Solid-state Lasers And Applications

by Sennaroglu; Alphan

• ISBN13: 9780849335891
• ISBN10: 0849335892
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-11-16
• Publisher: CRC Press

Summary

Because of the favorable characteristics of solid-state lasers, they have become the preferred candidates for a wide range of applications in science and technology, including spectroscopy, atmospheric monitoring, micromachining, and precision metrology. Presenting the most recent developments in the field, Solid-State Lasers and Applications focuses on the design and applications of solid-state laser systems.With contributions from leading international experts, the book explores the latest research results and applications of solid-state lasers as well as various laser systems. The beginning chapters discuss current developments and applications of new solid-state gain media in different wavelength regions, including cerium-doped lasers in the ultraviolet range, ytterbium lasers near 1µm, rare-earth ion-doped lasers in the eye-safe region, and tunable Cr2+:ZnSe lasers in the mid-infrared range. The remaining chapters study specific modes of operation of solid-state laser systems, such as pulsed microchip lasers, high-power neodymium lasers, ultrafast solid-state lasers, amplification of femtosecond pulses with optical parametric amplifiers, and noise characteristics of solid-state lasers.Solid-State Lasers and Applications covers the most important aspects of the field to provide current, comprehensive coverage of solid-state lasers.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
1 Passively Q-Switched Microchip Lasers	1	(76)
J.J. Zayhowski
1.1 Introduction	3	(3)
1.1.1 Motivation	3	(1)
1.1.2 What Is a Passively Q-Switched Microchip Laser?	3	(2)
1.1.3 Organization of Chapter	5	(1)
1.2 Theory	6	(32)
1.2.1 Fundamental Concepts	6	(1)
1.2.1.1 Absorption	6	(1)
1.2.1.2 Population Inversion, Stimulated Emission, and Gain	6	(1)
1.2.1.3 Spontaneous Emission and Lifetime	7	(1)
1.2.1.4 Bandwidth	8	(1)
1.2.2 Models of Gain Media and Saturable Absorbers	8	(1)
1.2.2.1 Four-Level Gain Media	8	(1)
1.2.2.2 Three-Level Gain Media	9	(1)
1.2.2.3 Quasi-Three-Level Gain Media	9	(1)
1.2.2.4 Saturable Absorber	11	(1)
1.2.3 Rate-Equation Model	11	(1)
1.2.3.1 Rate Equations	11	(1)
1.2.3.2 Rate Equations without Saturable Absorber	12	(1)
1.2.3.3 Rate Equations with Saturable Absorber	15	(1)
1.2.3.4 Buildup from Noise	16	(1)
1.2.4 Solution to Rate Equations	16	(1)
1.2.4.1 Rate Equations for Passively Q-Switched Laser	16	(1)
1.2.4.2 Initial Conditions	18	(1)
1.2.4.3 Second Threshold	19	(1)
1.2.4.4 Peak Power	20	(1)
1.2.4.5 Pulse Energy	22	(1)
1.2.4.6 Pulse Width	23	(1)
1.2.4.7 CW-Pumped Passively Q-Switched Lasers	24	(1)
1.2.5 Mode Beating, Afterpulsing, and Pulse-to-Pulse Stability	25	(1)
1.2.5.1 Single-Frequency Operation	25	(1)
1.2.5.2 Afterpulsing	28	(1)
1.2.5.3 Pulse Bifurcation, Pulse-to-Pulse Amplitude Stability	29	(1)
1.2.5.4 Pulse-to-Pulse Timing Stability	29	(1)
1.2.6 Semiconductor Saturable-Absorber Mirrors	30	(2)
1.2.7 Transverse Mode Definition	32	(1)
1.2.7.1 Issues in Laser Design	32	(1)
1.2.7.2 Cavity Designs	33	(1)
1.2.7.3 Microchip Fabry–Perot Cavities	33	(1)
