Multi-octave spanning, Watt-level ultrafast mid-infrared source

We present a source of brilliant mid-infrared radiation, seamlessly covering the wavelength range between 1.33 and 18 m (7500-555 cm−1) with three channels, employing broadband nonlinear conversion processes driven by the output of a thulium-fiber laser system. The high-average-power femtosecond fro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:JPhys photonics 2019-10, Vol.1 (4), p.44006
Main Authors: Butler, T P, Lilienfein, N, Xu, J, Nagl, N, Hofer, C, Gerz, D, Mak, K F, Gaida, C, Heuermann, T, Gebhardt, M, Limpert, J, Krausz, F, Pupeza, I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Broadband
Channels
Fiber lasers
Infrared radiation
intra-pulse difference frequency generation (DFG)
mid-infrared generation
nonlinear optics
Silicon dioxide
Solitary waves
supercontinuum generation
Synchrotrons
Thulium
ultrafast optics
ZBLAN optical fibre
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Summary:We present a source of brilliant mid-infrared radiation, seamlessly covering the wavelength range between 1.33 and 18 m (7500-555 cm−1) with three channels, employing broadband nonlinear conversion processes driven by the output of a thulium-fiber laser system. The high-average-power femtosecond frontend delivers a 50 MHz train of 250 fs pulses spectrally centered at 1.96 m. The three parallel channels employ soliton self-compression in a fused-silica fiber, supercontinuum generation in a ZBLAN fiber, and difference-frequency generation in GaSe driven by soliton self-compressed pulses. The total output enables spectral coverage from 1.33 to 2.4 m, from 2.4 to 5.2 m, and from 5.2 to 18 m with 4.5 W, 0.22 W and 0.5 W, respectively. This spatially coherent source with a footprint of less than 4 m2 exceeds the brilliance of 3rd-generation synchrotrons by more than three orders of magnitude over 90% of the bandwidth.
ISSN:2515-7647
2515-7647
DOI:10.1088/2515-7647/ab4976