High Efficient, Intense and Compact Pulsed D2O Terahertz Laser Pumped With a TEA CO2 Laser

A high efficient, intense and compact pulsed D₂O terahertz laser is presented, which is pumped by a multi-transverse mode TEA CO₂ laser. For D₂O gas as the active medium, with the cavity length of 120 cm, pulse energy of the THz laser has been investigated as the variation of pump energy and gas pressure. When the pump energy was 1.41 J, the maximum single pulse energy of 6.2 mJ was achieved at the wavelength of 385 μm. Photon conversion efficiency as high as 36.5% was obtained when laser operated at the maximum output energy. As the pump energy was raised from 0.57 to 1.41 J, the optimum pressure was slightly changed from 400 to 700 Pa. The THz pulse consisted of a spike pulse with pulse width of 120 ns and a tail pulse with pulse width of about 170 ns. The peak power of the spike pulse is about 44.3 kW. Comparing with the occurring time and pulse width of pump pulse, 70 ns delay and 10ns broadening were observed in the THz spike pulse.     

Temporal Behavior of the Pump Pulses,Residual Pump Pulses,and THz Pulses for D<Subscript>2</Subscript>O Gas Pumped by a TEA CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Laser

Temporal behavior of the pump pulses, residual pump pulses, and THz pulses for optically pumped D₂O gas molecules was investigated by using a tunable TEA CO₂ laser as the pumping source. The pulse profiles of pump laser pulses, residual pump pulses, and the THz output pulses were measured, simultaneously, at several different gas pressures. For THz pulse, the pulse delay between the THz pulse and the pump pulse was observed and the delay time was observed to increase from 40 to 70 ns with an increase in gas pressure from 500 to 1700 Pa. Both THz pulse broadening and compression were observed, and the pulse broadening effect transformed to the compression effect with increasing the gas pressure. For the residual pump pulse, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the main pulse decreased with increasing gas pressure, and the main pulse disappeared at high gas pressures. The secondary pulses were observed at high gas pressure, and the time intervals of about 518 and 435 ns were observed between the THz output pulse and the secondary residual pump pulse at the pressure of 1400 Pa and 1700 Pa, from which the vibrational relaxation time constants of about 5.45 and 5.55 μs Torr were obtained.     

Pulsed CH<Subscript>3</Subscript>OH Terahertz Laser Emission Pumped by a TEA CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Laser

A simple terahertz (THz) cavity and a TEA CO₂ laser for the optically pumped THz emission is studied experimentally. To obtain high peak power of pump laser, pressure ratios of gas mixture in the cavity of the TEA CO₂ laser are discussed. When CH₃OH are pumped by the 9P(16) and 9P(36) CO₂ laser lines, the generation of terahertz radiation with energy as high as 353 μJ and 307 μJ are obtained, respectively. The corresponding photon conversion efficiencies are 0.705% and 0.29%. Meanwhile, higher peak power of pump laser effectively improves the photon conversion efficiency. And the optimum THz laser pressure increases with narrower pulse width of pump laser.     

Compact Tunable Narrowband Terahertz-Wave Source Based on Difference Frequency Generation Pumped by Dual Fiber Lasers in MgO:LiNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

We demonstrate a high-average-power, single longitudinal-mode, and tunable terahertz (THz)-wave source based on difference frequency generation (DFG) in a MgO:LiNbO₃ (MgO:LN) crystal. The waves for DFG are generated using a pair of Yb-doped pulsed fiber lasers with a master oscillator power fiber amplifier configuration. The average power of the THz-wave output reaches 450 μW at 1.07 THz (280 μm) at a linewidth of 7.2 GHz, and the tunability ranges from 0.35 to 1.07 THz under the pulse repetition frequency of 500 kHz. A short burn-in test of the THz wave is also carried out, and the output power stability is within ± 5% of the averaged power without any active stabilizing technique. The combination of MgO:LN-DFG and stable and robust fiber laser sources is highly promising for the development of high-average-power THz-wave sources, particularly in the high transmission sub-THz region. This approach may enable new applications of THz-wave spectroscopy in imaging and remote sensing.     