1.2.7.3.1 Thermal Guiding	33	(1)
1.2.7.3.2 Aperture Guiding in Three-Level Gain Media	34	(1)
1.2.7.3.3 Gain Guiding	35	(1)
1.2.7.3.4 Gain-Related Index Guiding	35	(1)
1.2.7.3.5 Self-Focusing	36	(1)
1.2.7.3.6 Aperture Guiding in Saturable Absorber	36	(1)
1.2.7.4 Pump Considerations	36	(1)
1.2.7.5 Polarization Control	37	(1)
1.2.8 Additional Thermal Effects	37	(1)
1.3 Demonstrated Device Performance	38	(15)
1.3.1 Demonstrated Passively Q-Switched Lasers	38	(1)
1.3.1.1 Saturable Absorbers	38	(1)
1.3.1.2 Passively Q-Switched Microchip Lasers	40	(1)
1.3.1.2.1 Low-Power Embodiments	40	(1)
1.3.1.2.2 High-Power Embodiments	43	(1)
1.3.2 Amplification	44	(3)
1.3.3 Frequency Conversion	47	(1)
1.3.3.1 Nonlinear Frequency Conversion	47	(1)
1.3.3.1.1 Harmonic Conversion	47	(1)
1.3.3.1.2 Optical Parametric Conversion	48	(1)
1.3.3.1.3 Raman Conversion	49	(2)
1.3.3.2 Gain-Switched Lasers	51	(2)
1.4 Applications	53	(9)
1.4.1 Overview	53	(1)
1.4.2 Ranging and Imaging	54	(1)
1.4.2.1 Scanning Three-Dimensional Imaging Systems	54	(1)
1.4.2.2 Flash Three-Dimensional Imaging Systems	55	(2)
1.4.3 Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy	57	(1)
1.4.4 Environmental Monitoring	57	(4)
1.4.5 Other Applications	61	(1)
1.5 Conclusion	62	(1)
Acknowledgments	63	(1)
References	63	(9)
List of Symbols	72	(5)
2 Yb-Doped Solid-State Lasers and Materials	77	(36)
Bruno Viana, Johan Petit, Romain Gaumé, Philippe Goldner, Mathieu Jacquemet, Frédéric Druon, Sebastien Chénais, François Balembois, and Patrick Georges
2.1 Introduction	78	(1)
2.2 Crystal-Field Effects on Yb³+ Energy Level Distributions	79	(5)
2.2.1 Effect on the Spin–Orbit Splitting: the "Barycenters Plot"	80	(1)
2.2.2 Crystal Field Strength and Yb³+ Manifolds Splitting	80	(4)
2.3 Laser Modeling	84	(6)
2.3.1 Quasi-Thermal Equilibrium	84	(1)
2.3.2 Transparency Intensity Imin	85	(2)
2.3.3 Laser Extraction Efficiency	87	(1)
2.3.4 Thermal Loading	88	(2)
2.4 Evaluation of Quantum Efficiency	90	(4)
2.5 Structural/Optical Properties Relationships for Femtosecond Lasers	94	(7)
2.5.1 Yb³+ Hosts with Broad Emission Bands	94	(1)
2.5.2 Performances of Some Yb³+ Doped Laser Materials in C.W. Diode Pumping	94	(3)
2.5.3 Performances of Some Yb³+ Doped Laser Materials in Fs Regime	97	(4)
2.6 Structural/Thermomechanical Effects in High Power Yb-Doped Lasers	101	(5)
2.6.1 Thermal Shock Resistance	101	(1)
2.6.2 Estimation of Thermal Expansion and Thermal Conductivity Parameters	102	(4)
2.7 Conclusions	106	(1)
Acknowledgments	107	(1)
References	108	(5)
3 Tunable Cr²+:ZnSe Lasers in the Mid-Infrared	113	(50)
Alphan Sennaroglu and Umit Demirbas
3.1 Introduction	114	(3)
3.1.1 Overview of Cr²+:ZnSe Lasers	114	(1)
3.1.2 Historical Review of Tunable Solid-State Lasers	115	(2)
3.2 Synthesis and Absorption Spectroscopy of Cr²+:ZnSe	117	(8)
3.2.1 Synthesis Methods for Cr²+:ZnSe	117	(2)
3.2.2 Thermal Diffusion Doping	119	(1)
3.2.3 Modeling of Thermal Diffusion Doping	120	(1)
3.2.4 Room-Temperature Absorption Spectra of Cr²+:ZnSe	120	(3)
3.2.5 Dependence of Passive Laser Losses on Chromium Concentration	123	(1)
3.2.6 Determination of the Diffusion Coefficient	123	(2)
3.3 Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Cr²+:ZnSe	125	(13)
