonance to a shorter wavelength. Calculations are performed based on the characteristic-matrix approach. Experimental studies are carried out in a distributed-feedback channel-waveguide resonator in amorphous Al2O3 on silicon with a distributed phase shift introduced by adiabatic widening of the waveguide according to a sin2 function. Calculations and experiments show good agreement. Considering in the design the overlap integral between distributed phase shift and light intensity provides the desired performance.
Since the first demonstration of electric field poling in 1993, the use of quasi-phase matching (QPM) technique has gained wide adoption in a multitude of applications. The QPM field today is dominated mainly by the ferroelectric oxide materials from LiNbO3 (LN) and KTiOPO4 (KTP) families, where QPM structures are implemented by the electric field poling technique. While typical QPM devices have a fixed-period, one-dimensional domain grating design, which is the most straightforward to implement, numerous applications require the ability to continuously tune the wavelength over a wider spectral range. For applications where temperature tuning is not desired, a fan-out QPM grating design may be advantageous. The tuning here is performed by transverse translation of the structure in respect to the pump beam, while keeping the crystal temperature constant. While the implementation of fan-out gratings is reasonably well researched in LN, there is a lack of reliable data for KTP isomorphs. Taking into account the high domain growth anisotropy in KTP, an important factor becomes the angle between the domain walls and the b-axis of the crystal. This angle directly affects the quality and dimensions of the QPM device. However, its upper boundary has not been determined to date. In this work we discuss the prospects and limitations of PPKTP devices with fan-out grating designs. We present a fan-out PPRKTP device, where the transverse fan-out rate is 0.5 μm/mm. In an OPO configuration pumped by 532 nm such PPRKTP crystal is able to provide continuously tunable radiation between 0.7 – 2.2 μm.
Since the early 1990’s, a substantial effort has been devoted to the development of quasi-phased-matched (QPM) nonlinear devices, not only in ferroelectric oxides like LiNbO3, LiTaO3 and KTiOPO4 (KTP), but also in semiconductors as GaAs, and GaP. The technology to implement QPM structures in ferroelectric oxides has by now matured enough to satisfy the most basic frequency-conversion schemes without substantial modification of the poling procedures. Here, we present a qualitative leap in periodic poling techniques that allows us to demonstrate devices and frequency conversion schemes that were deemed unfeasible just a few years ago. Thanks to our short-pulse poling and coercive-field engineering techniques, we are able to demonstrate large aperture (5 mm) periodically poled Rb-doped KTP devices with a highly-uniform conversion efficiency over the whole aperture. These devices allow parametric conversion with energies larger than 60 mJ. Moreover, by employing our coercive-field engineering technique we fabricate highlyefficient sub-µm periodically poled devices, with periodicities as short as 500 nm, uniform over 1 mm-thick crystals, which allow us to realize mirrorless optical parametric oscillators with counter-propagating signal and idler waves. These novel devices present unique spectral and tuning properties, superior to those of conventional OPOs. Furthermore, our techniques are compatible with KTA, a KTP isomorph with extended transparency in the mid-IR range. We demonstrate that our highly-efficient PPKTA is superior both for mid-IR and for green light generation – as a result of improved transmission properties in the visible range. Our KTP-isomorph poling techniques leading to highly-efficient QPM devices will be presented. Their optical performance and attractive damage thresholds will be discussed.
A micro-structured fiber-based system for identification and collection of fluorescent particles is demonstrated. An optical fiber probe with longitudinal holes in the cladding is used to retrieve fluorescent particles by exerting microfluidics forces. Laser induced fluorescent (LIF) is carried out by the fiber probe and an optical setup. When a particle with a previously chosen fluorescence wavelength is identified, a vacuum pump is activated collecting the particle into a hole. Green and red fluorescent polystyrene particles were detected and selectively retrieved.
Mode-locking an optically pumped semiconductor disk laser has been demonstrated using low-loss saturable absorption containing a mixture of single-walled carbon nanotubes in PMM polymer. The modulator was fabricated by a simple spin-coating technique on fused silica substrate and was operating in transmission. Stable passive fundamental modelocking was obtained at a repetition rate of 613 MHz with a pulse length of 1.23 ps. The mode-locked semiconductor disk laser in a compact geometry delivered a maximum average output power of 136 mW at 1074 nm.
We employed a 9-mm long periodically-poled KTiOPO4 (PPKTP) crystal with a domain inversion period of 37.8 μm in
an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) to generate sub-nanosecond pulses around 2.8 μm. With a 1-cm long OPO cavity
in a singly resonant configuration with double pass pumping the OPO threshold was 110 μJ at 1064 nm (1-ns pump
pulses at 1064 nm). The maximum idler output energy reached 110 μJ (quantum conversion efficiency of 32.5%). The
signal pulse duration (FWHM) was 0.72 ns and the estimated idler pulse duration was 0.76 ns. At room temperature the
signal and idler wavelengths were at 1722 and 2786 nm.
