RESUMO
We investigate the dynamics of the carrier-envelope-offset (CEO) frequency, f(CEO), controlled by a pump current on the self-referencing of an optical frequency comb generated from a diode-pumped solid-state laser at 1.56 µm. We observe a reversal point in the tuning of f(CEO) with the pump current. Between the low- and high-frequency region in the dynamic response of f(CEO) to pump current modulation, we observe a significant phase shift of ≈180 deg in the transfer function. As a result, it is impossible to stabilize f(CEO) at a pump current above the reversal point, although the free-running CEO beat at this point has a higher signal-to-noise ratio than underneath the reversal point at which the locking is straightforward. Our results indicate that a high signal-to-noise ratio and a low-noise CEO beat are not sufficient indicators for the feasibility of comb self-referencing in cases for which CEO dynamics play a dominant role.
RESUMO
We present a low coherence light source by direct super-continuum generation from a diode-pumped, passively modelocked Er:Yb:glass-laser, which generates 198 fs transform-limited pulses with an average power of 100 mW at a repetition rate of 75 MHz. The pulse train is launched into a dispersion optimized highly nonlinear fiber for spectral broadening. The optical bandwidth spans from 1150 nm to 2400 nm, which is more than one octave. The potential for ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) is demonstrated by coherence measurements supporting an axial resolution of 3.5 microm in air.
