chanelink logo
CHANELINK
English

Scientists demonstrate powerful UV-visible infrared full-spectrum laser

918
2023-08-25 14:29:07
See translation
Figure: a. Schematic diagram of the HCF-LN-CPPLN experimental setup. W. CaF? Window M, mirror.
b. The bright white light circular spots emitted by the CPPLN sample.
c. The first-order diffraction beam of B displays a colorful rainbow pattern from purple to red.
d. The HCF-LN-CPPLN module generates normalized spectra of the output full spectrum laser signal through the second NL HHG and third NL SPM effects.
Source: Lihong Hong, Liqiang Liu, Yuanyuan Liu, Junyu Qian, Renyu Feng, Wenkai Li, Yanyan Li, Yujie Peng, Yuxin Leng, Ruxin Li, and Zhi-Yuan Li

High brightness ultra-wideband ultra-continuous white light laser has attracted more and more attention in physics, chemistry, biology, material science and other scientific and technological fields. Over the past few decades, many different methods have been developed to produce supercontinuous white lasers.

Most of them utilize a variety of third-order nonlinear effects, such as self-phase modulation (SPM) occurring in microstructured photonic crystal fibers or homogeneous plates, or noble gas-filled hollow fibers. However, the quality of these supercontinuum light sources is subject to some limitations, such as the small pulse energy at the nanojoule level, and the requirements of complex dispersion engineering.

Another more efficient means of expanding the laser spectral range is through the various second-order nonlinear effects (2nd-NL) of the quasi-phase matching (QPM) scheme. However, the spectrum and power scaling performance of these pure 2N-NL schemes are still poor due to the narrow pump band width, limited QPM operating bandwidth, and reduced efficiency of high order harmonic energy conversion.

How to solve these bad limitations in the 2nd-NL and 3rd-NL systems and make both to produce full-spectrum supercontinuum lasers with spectral coverage from ultraviolet to mid-infrared has become a great challenge.

In a new paper published in Light: Science & Applications: A team led by Professor Zhi-Yuan Li and colleagues from the School of Physics and Optoelectronics at South China University of Technology in China has demonstrated an intense, quadruple-frequency UV-Vis-IR full-spectrum laser source (300 nm to 5000 nm, peak value -25 dB) with an energy of 0.54 mJ per pulse. Aerated hollow core fiber (HCF) from a cascade structure, exposed lithium niobate (LN) crystal plates, specially designed chirped periodically polarized lithium niobate crystals (CPPLN) pumped by a 3.9 mm, 3.3 mJ mid-infrared pump pulse.

Pumped by a 3.3mJ 3.9μm mid-infrared femtosecond pulse laser, the HCF-LN system can generate a strong mid-infrared laser pulse of double bandwidth as a secondary FW pump input to CPPLN, which supports efficient broadband HHG processing, further extending the spectral bandwidth to UV-Vis-IR. It is clear that this cascade structure creatively satisfies two prerequisites for the generation of full-spectrum white light: Condition 1, a strongly frequency-doubled pump femtosecond laser, and condition 2, a nonlinear crystal with an extremely high frequency up-conversion bandwidth. In addition, the system involves a large number of synergies between 2nd-NL and 3rd-NL effects.

The synergistic mechanism they have developed provides superior capabilities for constructing UV-Vis-IR global supercontinuum spectra and filling spectral gaps between various HHGS, far exceeding what has been achieved with single-acting 2N-NL or 3rd-NL effects previously employed.

As a result, this cascaded HFC-LN-CPPLN optical module enables previously unachievable levels of strong full-spectrum laser output, not only with great bandwidth (spanning four octave multiplicities), but also with a spectral profile of high flatness (from 300 to 5000 nm, flatness better than 25 dB) and large pulse energy (0.54 mJ per pulse).

"We believe that our proposal is to use the synergy of 2NL-HHG and 3rd-NL SPM effects to create an intense four-octave UV-vision-infrared full-spectrum femtosecond laser source, which is a big step toward building supercontinuous spectral white laser sources with greater bandwidth, energy, higher spectral brightness, and flatter spectral profiles." "This intense full-spectrum femtosecond laser will provide a revolutionary tool for spectroscopy and find potential applications in physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, information technology, industrial processing and environmental monitoring," the scientists said.

Source: Chinese Optical Journal Network
Related Recommendations

  • Top management changes at Laser Photonics Corp., a US laser equipment manufacturer

    Recently, Laser Photonics Corp. (LPC), a Nasdaq listed equipment developer, announced that it has appointed John T. Armstrong as its new Executive Vice President. Before assuming his position at LPC, Armstrong served as Vice President of Astronics Test Systems, a subsidiary of Astronics Corporation, a global leader in advanced technology and products in critical mission areas such as aerospace a...

    2024-11-20
    See translation

  • Bodor Laser has been approved by Shandong Engineering Research Center

    Recently, the Development and Reform Commission of Shandong Province announced the list of Shandong Engineering Research Centers for 2024. bodor Laser has been recognized as the "Advanced Laser High end Intelligent Manufacturing and Application Shandong Engineering Research Center" and is the only enterprise in the laser intelligent manufacturing industry to be listed.As an important component of ...

    2024-07-17
    See translation

  • Huagong Technology and Far East Control signed a strategic cooperation agreement to collaborate on the application and digital transformation and upgrading of "laser+intelligent manufacturing"

    On October 16th, Huagong Technology signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Far East Holdings Group Co., Ltd. The two industry leaders will engage in deep cooperation in multiple fields to promote the development and innovation of their businesses. Both parties will work together to enhance the application of "laser+intelligent manufacturing" and the level of digital transformation and upgra...

    2023-10-18
    See translation

  • The latest progress in laser chip manufacturing

    Modern computer chips can construct nanoscale structures. So far, only these tiny structures can be formed on top of silicon chips, but now a new technology can create nanoscale structures in a layer beneath the surface. The inventor of this method stated that it has broad application prospects in the fields of photonics and electronics, and one day, people can manufacture 3D structures on the ent...

    2024-07-29
    See translation

  • Omnitron Announces Partnership with Silex Microsystems to Mass Produce MEMS Scanning Mirrors for LiDAR

    According to reports, Omnitron Sensors, a pioneer in the development of MEMS sensing technology for large-scale and low-cost markets, recently announced that it will collaborate with Silex Microsystems, a subsidiary of Semielectronics, to mass produce MEMS scanning mirrors for LiDAR.Eric Aguilar, co-founder and CEO of Omnitron Sensors, said, "We have noticed a huge demand from manufacturers of adv...

    2023-09-19
    See translation