Efficient laser sources in the 3 - 5 μm wavelength range are needed for directed infrared countermeasures, but also have applications in remote-sensing, medicine and spectroscopy. We present new results on our tandem optical parametric oscillator (OPO) scheme for converting the radiation from a 1.06 μm Nd3+-laser to the mid-infrared. Multi Watt level output power in the 3-5 μm range at 20 kHz pulse repetition frequency is reported. Our setup uses a type I quasi phase-matched PPKTP crystal in a near degenerate OPO to generate 2.13 μm radiation. A volume Bragg grating resonant close to, but not exactly at the degenerate wavelength, is used as a cavity mirror to reduce the bandwidth and ensure singly resonant operation. Both signal and idler from the PPKTP OPO are used to pump a ZGP OPO generating high power radiation in the 3-5 μm region. Using this scheme for each pump photon it is possible to generate four photons for each pump photon, all in the interesting wavelength range, thus enabling high efficiency conversion.
Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) could permit fast early warning systems either for point or stand-off detection if a reliable classification of warfare biological agents versus biological or non-biological fluorescing background can be achieved. In order to improve LIF discrimination capability, a new system is described in which the fluorescence pattern is enriched by the use of multiple wavelength delayed excitation while usual spectral fluorescence analysis is extended to time domain to use both aspects as criteria for classification. General considerations and guidelines for the system design are given as well as results showing good discrimination between background and simulants.
In this work we present the development of the sub-micron ferroelectric domain structuring technology in KTiOPO4. We
used these structures to demonstrate second-order interactions involving counter-propagating waves. Of special interest
is the mirrorless optical parametric oscillator, where distributed feedback between the counter-propagating signal and
idler waves obviates the need for mirrors, surface coatings or precise cavity alignment. Mirrorless optical parametric
oscillator also demonstrates some unique and useful spectral properties. These experimental demonstrations are but first
steps towards a number of tantalizing applications which, however, require even smaller ferroelectric domain
periodicities and further work on the material structuring technology.
Efficient laser sources in the 3 - 5 μm wavelength range are needed for directed infrared countermeasures, but also have
applications in remote sensing, medicine and spectroscopy. We present results and discuss the possibilities of a tandem
optical parametric oscillator (OPO) scheme for converting the radiation from a 1.06 μm Nd3+-laser to the mid-infrared.
Our setup uses type I quasi phase-matched (QPM) crystals in a near degenerate OPO to generate 2.13 μm radiation. The
QPM crystal provides higher nonlinearity and longer interaction lengths, because walk-off is avoided, compared to
conventional bulk crystals. This is an advantage especially in low pulse energy applications. To make the 2.13 μm
radiation usable for pumping a second OPO a volume Bragg grating is used as a cavity mirror to limit the bandwidth,
which in a conventional QPM OPO at degeneracy can be several hundred nanometers. The acceptance bandwidth for
efficient OPO operation of a 14 mm long ZnGeP2 (ZGP) crystal is approximately 5 nm, which makes the need for
bandwidth limiting clear. The majority of the signal energy from a periodically poled KTiOPO4 (PP KTP) OPO with a
volume Bragg grating output coupler was found to be in a single longitudinal mode, whereas the idler bandwidth was
measured to 19 GHz (FWHM). A volume Bragg grating resonant near 2124 nm was chosen so that the signal and idler
were separated by 9 nm. This OPO output has been used as a pump source for a conventional ZGP OPO demonstrating
efficient conversion and providing broadband tunable output in the mid-infrared.
A novel, compact and robust UV laser has been developed for laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy of biomolecules in the spectral region from 290 nm to 345 nm. It was based on a frequency-doubled passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, emitting at 532 nm, which was pumping a periodically poled KTiOPO4 optical parametric oscillator with intra-cavity sum-frequency mixing in a BBO crystal. The output was generated in two branches in the UV, 293 nm and 343 nm, with pulse widths of 1.8 ns and pulse repetition rate of 100 Hz. These wavelengths were then used for fluorescence experiments of bioagents.
A compact parametric oscillator (OPO) with intracavity sum-frequency generation (SFG) to generate 293 nm UV laser irradiation, was developed. The OPO/SFG device was pumped by a 100 Hz Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) of own design, including subsequent second harmonic generation (SHG) in an external periodically poled KTiOPO4 (KTP) crystal. The whole system could be used to deliver more than 30 μJ laser irradiation per pulse (100 Hz) at 293 nm. The UV laser light was introduced in an optical fiber attached to a sample compartment allowing detection of fluorescence emission using a commercial spectrometer. Aqueous samples containing biomolecules (ovalbumin) or bacteria spores (Bacillus subtilis) were excited by the UV-light at 293 nm resulting in strong fluorescence emission in the range 325 - 600 nm.
