System for generating pluralities of optical pulses with predetermined frequencies in a temporally and spatially overlapped relationship
First Claim
1. A chirped pulse laser system which provides a short laser pulse having a plurality of discrete frequency components which are spatially overlapped and are in predetermined temporal relationship with each other, which system comprises means for generating chirped laser pulses having a bandwidth which includes the bandwidth of said frequency components, first means for optically Processing said chirped pulses to derive from each of said chirped pulses, a plurality of pulses each having a different one of said frequency components exclusively of the other frequencies in said bandwidth, second means for optically processing said pulses from said first means such that each of said plurality of pulses has the identical spatial profile, and third means for optically processing said plurality of pulses from said second means for compression thereof into said short pulse wherein said plurality of pulses are in spatially overlapped relationship and in said predetermined temporal relationship.
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Abstract
Ultra short (pico second and shorter) laser pulses having components of different frequency which are overlapped coherently in space and with a predetermined constant relationship in time, are generated and may be used in applications where plural spectrally separate, time-synchronized pulses are needed as in wave-length resolved spectroscopy and spectral pump probe measurements for characterization of materials. A Chirped Pulse Amplifier (CPA), such as a regenerative amplifier, which provides amplified, high intensity pulses at the output thereof which have the same spatial intensity profile, is used to process a series of chirped pulses, each with a different central frequency (the desired frequencies contained in the output pulses). Each series of chirped pulses is obtained from a single chirped pulse by spectral windowing with a mask in a dispersive expansion stage ahead of the laser amplifier. The laser amplifier amplifies the pulses and provides output pulses with like spatial and temporal profiles. A compression stage then compresses the amplified pulses. All the individual pulses of different frequency, which originated in each single chirped pulse, are compressed and thereby coherently overlapped in space and time. The compressed pulses may be used for the foregoing purposes and other purposes wherien pulses having a plurality of discrete frequency components are required.
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18 Claims
- 1. A chirped pulse laser system which provides a short laser pulse having a plurality of discrete frequency components which are spatially overlapped and are in predetermined temporal relationship with each other, which system comprises means for generating chirped laser pulses having a bandwidth which includes the bandwidth of said frequency components, first means for optically Processing said chirped pulses to derive from each of said chirped pulses, a plurality of pulses each having a different one of said frequency components exclusively of the other frequencies in said bandwidth, second means for optically processing said pulses from said first means such that each of said plurality of pulses has the identical spatial profile, and third means for optically processing said plurality of pulses from said second means for compression thereof into said short pulse wherein said plurality of pulses are in spatially overlapped relationship and in said predetermined temporal relationship.
Specification