Spectral shaping of femtosecond pulses with a prism-waveguide coupler

We report a novel technique for spectral shaping of femtosecond pulses employing a prism-waveguide coupler (PWC). It is demonstrated that the PWC is capable of producing a frequency-dependent loss with greater attenuation at the peak of the spectrum profile of femtosecond pulses than in the wings, which is especially useful for compensation for gain narrowing in most chirped-pulse amplification laser systems.

展宽器元件失调及带通分析

通过光线追迹法给设计的反射式单光栅展宽器建立了一个数学计算模型。利用这个数学模型计算和分析了元件失调对反射式单光栅展宽器二阶色散量和输出光束发散角的影响，并考虑了反射式单光栅展宽器中衍射光栅和球形凹面镜的尺寸与展宽器带通的关系。发现当平面反射镜M1的纵向偏离角为0．2°时．展宽器的二阶色散量最大，偏离角大于或小于0．2°时，展宽器的二阶色散量随之减小；得到了元件失调会增加输出光束发散角的结论；并发现展宽器中衍射光栅和球形凹面镜尺寸的有限大小对带通有限制作用。提出了利用反射镜M1纵向的适当偏离增大展宽器二阶

有限尺寸光栅压缩器的优化设计

分析了超短超强激光系统中有限尺寸光栅压缩器设计的关键物理参数及约束条件,得到了压缩器优化的三项基本变量。给出了一种输出能量最大化的压缩器优化方法,进而确定了有限尺寸光栅压缩器的最大工作能力。针对传统的圆光束方案提出了改进的椭圆光束方案,增大了聚焦能量,减小了焦斑尺寸,提高了峰值聚焦功率密度。通过数值模拟对500 mm曝光口径介质膜光栅在圆光束和椭圆光束两种方案下的最大输出能力进行分析比较,指出单块光栅在椭圆光束方案下可以实现500 fs,500 J,1 PW的脉冲输出。

宽光束进入展宽器提高输出脉冲对比度分析

根据分析啁啾脉冲对比度模型,通过光线追迹法详细分析了展宽器对输出脉冲对比度的影响.发现当扩大进入展宽器的入射光束口径,从2mm扩大到40mm时,输出脉冲的对比度提高了近两个数量级;同时发现在相同条件下,当输入脉冲为双曲正割函数时,其输出脉冲的对比度明显好于输入脉冲为高斯脉冲和矩形脉冲的情形。

展宽器中非对称光谱剪切对输出脉冲对比度的影响

在展宽器中,光谱的剪切情况非常重要,它直接影响输出脉冲的质量。以ffner展宽器为例,参照以往建立的光线追迹模型,建立了分析展宽器中光谱剪切的模型。发现当展宽器的参数确定好后,光栅放置的位置对激光脉冲光谱剪切有非常重要的影响。当光栅相对于光轴中心对称放置时,展宽器容许通过的光谱相对于激光中心波长将是非对称分布的,即此时在展宽器中发生的光谱剪切为非对称光谱剪切,在神光II第9路拍瓦激光装置中,这种非对称光谱剪切将使输出脉冲对比度下降一个数量级。为了使展宽器中通过的光谱相对于激光中心波长对称分布,需要将光栅相对于光轴非中心对称放置。

Offner展宽器曲面镜误差对输出脉冲对比度的影响

在ffner展宽器的设计研究中,对曲面镜曲率半径的误差研究非常重要,它直接影响输出脉冲的质量。因此有必要分析ffner展宽器中曲面镜曲率半径的误差对输出脉冲对比度的影响。参考ffner展宽器的光线追迹模型,建立了ffner展宽器中曲面镜曲率半径存在误差时的光线追迹模型;根据建立的模型,详细分析了曲面镜曲率半径的误差对输出脉冲质量的影响;发现在目前曲面镜曲率半径的加工误差在0.2%~0.5%的情况下,完全可以满足神光II拍瓦激光装置中对展宽器的要求;同时发现如果曲面镜曲率半径存在误差时,应该尽量使两曲面镜之间的距离保持为凹面反射镜曲率半径的一半,而不是使两曲面镜保持同心。

