High-power middle IR and long-wave IR frequency comb generators based on mode-locked polycrystalline Cr:ZnS lasers

Sergey Vasilyev; Viktor O. Smolski; Jeremy M. Peppers; Igor S. Moskalev; Mikhail S. Mirov; Yury Barnakov; Sergey B. Mirov

doi:10.1117/12.2631061

25 May 2022 High-power middle IR and long-wave IR frequency comb generators based on mode-locked polycrystalline Cr:ZnS lasers

Sergey Vasilyev, Viktor O. Smolski, Jeremy M. Peppers, Igor S. Moskalev, Mikhail S. Mirov, Yury Barnakov, Sergey B. Mirov

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12142, Fiber Lasers and Glass Photonics: Materials through Applications III; 121420K (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2631061
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2022, Strasbourg, France

Abstract

Femtosecond mid-IR and long wave IR lasers provide tremendous opportunities for imaging and sensing because they combine high spatial coherence of the laser beams (crucial for remote sensing), high temporal coherence of mode-locked oscillators (enabling dual comb spectroscopy in important molecular fingerprint region), and few-optical-cycle pulses (enabling IR sensing with high dynamic range via electric field sampling with low cost room temperature near-IR photodetectors). The development of such a sources (especially compact and field-deployable sources) is a challenging task that relies on the most advanced bulk laser technologies, new gain and nonlinear materials for a wide range of laser wavelengths. We present a viable route to the generation of power and energy scalable few-cycle pulse trains in the IR and describe the application of the developed sources for dual comb spectroscopy. The laser architecture is based on a combination of laser and nonlinear interactions in polycrystalline Cr:ZnS media that enables simultaneous amplification of ultrashort pulses, nonlinear pulse compression to 2-optical-cycle, and nonlinear broadening of pulses’ spectrum to an optical octave. Importantly, all of the necessary optical signals for stabilization of the frequency comb with the large lever arm are generated directly inside polycrystalline Cr:ZnS. This, in turn, has allowed us to implement robust and reliable shoe-box sized middle-IR frequency combs with ultra-low timing jitter of the pulse trains, broad instantaneous spectra, and Watt-level average power.

Conference Presentation

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Sergey Vasilyev, Viktor O. Smolski, Jeremy M. Peppers, Igor S. Moskalev, Mikhail S. Mirov, Yury Barnakov, and Sergey B. Mirov "High-power middle IR and long-wave IR frequency comb generators based on mode-locked polycrystalline Cr:ZnS lasers", Proc. SPIE 12142, Fiber Lasers and Glass Photonics: Materials through Applications III, 121420K (25 May 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2631061

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