产生太赫兹辐射源的Nd:YAG双波长准连续激光器

产生太赫兹波辐射的方法可分为电子学和光子学两大类.在光子学领域,非线性光学差频方法是获取高功率、低成本、便携式、室温运转太赫兹波的主要方法之一.实验研究了激光二极管(LD)端面抽运Nd:YAG1319 nm/1338 nm双波长准连续线偏振运转激光器,理论计算了输出双波长在非线性晶体DAST(4-N,N-dimethylamino-4'-N-'methyl-stilbazolium tosylate)中差频产生太赫兹辐射的平均功率.在重复频率50 kHz时,双波长激光平均输出功率达到2.22 W,斜率效率12.72%,线偏振度0.983,脉冲宽度71.91 ns.M2因子仅为1.165,不稳定性小于0.487%.根据非线性差频理论,计算出可在1 mm厚DAST晶体中获得4.71 mw的3.23 THz高相干性太赫兹波辐射.这两条非常接近的谱线为进一步通过非线性光学差频方法获得高相干性太赫兹波提供了理论基础.     

全固体1.3μm增益开关激光器的研究

增益开关和Q开关是获得脉冲激光运转的常用方法,对于在非线性光学研究、光通讯第二窗口装置检测、光纤传感等方面有着广泛应用前景的1.3μm波段全固体激光的脉冲产生,提出了使用增益开关的方法。首先在理论上使用速率方程对增益开关的运转进行分析,并就腔长对脉冲参数的影响进行了数值模拟。接着在实验上采用高频调制激光二极管供电电源的方法,使Nd:YVO4激光器工作在增益开关状态,即通过逐渐减小工作电源泵浦电流的脉冲宽度,使激光仅输出弛豫振荡的第一个脉冲,最后在泵浦电流脉冲宽度为5μs时,获得了平均功率80mW,光脉冲宽度200ns,频率200kHz,峰值功率2W,单脉冲能量0.4μJ的1.342μm激光的增益开关运转。     

An Efficient High-energy Pulsed NH<Subscript>3</Subscript> Terahertz Laser

Experimental studies on an efficient high-energy pulsed NH₃ terahertz (THz) laser pumped by a TEA CO₂ laser are presented. Pulsed THz radiation of 204 mJ with a wavelength of 151.5 μm was generated from an ammonia laser pumped by a 32 J TEA CO₂ laser tuned to the 10P(32) transition, and the photon conversion efficiency of 18% was achieved, in which the pulsed energy was measured by pyroelectric detectors. Meanwhile, the THz transmittance was measured and compared for 5 kinds of materials. Finally, regarding the THz transmittance of these materials, a phenomenon for ammonia radiations with 91 μm and 152 μm pumped by a 9R(14) line was observed: i.e. while the 152 μm THz radiation can win in competition for gain at lower pressure, the 91 μm THz radiation in contrast can prevail at higher pressure.     

MOPA方式高峰值功率脉冲光纤放大器模拟

为了研究如何从脉冲种子光经放大器后获得能量为毫焦级、纳秒级脉宽的激光脉冲,以及重频、受激喇曼效应对输出激光脉冲的影响,采用基于主振荡动率放大方式建立了3级脉冲双包层掺Yb光纤放大器的瞬态理论模型。在不同重频下对能量为10nJ、脉宽为100ns的脉冲种子光经放大后的脉冲能量、峰值功率、平均功率、脉宽及受激喇曼效应进行了数值模拟。计算数据表明,当重频小于200Hz时输出激光脉冲的能量、波形受重频的影响很小,可以忽略不计,在适当参量下受激喇曼效应对各级放大输出几乎没有影响。结果表明,适当选择3级光纤放大器的各项参量可以实现毫焦级的激光脉冲输出。     

InSb光电导太赫兹源材料性质及辐射场研究

为了研究锑化铟(InSb)半导体材料光电导太赫兹辐射过程,用数值计算方法分析材料内载流子迁移率和表面电流,以及不同性质抽运激光器对太赫兹波近场强度的影响,用宏观电磁场理论和微观半导体理论分析材料表面电流,比较了InSb和GaAs材料的太赫兹波功率谱曲线。结果表明,InSb材料载流子弛豫时间越长,载流子迁移率越大;表面电流与载流子寿命和弛豫时间成正比;宏观电磁场理论更适于分析表面电流;抽运激光饱和能量密度越大,太赫兹近场辐射强度越强;抽运激光脉冲宽度越短,太赫兹近场辐射强度越强;InSb光电导辐射太赫兹波功率比GaAs高。该结果为基于InSb光电导太赫兹辐射源的研究奠定了一定的基础。     

Kilowatt-peak Terahertz-wave Generation and Sub-femtojoule Terahertz-wave Pulse Detection Based on Nonlinear Optical Wavelength-conversion at Room Temperature