脉宽压缩光栅用的多层膜设计和性能分析

应用于啁啾脉冲放大技术中的脉宽压缩光栅是基于多层膜作为基底，利用全息干涉技术和离子束技术刻蚀而成。脉宽压缩光栅的衍射效率和抗激光损伤阈值一方面依赖于光栅结构的设计，另一方面很大程度上取决于作为基底的多层膜的设计。给出了以413．1nm作为写入波长，1053nm作为使用波长的多层介质光栅膜的设计．样品在ZZS-800F、型真空镀膜机上采用电子束蒸发方式沉积而成，并给出了膜系结构对光学性能影响因素的详细分析，结果表明膜系H3L(H2L)^9H0．5L2．03H满足光栅膜的指标。给出了样品光学特性测试，其使用波

多层介质膜脉冲宽度压缩光栅与超短脉冲作用时的性能分析

基于啁啾脉冲放大技术的超短脉冲激光系统是提供超快、超强激光的重要途径，具有良好输出波形和高损伤阈值的多层介质膜脉冲宽度压缩光栅是获得高峰值功率脉冲激光的关键。基于傅里叶谱变换方法和严格模式理论，分析了多层介质膜光栅（MDG）在超短脉冲作用下的光学特性。结果表明，当MDG的反射带宽小于具有高斯分布的入射脉冲的频谱宽度时，-1级反射脉冲呈非对称高斯分布，其前沿出现振荡，并且-1级反射脉冲能量开始剧烈下降，讨论了MDG结构参数对其反射带宽的影响。分析了MDG与超短脉冲作用时的近场光分布，对提高其抗激光损伤特性具

A review of Ni-like X-ray laser experiments undertaken using the VULCAN laser at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Recent progress using the VULCAN laser at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to pump X-ray lasing in nickel-like ions is reviewed. Double pulse pumping with similar to 100 ps pulses has been shown to produce significantly greater X-ray laser output than single pulses of duration 0.1-1 ns. With double pulse pumping, the main pumping pulse interacts with a pre-formed plasma created by a pre-pulse. The efficiency of lasing increases as there is a reduced effect of refraction of the X-ray laser beam due to smaller density gradients and larger gain volumes, which enable propagation of the X-ray laser beam along the full length of the target. The record shortest wavelength saturated laser at 5.9 nm has been achieved in Ni-like dysprosium using double pulse pumping of 75 ps duration from the VULCAN laser. A variant of the double pulse pumping using a single similar to 100 ps laser pulse and a superimposed short similar to 1 ps pulse has been found to further increase the efficiency of lasing by reducing the effects of over-ionisation during the gain period. The record shortest wavelength saturated laser pumped by a short similar to 1 ps pulse has been achieved in Ni-like samarium using the VULCAN laser operating in chirped pulse amplified (CPA) mode. Ni-like samarium lases at 7.3 nm. (C) 2000 Academie des sciences/Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.

A proposal for multi-tens of GW fully coherent femtosecond soft X-ray lasers

X-ray free-electron lasers1,2 delivering up to 131013 coherent photons in femtosecond pulses are bringing about a revolution in X-ray science3?5. However, some plasma-based soft X-ray lasers6 are attractive because they spontaneously emit an even higher number of photons (131015), but these are emitted in incoherent and long (hundreds of picoseconds) pulses7 as a consequence of the amplification of stochastic incoherent self-emission. Previous experimental attempts to seed such amplifiers with coherent femtosecond soft X-rays resulted in as yet unexplained weak amplification of the seed and strong amplification of incoherent spontaneous emission8. Using a time-dependent Maxwell?Bloch model describing the amplification of both coherent and incoherent soft X-rays in plasma, we explain the observed inefficiency and propose a new amplification scheme based on the seeding of stretched high harmonics using a transposition of chirped pulse amplification to soft X-rays. This scheme is able to deliver 531014 fully coherent soft X-ray photons in 200 fs pulses and with a peak power of 20 GW.

