System for the generation of tunable ultrafast optical pulses (Market Study)

用于产生可调谐超快光脉冲的系统（市场研究）

• 批准号: 560494-2021
• 负责人: Razzari, Luca
• 金额: $ 0.88万
• 依托单位: Institut national de la recherche scientifique
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Idea to Innovation
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=706761
• 关键词: System; generation; tunable; ultrafast; optical

Ultrafast laser pulses featuring wavelength tunability from the ultraviolet to the infrared range, which is beyond the direct reach of typical laser gain media, can bring a decisive advantage in many applications. However, nowadays the most commonly implemented technologies to generate such pulses, for instance optical parametric amplification, necessitate a complicated combination of multiple optical nonlinear processes for frequency conversion and amplification, essentially requiring bulky and expensive apparatus and still not automatically guaranteeing a gap-free tunability. Also, the time duration of the output pulses remains at a level comparable to the initial pumping laser system, so that further complexity needs to be added to achieve shorter durations, e.g., via pulse compression. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a simple and cost-effective system to generate wavelength-tunable and energy-scalable optical pulses, with the additional benefit of a pulse duration shorter than the one of the amplified laser employed as a pump. Our strategy is based on nonlinear spectral broadening (arising from self-phase modulation or stimulated Raman scattering) in a gas-filled hollow-core fiber (HCF), followed by a subsequent optical filtering stage. The tuning range, which can be controlled by the proper combination of gas type and pressure, can span continuously from the ultraviolet to the infrared. Once the outermost spectral lobe is selected from the broadened output spectrum by standard optical filtering, quasi-transform-limited pulses are directly obtained with energy conversion efficiencies of at least 10-15% (comparable with commercial optical parametric amplifiers) and pulse durations 3-4 times shorter than the one of the pump laser, without the need of any pulse post-compression. Considering the ease of fabrication of HCFs with different dimensions, the proposed technology could be utilized with various amplified lasers, potentially being capable of performing at extremely high (or low) average power or peak intensity conditions. This NSERC I2I Market Study will assist us in identifying the most promising applications, analyzing the potential market, and facilitating technology transfer.

超快激光脉冲具有从紫外线到红外线范围的波长可调性，超出了典型激光增益介质的直接范围，可以在许多应用中带来决定性的优势。然而，当今最常用的产生此类脉冲的技术，例如光学参量放大，需要多种光学非线性过程的复杂组合来进行频率转换和放大，本质上需要笨重且昂贵的设备，并且仍然不能自动保证无间隙可调谐性。此外，输出脉冲的持续时间保持在与初始泵浦激光系统相当的水平，因此需要增加进一步的复杂性以实现更短的持续时间，例如通过脉冲压缩。为了克服这些限制，我们开发了一种简单且经济高效的系统来生成波长可调和能量可扩展的光脉冲，其额外优点是脉冲持续时间比用作泵浦的放大激光器的脉冲持续时间短。我们的策略基于充气空心光纤 (HCF) 中的非线性光谱展宽（由自相位调制或受激拉曼散射产生），然后是后续的光学滤波阶段。调谐范围可以通过气体类型和压力的适当组合来控制，可以连续跨越从紫外到红外的范围。一旦通过标准光学滤波从展宽的输出光谱中选择最外层光谱瓣，就可以直接获得准变换受限脉冲，能量转换效率至少为 10-15%（与商业光学参量放大器相当），脉冲持续时间为 3-比泵浦激光器短4倍，无需任何脉冲后压缩。考虑到不同尺寸的 HCF 的制造容易性，所提出的技术可以与各种放大激光器一起使用，有可能在极高（或低）平均功率或峰值强度条件下执行。这项 NSERC I2I 市场研究将帮助我们确定最有前途的应用、分析潜在市场并促进技术转让。