A 978 nm Yb-doped jacketed-air-clad fiber MOPA generates 18 mW of power at 488.7 nm when single-pass frequency-doubled in periodically poled KTP at room temperature. The tunable fiber laser - fiber amplifier MOPA provided 2.7 W of output power at 978 nm.
Optical parametric oscillator (OPO) and sum-frequency mixing (SFM) devices are useful tools for constructing ultraviolet (UV) laser sources for fluorescence spectroscopy. Here, a compact UV-laser sources based on frequency conversion of an actively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser is presented. The second harmonic generation from a Nd:YAG laser was utilized as pump radiation for a periodically poled KTiOPO4 nanosecond optical parametric oscillator. The OPO-signal and the remaining pump were spatially mode-matched for Type I SFM in a β-barium borate (BBO) crystal and UV radiation at 293 nm could be generated. This corresponds to a conversion efficiency of 2% with respect to the 532 nm harmonic radiation. The wavelength region accessible with this UV source is useful for chemical and biological sensing. Excitation of tryptophan at 293 nm for detection of fluorescence emission in ovalbumin and transthyretin was demonstrated.
We report on the use of a compact Er-Yb:glass laser Q-switched by an AOM for seeding two-stage optical parametric amplifier realized in a single PPKTP crystal. We have generated 5 ns long pusles with a pulse energy exceeding 0.5 mJ. The parametric signal generation efficiency in the second amplification stage was 27%, while the pump depletion reached 39%. The two-stage OPA peak power gain was 30.1 dB for the seeding peak powers of 100W, while the gain reached 81 dB for the lowest seed peak powers of 0.7 mW. The OPA generated a diffraction-limited signal beam while maintaining the original spectral width of the seen.
Reflection second-harmonic generation (SHG) from the polished waveguide end face is used to investigate the second-order nonlinear optical properties of different types of PE LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 waveguides in different HxLi1-xNbO3 and HxLi1-xTaO3 phases: as-exchanged and annealed proton-exchanged (APE) waveguides, high-temperature proton-exchanged (HTPE) waveguides, as well as reverse proton exchanged (RPE) waveguides. A detailed correlation is done between the nonlinear properties, the processing conditions, crystal structure parameters, the refractive index changes and the optical losses of the waveguides. The intensity of reflected SH signal, strongly reduced after the initial proton exchange in both LiNbO3 and LiTaO3, is found to be restored and even increased after annealing. However, this apparent increase of the nonlinearity is accompanied by high scattering and a strong degradation of the quality of the SHG reflected beam in the region of initial step-like PE waveguides. The recently proposed HTPE technique has been shown to produce high-quality alpha-phase PE LiNbO3 or PE LiTaO3 waveguides with essentially undegraded nonlinear optical properties. It has been also shown that the nonlinear properties of annealed proton exchanged LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 waveguides can be effectively recovered by the reverse proton exchange technique.
In this work we demonstrate low-threshold oscillation in the mid-IR spectral region with periodically poled KTiOPO4 (PPKTP) pumped at 1064 nm by a single-frequency Nd:YAG laser. THe compact pump laser had a diode-pumped passively Q-switched monolithic ring cavity configuration and could generate up to 70 (mu) J, 2 ns pulses. With two PPKTP crystals having ferroelectric domain inversion periods of 37.8 micrometers , the temperature tuning bands for the signal of 1720-1750 nm and 1850-1920 nm have been obtained. The lowest oscillation threshold of 8.3 (mu) J was obtained in a cavity using two mirrors reflecting 99 percent at the signal and the idler wavelengths. The maximum OPO output power of 6 mW and the pump depletion of 39 percent was achieved by driving cavity close to stability limit for the idler field. The output power was substantially increases to 36 mW by using output mirror with 90 percent reflectivity only in the signal band and optimizing pump focusing conditions. The external OPO efficiency in this case reached 21 percent.
Here we report on a noncollinear optical parametric oscillator (OPO) in periodically poled KTiOPO4. The noncollinear OPO cavity consisted of a 10 mm-long periodically poled KTiOPO4 crystal placed between two flat mirrors and pumped at 532nm by a frequency doubled Q- switched Nd:YAG. The OPO threshold for the collinear configuration was reached at the pump pulse energy of 10 (mu) J and increased monotonically when increasing the noncollinear interaction angle. The efficiency of the OPO with PPKTP reached 50 percent in the collinear configuration and about 40 percent in the noncollinear configuration. The noncollinear OPO generated two signal-idler pairs. Only one of the waves in each pair was resonated in the OPO cavity, while the complementary waves were generated at different angels as required by momentum conservation. The OPO could be tuned over a range of about 290 nm around 1064 nm wavelength by adjusting the cavity angle and the PPKTP temperature. Narrowing of the OPO spectrum was observed for small noncollinear interaction angles.
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