Pulsed laser source with adjustable grating compressor
First Claim
1. A laser source for producing a pulsed laser beam comprising a plurality of ultrashort optical pulses having a variable repetition rate, said laser source comprising:
- a fiber oscillator that outputs optical pulses having an optical pulse width;
a pulse stretcher disposed to receive said optical pulses, said pulse stretcher having dispersion that increases said optical pulse width yielding stretched optical pulses;
a fiber amplifier disposed to receive said stretched optical pulses, said fiber optical amplifier having gain so as to amplify said stretched optical pulses, wherein said fiber amplifier subjects said pulses to a level of self-phase modulation that affects the optical pulse width of said amplified pulses as a function of pulse repetition rate;
an automatically adjustable grating compressor comprising at least one translatable bulk optical element, said compressor having dispersion that reduces the optical pulse width of said amplified pulses, said dispersion of said grating compressor being adjustable, said grating compressor automatically adjusting said dispersion for different repetition rates; and
a feedback system that includes an optical detector that senses said optical pulse width of said amplified pulses or said repetition rate and a controller that adjusts said grating compressor based on said sensed optical pulse width or said sensed repetition rate.
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Abstract
Various embodiments described herein relate to a laser source for producing a pulsed laser beam comprising a plurality of ultrashort optical pulses having a variable repetition rate. In one embodiment, the laser source comprises a fiber oscillator, which outputs optical pulses and a pulse stretcher disposed to receive the optical pulses. The optical pulses have an optical pulse width. The pulse stretcher has dispersion that increases the optical pulse width yielding stretched optical pulses. The laser source further comprises a fiber amplifier disposed to receive the stretched optical pulses. The fiber optical amplifier has gain so as to amplify the stretched optical pulses. The laser source includes an automatically adjustable grating compressor having dispersion that reduces the optical pulse width. The grating compressor automatically adjusts this dispersion for different repetition rates.
41 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A laser source for producing a pulsed laser beam comprising a plurality of ultrashort optical pulses having a variable repetition rate, said laser source comprising:
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a fiber oscillator that outputs optical pulses having an optical pulse width; a pulse stretcher disposed to receive said optical pulses, said pulse stretcher having dispersion that increases said optical pulse width yielding stretched optical pulses; a fiber amplifier disposed to receive said stretched optical pulses, said fiber optical amplifier having gain so as to amplify said stretched optical pulses, wherein said fiber amplifier subjects said pulses to a level of self-phase modulation that affects the optical pulse width of said amplified pulses as a function of pulse repetition rate; an automatically adjustable grating compressor comprising at least one translatable bulk optical element, said compressor having dispersion that reduces the optical pulse width of said amplified pulses, said dispersion of said grating compressor being adjustable, said grating compressor automatically adjusting said dispersion for different repetition rates; and a feedback system that includes an optical detector that senses said optical pulse width of said amplified pulses or said repetition rate and a controller that adjusts said grating compressor based on said sensed optical pulse width or said sensed repetition rate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A laser source for producing a pulsed laser beam comprising a plurality of ultrashort optical pulses having a variable repetition rate, said laser source comprising:
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a fiber oscillator that outputs optical pulses having an optical pulse width; an optical amplifier having gain to amplify said optical pulses, said optical amplifier subjecting said pulses to a level of self-phase modulation that affects the optical pulse width of the amplified pulses as a function of pulse repetition rate; an automatically adjustable grating compressor comprising at least one translatable bulk optical element, said compressor having dispersion that reduces the optical pulse width of the amplified pulses, said dispersion being adjustable, said grating compressor automatically adjusting said dispersion for different repetition rates. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18)
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14. A method of producing a pulsed laser beam comprising a plurality of ultrashort optical pulses having a variable repetition rate, said method comprising:
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producing optical pulses having an optical pulse width; reducing the optical pulse width thereby providing compressed optical pulses; varying the repetition rate; sensing the optical pulse width; and adjusting dispersion of a bulk grating compressor automatically based on the sensed optical pulse width for said different repetition rates so as to adjust for a change in pulse width caused by said variation in said repetition rate. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 19)
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Specification