Fabrication and applications of fibre Bragg gratings

The consequences of fabricating Bragg gratings in various fibres, with or without hydrogen loading, and with varying laser power levels are explored. Three new techniques for fabricating chirped gratings are presented. Beams with dissimilar wavefront curvatures are interfered to give chirped gratings. With the same aim techniques of writing gratings on tapered fibres and on deformed fibres are also covered. With these techniques, a wide variety of gratings has been fabricated from the 'superbroad' (with bandwidths of up to 180 nm), small to medium bandwidth gratings with linear chirp profiles and quadratic chirped gratings. It is demonstrated that chirped grating can be concatenated to form all-fibre Fabry-Perot and Moiré resonators. These are further concatenated with chirped gratings to produce filters with narrow passbands and very broad stopbands. A number of other applications are also addressed. The use of chirped fibre gratings for dispersion compensation and femtosecond chirped pulse amplification is demonstrated. Chirped gratings are used as dispersive elements in modelocked fibre lasers producing ultrashort pulses. A chirped fibre grating Fabry-Perot transmission filter is used in a continuous wave laser that exhibits eleven simultaneously lasing wavelengths. Finally, the use of grating-coupler devices as variable reflectivity mirrors for laser optimisation and gain clamping is considered.

Pulse compression by filamentation in argon with an acoustic optical programmable dispersive filter for predispersion compensation

We have experimentally demonstrated pulses 0.4 mJ in duration smaller than 12 fs; with an excellent spatial beam profile by self-guided propagation in argon. The original 52 fs pulses from the chirped pulsed amplification laser system are first precompressed to 32 fs by inserting an acoustic optical programmable dispersive filter instrument into the laser system for spectrum reshaping and dispersion compensation, and the pulse spectrum is subsequently broadened by filamentation in an argon cell. By using chirped mirrors for post-dispersion compensation, the pulses are successfully compressed to smaller than 12 fs.

Pulse Compression by Filamentation in Argon with an Acoustic Optical Programmable Dispersive Filter for Predispersion Compensation

We have experimentally demonstrated pulses 0.4 mJ in duration smaller than 12 fs with an excellent spatial beam profile by self-guided propagation in argon. The original 52 fs pulses from the chirped pulsed amplification laser system are first precompressed to 32 fs by inserting an acoustic optical programmable dispersive filter instrument into the laser system for spectrum reshaping and dispersion compensation, and the pulse spectrum is subsequently broadened by filamentation in an argon cell. By using chirped mirrors for post-dispersion compensation, the pulses are successfully compressed to smaller than 12 fs.

Laser pulse compression and amplification via Raman backscattering in plasma

A simple theoretical model is proposed for the interaction between two counter-propagating laser pulses (a pump and a seed pulse) in unmagnetized plasma. Pulse compression and amplification are observed via numerical simulation. A one dimensional fluid model for stimulated Raman backscattering is proposed to investigate the pulse compression and pulse amplification mechanisms. To accomplish this, energy is transferred from the long pump pulse to a seed pulse, with a Langmuir plasma wave mediating the transfer. The study focuses on the intensity profile of the pump laser pulse. A Gaussian and a ring intensity profile are, separately, considered for the pump laser pulse.

Conversion of a chirped Gaussian pulse to a soliton or a bound multisoliton state in quasi-lossless and lossy optical fiber spans

The formation of single-soliton or bound-multisoliton states from a single linearly chirped Gaussian pulse in quasi-lossless and lossy fiber spans is examined. The conversion of an input-chirped pulse into soliton states is carried out by virtue of the so-called direct Zakharov-Shabat spectral problem, the solution of which allows one to single out the radiative (dispersive) and soliton constituents of the beam and determine the parameters of the emerging bound state(s). We describe here how the emerging pulse characteristics (the number of bound solitons, the relative soliton power) depend on the input pulse chirp and amplitude. © 2007 Optical Society of America.