3.3.1 Emission Spectrum of Cr²+:ZnSe	126	(1)
3.3.2 Temperature and Concentration Dependence of the Fluorescence Lifetime	127	(1)
3.3.2.1 Concentration Dependence of the Fluorescence Lifetime	128	(1)
3.3.2.2 Temperature Dependence of the Fluorescence Lifetime	130	(1)
3.3.3 Dependence of the Fluorescence Efficiency on Chromium Concentration	131	(2)
3.3.4 Determination of Absorption Cross Sections	133	(1)
3.3.4.1 Model Equations	133	(1)
3.3.4.2 Continuous-Wave Case	134	(1)
3.3.4.3 Pulsed Case	136	(1)
3.3.4.4 Experimental Results	137	(1)
3.4 Pulsed Operation of Cr²+:ZnSe Lasers	138	(7)
3.4.1 Review of Earlier Work on Pulsed Cr²+:ZnSe Lasers	138	(1)
3.4.2 Dependence of the Power Performance on Chromium Concentration	139	(4)
3.4.3 Intracavity-Pumped Cr²+:ZnSe Laser with Ultrabroad Tuning	143	(2)
3.5 Continuous-wave Cr²+:ZnSe lasers	145	(5)
3.6 Mode-Locked Cr²+:ZnSe Lasers	150	(3)
3.7 Conclusions	153	(1)
Acknowledgments	154	(1)
References	154	(9)
4 All-Solid-State Ultraviolet Cerium Lasers	163	(30)
Shingo Ono, Zhenlin Liu, and Nobuhiko Sarukura
4.1 Introduction	164	(8)
4.1.1 Cerium-Doped Fluoride Crystals	164	(5)
4.1.2 Basic Properties of Ce:LLF Laser Medium	169	(1)
4.1.3 Basic Properties of Ce:LiCAF Laser Medium	170	(2)
4.2 Ultraviolet Tunable Pulse Generation from Ce³+-Doped Fluoride Lasers	172	(2)
4.2.1 Tunable Ce:LLF Laser	172	(1)
4.2.2 Tunable Ce:LiCAF Laser	173	(1)
4.3 Generation of Subnanosecond Pulses from Ce³+-Doped Fluoride Lasers	174	(5)
4.3.1 Short Pulse Generation with Simple Laser Scheme	175	(1)
4.3.2 Subnanosecond Ce:LLF Laser Pumped by the Fifth Harmonic of Nd:YAG Laser	176	(1)
4.3.3 Short Pulse Generation from Ce:LiCAF Laser	177	(1)
4.3.3.1 Short Pulse Generation from Ce:LiCAF Laser with Nanosecond Pumping	177	(1)
4.3.3.2 Short Pulse Generation from Ce:LiCAF Laser with Picosecond Pumping	179	(1)
4.4 High-Power Ultraviolet Cerium Laser	179	(7)
4.4.1 High-Energy Pulse Generation from a Ce:LLF Oscillator	179	(1)
4.4.2 High-Energy Pulse Generation from a Ce:LiCAF Oscillator	180	(1)
4.4.3 High-Energy Pulse Generation from a Ce:LiCAF Laser Amplifier	181	(2)
4.4.4 Ce:LiCAF Chirped-Pulse Amplification (CPA) System	183	(3)
4.5 Conclusions and Prospects	186	(1)
References	187	(6)
5 Eyesafe Rare Earth Solid-State Lasers	193	(40)
Robert C. Stoneman
5.1 Introduction	193	(1)
5.2 Eyesafe Wavelengths	194	(1)
5.3 Electronic Energy Structure	195	(1)
5.4 Quasi-Three-Level Model	196	(2)
5.5 Reabsorption Loss	198	(4)
5.6 Ground State Depletion	202	(3)
5.7 Reciprocity of Emission and Absorption	205	(2)
5.8 Thulium-Sensitized Holmium Laser	207	(2)
5.9 Thulium Laser	209	(2)
5.10 Upper-State Pumped Holmium Laser	211	(3)
5.11 Ytterbium-Sensitized Erbium Laser	214	(2)
5.12 Upper-State Pumped Erbium Laser	216	(1)
5.13 Summary	217	(1)
References	217	(16)
6 High-Power Neodymium Lasers	233	(26)
Susumu Konno
6.1 Introduction	233	(1)
6.2 Host Materials	234	(2)
6.2.1 Basic Properties and Recent Progress of Nd:YAG Lasers	235	(1)
6.2.2 Basic Properties and Recent Progress of Nd:YVO4 Lasers	236	(1)
6.2.3 Nd:YLF	236	(1)
6.3 Shape of Laser Crystals	236	(15)
6.3.1 Rod Crystals	236	(1)
6.3.1.1 End-Pumped Rod Lasers	237	(1)
6.3.1.2 Side-Pumped Rod Lasers	240	(4)
6.3.2 Slab Crystals	244	(1)
6.3.2.1 End-Pumped Slab Lasers	244	(1)
