Influence of the chirp on the intensity distributions of an apertured pulse

Starting from the Huygens-Fresnel diffraction integral and the Fourier transform, the propagation expression of a chirped pulse passing through a hard-edged aperture is derived. Using the obtained expression, the intensity distributions of the pulse with different chirp in the near and far fields are analyzed in detail. Due to the modulation of the aperture, many intensity peaks emerge in the intensity distributions of the chirped pulse in the near field. However, the amplitudes of the intensity peaks decrease on increasing the chirp, which results in the smoothing effect in the intensity distributions. The beam smoothing brought by increasing the chirp is explained physically. Also, it is found that the radius of the intensity distribution of the chirped pulse decreases when the chirp increases in the far field. (c) 2005 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Temporal-space-transforming pulse-shaping system with a knife-edge apparatus for a high-energy laser facility

For the first time to our knowledge, in a high-energy laser facility with an output energy of 454.37 J, by using a temporal-space-transforming pulse-shaping system with our own design of a knife-edge apparatus, we obtained a quasi-square laser pulse. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America.

拼接光栅压缩器的时域特性

在拼接光栅和拼接光栅压缩器的设计中,子光栅调节偏差不可避免,各维偏差与拼接光栅的时间特性之间的关系很关键。通过脉冲压缩理论分析得到各维偏差和聚焦脉冲时间宽度展宽之间的解析关系,从数值计算结果分析,面平行左右偏差对脉冲的时间宽度影响较大,必须控制在21.08 μrad内；条纹密度差异对脉冲宽度的影响很显著,相对条纹密度的比值应控制在10-5以内；从消除角色散的角度分析,面平行俯仰偏差和条纹平行度偏差可以相互补偿,条纹密度差异和面平行左右偏差也可以相互补偿。

Optimization of Pulse Temporal Contrast in Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification

In optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA), the degradation of temporal contrast of the compressed signal pulse mainly results from spectral clipping in the grating stretcher with finite size of the optics, parametric fluorescence (PF) and the spectral variations transferred from temporal fluctuation of the pump pulse. The temporal contrast of the recompressed amplified pulse in the OPCPA system is studied numerically and a number of solutions are considered and optimized to achieve the highest temporal contrast.

Crystallization of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 films induced by a single femtosecond laser pulse

Crystallization is achieved in amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 films upon irradiation with a single femtosecond laser pulse. Transmission electron microscopy images evidence the morphology of the crystallized spot which depends on the fluence of the ferntosecond laser pulse. Fine crystalline grains are induced at low fluence, and the coarse crystalline grains are obtained at high fluence. At the damage fluence, ablation of the films occurs. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Femtosecond laser pulse irradiation of Sb-rich AgInSbTe films: Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy investigations

The single-layer and multilayer Sb-rich AgInSbTe films were irradiated by a single femtosecond laser pulse with the duration of 120 fs. The morphological feature resulting from the laser irradiation have been investigated by scanning electron microscopy and atom force microscopy. For the single-layer film, the center of the irradiated spot is a dark depression and the border is a bright protrusion; however, for the multilayer film, the center morphology changes from a depression to a protrusion as the energy increases. The crystallization threshold fluence of the single-layer and the multilayer films is 46.36 mJ/cm(2), 63.74 mJ/cm(2), respectively.

Morphological characteristics of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 films after a single femtosecond laser pulse irradiation

The morphology of materials resulting from laser irradiation of the single-layer and the multilayer amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 films using 120 fs pulses at 800 nm was observed using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. For the single-layer film, the center of the irradiated spot is depression and the border is protrusion, however, for the multilayer film, the center morphology changes from a depression to a protrusion as the increase of the energy. The crystallization threshold fluence of the single-layer and the multilayer film is 22 and 23 mJ/cm(2), respectively. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Laser pulse induced bumps in chalcogenide phase change films

Formation of bumps in chalcogenide phase change thin films during the laser writing process is theoretically and experimentally investigated. The process involves basically fast heating and quenching stages. Circular bumps are formed after cooling, and the shape and size of the bumps depend on various parameters such as temperatures, laser power, beam size, laser pulse duration, etc. In extreme cases, holes are formed at the apex of the bumps. To understand the bumps and their formation is of great interest for data storage. In the present work, a theoretical model is established for the formation process, and the geometric characters of the formed bumps can be analytically and quantitatively evaluated from various parameters involved in the formation. Simulations based on the analytic solution are carried out taking Ag8In14Sb55Te23 as an example. The results are verified with experimental observations of the bumps. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Excimer laser plasma to control laser pulse duration

An injection-locking excimer laser beam with a pulse duration of 25 ns is focused on the surface of a polymide film. The laser beam that passes through the etching film is shorter than the original one. By optimizing the thickness of the film and the beam power density, a pulse with a 3-ns pulse duration can be obtained using this switch technology.

A Q-swicthed all-solid-state single-longitudinal-mode laser with adjustable pulse-width and high repetition rate

A single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) laser-diode pumped Nd: YAG laser with adjustable pulse width is developed by using the techniques of pre-lasing and changing polarization of birefingent crystal. The Q-switching voltage is triggered by the peak of the pre-lasing pulse to achieve the higher stability of output pulse energy. The output energy of more than 1 mJ is obtained with output energy stability of 3% (rms) at 100 Hz. The pulse-width can be adjusted from 30 ns to 300 ns by changing the Q-switching voltage. The probability of putting out single-longitudinal-mode pulses is almost 100%. The laser can be run over four hours continually without mode hopping.

Stable pulse-compressed acousto-optic Q-switched fiber laser

A novel acousto-optic switch operation by a simple laser-diode pumped acousto-optic, Q-switched, ytterbium-doped, double-clad fiber laser is reported. Stable compressed Q-switched sub-40 ns pulses with a beam quality factor (M-2 = 2) are achieved at the repetition rate of 1-50 kHz. Q-switched pulses of similar to 20 mu J pulse energy and 35 as pulse width are obtained at the repetition rate of 50 kHz. Finally, a reasonable explanation of the novel Q-switched operation is presented. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.