ABSTRACT
An ultrafast time-domain spectroscopy system employing asynchronous optical sampling at a repetition rate of 10 GHz is presented. Two ultra-compact Ti:sapphire femtosecond ring lasers allow to achieve scan rates as high as 100 kHz for a 100 ps long time window and a time-delay resolution of 100 fs. The feasibility of this high-speed ASOPS system is evaluated by performing THz time domain spectroscopy on molecular gases where signal-to-noise ratios exceeding 30 dB for averaging times in the millisecond range have been obtained. In order to demonstrate the benefits of this system for ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy we demonstrate the high-sensitivity detection of coherent acoustic phonons with dephasing times in the range of the 100 ps time window.
ABSTRACT
We have investigated passive mode-locking of Tm,Ho:YAG lasers with GaInAs- and GaSb-based semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs). With a GaInAs-based SESAM, stable dual-wavelength mode-locking operation was achieved at 2091 nm and 2097 nm, generating pulses with duration of 56.9 ps and a maximum output power of 285 mW. By using the GaSb-based SESAMs, we could generate mode-locked pulses as short as 21.3 ps at 2091 nm with a maximum output power of 63 mW. We attribute the shorter pulse duration obtained with the GaSb SESAMs to the ultrafast recovery time of the absorption and higher nonlinearity compared to standard GaInAs SESAMs.
Subject(s)
Lasers , Lenses , Equipment Design , Equipment Failure AnalysisABSTRACT
This paper shows the experimental details of the stabilization scheme that allows full control of the repetition rate and the carrier-envelope offset frequency of a 10 GHz frequency comb based on a femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser. Octave-spanning spectra are produced in nonlinear microstructured optical fiber, in spite of the reduced peak power associated with the 10 GHz repetition rate. Improved stability of the broadened spectrum is obtained by temperature-stabilization of the nonlinear optical fiber. The carrier-envelope offset frequency and the repetition rate are simultaneously frequency stabilized, and their short- and long-term stabilities are characterized. We also measure the transfer of amplitude noise of the pump source to phase noise on the offset frequency and verify an increased sensitivity of the offset frequency to pump power modulation compared to systems with lower repetition rate. Finally, we discuss merits of this 10 GHz system for the generation of low-phase-noise microwaves from the photodetected pulse train.
ABSTRACT
The femtosecond laser-based frequency comb has played a key role in high-precision optical frequency metrology for a decade. Although often referred to as a precise optical frequency ruler, its tick marks are in fact too densely spaced for direct observation and individual use, limiting important applications in spectroscopy, astronomy, and ultrafast electromagnetic waveform control. We report on a femtosecond laser frequency comb with a 10-gigahertz repetition rate that creates a stabilized output spectrum with coverage from 470 to 1130 nanometers. The individual modes can be directly resolved with a grating spectrometer and are visible by eye.