6.3.2.2 Side-Pumped Slab Lasers	246	(5)
6.4 Wavelength Conversion Lasers	251	(4)
6.4.1 Intracavity Second-Harmonic Generation	251	(3)
6.4.2 Intracavity Third-Harmonic Generation	254	(1)
6.5 Summary	255	(1)
References	255	(4)
7 Passively Mode-Locked Solid-State Lasers	259	(60)
Rüdiger Paschotta and Ursula Keller
7.1 Introduction	260	(1)
7.2 History of Mode-Locked Lasers	261	(5)
7.3 Gain Media for Ultrashort Pulse Generation	266	(4)
7.4 Dispersion	270	(5)
7.4.1 Orders of Dispersion	270	(1)
7.4.2 Dispersion Compensation	271	(1)
7.4.2.1 Dispersion from Wavelength-Dependent Refraction	271	(1)
7.4.2.2 Grating Pairs	272	(1)
7.4.2.3 Gires–Tournois Interferometers (GTIs)	272	(1)
7.4.2.4 Dispersive Mirrors	273	(1)
7.4.2.5 Dispersive SESAMs	274	(1)
7.5 Kerr Nonlinearity	275	(1)
7.6 Soliton Formation	276	(1)
7.7 Mode Locking	277	(19)
7.7.1 General Remarks	277	(2)
7.7.2 Active Mode Locking	279	(2)
7.7.3 Passive Mode Locking	281	(1)
7.7.3.1 The Starting Mechanism	281	(1)
7.7.3.2 Parameters of Fast and Slow Saturable Absorbers	282	(1)
7.7.3.3 Passive Mode Locking with Fast and Slow Saturable Absorbers	284	(1)
7.7.3.4 Saturable Absorbers for Passive Mode Locking	287	(1)
7.7.3.4.1 Semiconductor Absorbers	287	(1)
7.7.3.4.2 Kerr Lens Mode Locking	290	(1)
7.7.3.4.3 Additive Pulse Mode Locking	291	(1)
7.7.3.4.4 Nonlinear Mirror Mode Locking	291	(1)
7.7.3.5 Q-Switching Instabilities	292	(1)
7.7.3.6 Passive Mode Locking at High Repetition Rates	294	(1)
7.7.3.7 Summary: Requirements for Stable Passive Mode Locking	296	(1)
7.8 Designs of Mode-Locked Lasers	296	(8)
7.8.1 Picosecond Lasers	297	(1)
7.8.2 High-Power Thin-Disk Laser	297	(2)
7.8.3 Typical Femtosecond Lasers	299	(2)
7.8.4 Lasers with High Repetition Rates	301	(1)
7.8.5 Passively Mode-Locked Optically Pumped Semiconductor Lasers	302	(2)
7.9 Summary and Outlook	304	(2)
Acknowledgments	306	(1)
References	306	(13)
8 Multipass-Cavity Femtosecond Solid-State Lasers	319	(30)
Alphan Sennaroglu and James G. Fujimoto
8.1 Introduction	319	(2)
8.2 Mode-Locked Femtosecond Lasers	321	(3)
8.3 General Characteristics of Multipass Cavities	324	(14)
8.3.1 What Is a Q-Preserving Multipass Cavity?	324	(1)
8.3.2 Design Rules for Q-Preserving Multipass Cavities	325	(4)
8.3.3 An Illustrative Design Example	329	(1)
8.3.4 Compensating Optics for Non-q-Preserving MPCs	330	(3)
8.3.5 Pulse Repetition Rates	333	(4)
8.3.6 Practical Considerations	337	(1)
8.4 Experimental Work on Multipass Cavity Femtosecond Lasers	338	(7)
8.4.1 Compact Femtosecond Lasers Based on the MPC Concept	339	(3)
8.4.2 Pulse Energy Scaling in Low-Average-Power Systems	342	(1)
8.4.3 High Pulse Energies with MPCs	343	(1)
8.4.4 MPC Lasers with Ultralow Repetition Rates	344	(1)
8.5 Conclusions	345	(1)
Acknowledgments	345	(1)
References	346	(3)
9 Cavity-Dumped Femtosecond Laser Oscillator and Application to Waveguide Writing	349	(40)
Alexander Killi, Max Lederer, Daniel Kopf, Uwe Morgner, Roberto Osellame, and Giulio Cerullo
9.1 The Laser Light Source
9.1.1 Introduction	350	(1)
9.1.2 Mode-Locked Yb:XXX Laser Oscillators	351	(1)
9.1.3 Numerical Model	351	(1)
9.1.3.1 Numerical Solution	353	(1)
9.1.3.2 Soliton Mode-Locking	353	(1)
9.1.3.3 Kelly Sidebands	354	(1)
