Translational, rotational, and vibrational coupling into phase in diffractively coupled optical cavities.

All-reflective optical systems are under consideration for future gravitational wave detector topologies. A key feature of these all-reflective systems is the use of Fabry-Perot cavities with diffraction gratings as input couplers; however, theory predicts and experiment has shown that translation of the grating surface across the incident laser light will introduce additional phase into the system. This translation can be induced through simple side-to-side motion of the coupler, yaw motion of the coupler around a central point (i.e., rotation about a vertical axis), and even via internal resonances (i.e., vibration) of the optical element. In this Letter we demonstrate on a prototype-scale suspended cavity that conventional cavity length-sensing techniques used to detect longitudinal changes along the cavity axis will also be sensitive to translational, rotational, and vibrational motion of the diffractive input coupler. We also experimentally verify the amplitude response and frequency dependency of the noise coupling as given by theory.

Hollow-fiber compression of 6 mJ pulses from a continuous-wave diode-pumped single-stage Yb,Na:CaF2 chirped pulse amplifier.

Here, 200 fs 6 mJ pulses from a cw diode-pumped Yb,Na:CaF(2) amplifier are spectrally broadened in an Ar- or Ne-filled hollow-core fiber and recompressed to 20 fs (Ar) and 35 fs (Ne) using a prism pair. The results of spectral broadening and phase measurement are in excellent agreement with numerical modeling based on the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The longer laser wavelength of 1030 nm permits favorable energy scaling for the hollow-fiber technique compared to ultrafast amplifiers operating at 800 nm.

Experimental demonstration of a suspended diffractively coupled optical cavity.

All-reflective optical systems are under consideration for future gravitational wave detector topologies. One approach in proposed designs is to use diffraction gratings as input couplers for Fabry-Perot cavities. We present an experimental demonstration of a fully suspended diffractively coupled cavity and investigate the use of conventional Pound-Drever-Hall length sensing and control techniques to maintain the required operating condition.

2 kW incoherent beam combining of four narrow-linewidth photonic crystal fiber amplifiers.

We report on beam combining of four narrow-linewidth fiber amplifier chains, running at different wavelengths and each delivering 500 W optical output power. The main amplifier stage consists of a large mode area photonic crystal fiber. The four output beams of the amplifier chains are spectrally (incoherent) combined using a polarization-independent dielectric reflective diffraction grating to form an output beam of 2 kW continuous-wave optical power with good beam quality (M(2)x = 2.0, M(2)y = 1.8).

Compact fiber amplifier pumped OPCPA system delivering Gigawatt peak power 35 fs pulses.

We report on a compact Gigawatt peak power OPCPA system which is pumped by the second harmonic of an Yb-doped fiber amplifier and seeded by a cavity dumped Ti:Sapphire oscillator. Picosecond pump pulses for the OPCPA are generated by spectral filtering and directly amplified to 1 mJ pulse energy in several fiber amplifiers, without the need of chirped pulse amplification. Since no stretcher and compressor is required, the pump laser is very compact and easy to operate. The two stage optical parametric amplifier delivers 35 fs pulses with 53 microJ pulse energy and 1.1 GW peak power at 40 kHz repetition rate. Additionally, the scaling potential of this approach is discussed.

Highly-dispersive dielectric transmission gratings with 100% diffraction efficiency.

A new approach for the realization of highly dispersive dielectric transmission gratings is presented, which enables the suppression of any reflection losses and, thus, 100% diffraction efficiency. By applying a simple two-mode-model a comprehensible explanation as well as a theoretical design of such a reflection-free transmission grating is presented.

Demonstration of three-port grating phase relations.

We experimentally demonstrate the phase relations of three-port gratings by investigating three-port coupled Fabry-Perot cavities. Two different gratings that have the same first-order diffraction efficiency but differ substantially in their second-order diffraction efficiency have been designed and manufactured. Using the gratings as couplers to Fabry-Perot cavities, we could validate the results of an earlier theoretical description of the phases at a three-port grating [Opt. Lett. 30, 1183 (2005)].

Optical characterization of ultrahigh diffraction efficiency gratings.

We report on the optical characterization of an ultrahigh diffraction efficiency grating in a first-order Littrow configuration. The apparatus used was an optical cavity built from the grating under investigation and an additional high-reflection mirror. The measurement of the cavity finesse provided precise information about the grating's diffraction efficiency and its optical loss. We measured a finesse of 1580 from which we deduced a diffraction efficiency of (99.635+/-0.016)% and an overall optical loss due to scattering and absorption of just 0.185%. Such high-quality gratings, including the tool used for their characterization, might apply for future gravitational wave detectors. For example, the demonstrated cavity itself presents an all-reflective, low-loss Fabry-Perot resonator that might replace conventional arm cavities in advanced high-power Michelson interferometers.

Phase effects in the diffraction of light: beyond the grating equation.

Diffraction gratings affect the absolute phase of light in a way that is not obvious from the usual derivation of optical paths using the grating equation. For example, consider light which encounters first one and then the second of two parallel gratings. If one grating is moved parallel to its surface, the phase of the light diffracted from the grating pair is shifted by 2pi each time the grating is moved by one grating constant, even though the geometric path length is not altered by the motion. This additional phase shift must be included when incorporating diffraction gratings in interferometers.

An intelligible explanation of highly-efficient diffraction in deep dielectric rectangular transmission gratings.

This paper describes in a very easy and intelligible way, how the diffraction efficiencies of binary dielectric transmission gratings depend on the geometrical groove parameters and how a high efficiency can be obtained. The phenomenological explanation is based on the modal method. The mechanism of excitation of modes by the incident wave, their propagation constants and how they couple into the diffraction orders helps to understand the diffraction process of such gratings and enables a grating design without complicated numerical calculations.

Low-loss grating for coupling to a high-finesse cavity.

A concept for a low-loss all-reflective cavity coupler is experimentally demonstrated at a wavelength of 1064 nm. A 1450-nm period dielectric reflection grating with a diffraction efficiency of 0.58% in the - 1st order is used in the 2nd-order Littrow configuration as a coupler to form a cavity with a finesse of 400. The application of such reflective low-loss cavity couplers in future generations of gravitational-wave detectors and implementation issues are discussed.

High-average-power femtosecond fiber chirped-pulse amplification system.

Efficient generation of 76-W average power of 400-fs pulses at 75-MHz repetition rate by use of a diode-pumped ytterbium-doped double-clad fiber-based chirped-pulse amplification system is demonstrated. The key element in the system is a diffraction grating compressor consisting of highly efficient transmission gratings in fused silica, allowing recompression at this high power level.

High-power femtosecond Yb-doped fiber amplifier.

We report on the generation of linearly chirped parabolic pulses with 17-W average power at 75 MHz repetition rate and diffraction-limited beam quality in a large-mode-area ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier. Highly efficient transmission gratings in fused silica are applied to recompress these pulses down to 80-fs with an efficiency of 60%, resulting in a peak power of 1.7 MW. Power scaling limitations given by the amplifier bandwidth are discussed.