Correction of beam break-up in self-mode-locked Ti:sapphire lasers

Jean-Francois Cormier; Michel Piche; Francois Salin

doi:10.1117/12.165610

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5 January 1994 Correction of beam break-up in self-mode-locked Ti:sapphire lasers

Jean-Francois Cormier; Michel Piche; Francois Salin

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Proceedings Volume 2041, Mode-locked and Other Ultrashort Laser Designs, Amplifiers, and Applications; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.165610
Event: Optics Quebec, 1993, Quebec City, Canada

Abstract

It is now well established that Kerr lensing is most efficient at creating short pulses when the cavity is operated near the edges of the geometrical stability zones. In this paper, we describe the effects of the thermal aberration due to laser pumping on the beam shape and on the initiation of the self-mode-locked regime. A simple 1-D analysis of the thermal aberration shows that the phase delay is parabolic near the center of the beam while it is linear in the wings. We show that such an aberration produces the break up of the beam profile when the laser is operated near the edges of the geometrical stability zones. Kerr lensing present in the self-mode-locked regime tends to reduce the beam size in such a way that the non-parabolic contribution of the thermal aberration is not seen by the beam; hence, self-mode locking effectively suppresses beam break up.

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Jean-Francois Cormier, Michel Piche, and Francois Salin "Correction of beam break-up in self-mode-locked Ti:sapphire lasers", Proc. SPIE 2041, Mode-locked and Other Ultrashort Laser Designs, Amplifiers, and Applications, (5 January 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.165610

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