9.1.4 Cavity-Dumping Dynamics of Picosecond Lasers	354	(2)
9.1.5 Cavity-Dumping Experiments With Picosecond Lasers	356	(2)
9.1.6 Cavity-Dumping Dynamics of Femtosecond Lasers	358	(9)
9.1.7 The Cavity-Dumped Yb:KYW Oscillator	367	(2)
9.1.8 Pulse Compression	369	(2)
9.1.9 Conclusion	371	(1)
9.2 Optical Waveguide Writing	371	(12)
9.2.1 Introduction	371	(1)
9.2.2 Absorption of Femtosecond Pulses in Transparent Materials	372	(1)
9.2.3 Refractive Index Change	373	(2)
9.2.4 State of The Art in Femtosecond Laser Waveguide Writing	375	(2)
9.2.5 Optical Waveguide Writing by Cavity-Dumped Yb Laser	377	(6)
9.2.6 Conclusions	383	(1)
References	383	(6)
10 Solid-State Laser Technology for Optical Frequency Metrology	389	(48)
Oliver D. Mücke, Lia Matos, and Franz X. Kärtner
10.1 Femtosecond-Laser-Based Frequency Combs for Optical Frequency Metrology	390	(4)
10.2 Ultrabroadband Ti:Sapphire Lasers	394	(11)
10.2.1 Laser Dynamics	394	(5)
10.2.2 Technical Challenges in Generating Octave-Spanning Spectra	399	(4)
10.2.3 Experimental Setup and Results	403	(2)
10.3 Carrier-Envelope Phase Control	405	(6)
10.4 Carrier-Envelope Phase-Controlled 200 MHz Octave-Spanning Ti:Sapphire Lasers	411	(3)
10.5 Noise Analysis of Carrier-Envelope Frequency-Stabilized Lasers	414	(10)
10.5.1 Transfer Function Representation for the Pulse Energy versus Pump-Power Dynamics	416	(4)
10.5.2 Determination of the Carrier-Envelope Phase Error	420	(4)
10.6 Carrier-Envelope Phase-Independent Optical Clockwork for the HeNe/CH4 Optical Molecular Clock	424	(5)
10.7 Conclusions	429	(1)
Acknowledgments	430	(1)
References	430	(7)
11 Solid-State Ultrafast Optical Parametric Amplifiers	437	(36)
Giulio Cerullo and Cristian Manzoni
11.1 Introduction	437	(2)
11.2 Theory of Optical Parametric Amplification	439	(11)
11.3 Optical Parametric Amplifiers from the Visible to the Mid-IR	450	(4)
11.3.1 Seed Generation	450	(2)
11.3.2 OPAs in Near-IR	452	(1)
11.3.3 OPAs in the Visible	453	(1)
11.3.4 OPAs in Mid-IR	453	(1)
11.4 Ultrabroadband Optical Parametric Amplifiers	454	(6)
11.5 Self-Phase-Stabilized Optical Parametric Amplifiers	460	(5)
11.6 Optical Parametric Chirped-Pulse Amplification	465	(2)
11.7 Conclusions	467	(1)
References	468	(5)
12 Noise of Solid-State Lasers	473	(38)
Rudiger Paschotta, Harald R. Telle, and Ursula Keller
12.1 Introduction	474	(1)
12.2 Mathematical Basics	474	(3)
12.3 Single-Frequency Lasers	477	(9)
12.3.1 Quantum Noise Limits	477	(4)
12.3.2 Other Noise Sources	481	(2)
12.3.3 Noise Measurements	483	(1)
12.3.3.1 Measurement of Relative Intensity Noise	483	(1)
12.3.3.2 Measurement of Phase Noise	484	(2)
12.4 Multimode Continuous-Wave Lasers	486	(2)
12.5 Q-Switched Lasers	488	(1)
12.5.1 General Remarks	488	(1)
12.5.2 Active vs. Passive Q Switching	488	(1)
12.6 Mode-Locked Lasers	489	(14)
12.6.1 Types of Noise	489	(1)
12.6.2 Coupling Effects	490	(2)
12.6.3 Intensity Noise	492	(1)
12.6.4 Timing Jitter	493	(4)
12.6.5 Jitter Measurements	497	(4)
12.6.6 Optical Phase Noise and Carrier-Envelope Offset Noise	501	(2)
Acknowledgments	503	(1)
Appendix 1: Derivation of Schawlow—Townes Formula	503	(2)
Appendix 2: Derivation of Linewidth Formula for Lasers with Amplitude/Phase Coupling	505	(1)
References	506	(5)
Index	511