Intense Terahertz (THz)-wave generation and highly sensitive THz-wave detection were obtained by wavelength conversion with nonlinear optical susceptibility χ⁽²⁾ of LiNbO₃ crystals. Maximum peak output of about 50 kW (5 μJ/pulse) was demonstrated in an injection-seeded THz-wave parametric generator pumped by post-amplified emission from a microchip Nd:YAG laser. Using the sub-nanosecond pulse duration of the laser proposed herein provides effective mitigation of stimulated Brillouin scattering in LiNbO₃, producing higher gain for wavelength conversion between near-infrared (near-IR) pump light and THz waves. Monochromatic THz radiation was obtained in the continuous tuning range of 0.7–2.9 THz. Additionally, highly sensitive THz-wave detection was demonstrated based on up-conversion from THz waves to near-IR light as well as efficient THz-wave generation. The signal generated with non-collinear phase-matching condition showed spectroscopic detection on the screen apart from the LiNbO₃ crystal. Highly sensitive detection with minimum energy of about 80 aJ/pulse (0.8 μW at peak) and a large dynamic range of more than 100 dB were achieved in this experiment.     

905nm InGaAs脉冲激光二极管驱动电流特性分析与测试

为了实现高功率905nm InGaAs脉冲激光二极管激光脉冲宽度和峰值功率可调,采用现场可编辑门阵列产生触发脉冲、集成模块EL7104C作为金属氧化物半导体场效应晶体管（MOSFET）驱动、以MOSFET为核心开关器件控制高压模块和储能电容之间充放电的方法,设计了脉冲激光二极管驱动电路,对驱动电流特性进行了理论分析和实验验证,取得了不同电容和高压条件下的电流脉宽和峰值数据,分析了具体变化关系,并以此进行了光谱和功率-电流特性测试。结果表明,影响驱动电流脉宽和峰值电流的关键因素是电容大小和充电高压,脉冲激光二极管驱动电流峰值在0A~40A、脉宽20ns~100ns时可控调节,脉冲激光二极管最大峰值功率输出可达40W,实现了脉冲式半导体激光器输出功率和脉冲宽度的可控调节。该设计与分析对近红外高功率脉冲激光器的可控驱动设计具有一定的实用参考意义。     

Study of Optimal Cavity Parameter in Optically Pumped D2O Gas Terahertz Laser

Heavy water gas (D₂O gas) which owns special structure property, can generate terahertz radiation by optically pumping technology, and its 385 μm wavelength radiation can be widely used. In this research, on the base of semi-classical density matrix theory, we set up a three-level energy system as its theoretical model, a TEA-CO₂ laser 9R (22) output line (λ?=?9.26 μm) acted as pumping source, D₂O gas molecules were operating medium, the expressions of pumping absorption coefficient G _p and Terahertz signal gain coefficient G _s were deduced. It was shown that the gain of Terahertz signal was related with the energy-level parameters of operating molecules and some operating parameters of the Terahertz laser cavity, mainly including cavity length. By means of iteration method, the output power density of Terahertz pulse signal was calculated numerically. Changing the parameter of cavity length and keeping others steady, the relationship curve between the output power intensity (Is) of Terahertz pulse laser and the operating cavity length (L) was obtained. The curve showed that the power intensity (Is) increased with cavity length (L) in a certain range, but decreased when the length (L) exceeded some value because of the absorption effect, and there was an optimal cavity length for the highest output power. We used a grating tuned TEA-CO₂ laser as pumping power and a sample tube of variable length in 70–160 cm as terahertz laser operating cavity to experiment. The results of theoretical calculation and experiment matched with each other, and it is helpful for miniaturizing terahertz laser volume to make it practical.     

Simple Short-Pulse CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Laser Excited by Longitudinal Discharge without High-Voltage Switch

We have developed a longitudinally excited CO₂ laser without a high-voltage switch. The laser produces a short laser pulse similar to those from TEA and Q-switched CO₂ lasers. This system, which is the simplest short-pulse CO₂ laser yet constructed, includes a pulsed power supply, a high-speed step-up transformer, a storage capacitor, and a laser tube. At high pressure (4.2 kPa and above), a rapid discharge produces a short laser pulse with a sharp spike pulse. In mixed gas (CO₂: N₂: He = 1: 1: 2) at a pressure of 9.0 kPa, the laser pulse contains a spike pulse of 218 ns and has a pulse tail length of 16.7 μs.     

电光调Q 1064nm/532nm脉冲激光器

报道了一种用于产生THz波的电光调Q脉冲激光器,重复频率为1Hz、10Hz,输出1064nm、532nm可方便转换.当腔长310mm,输入能量为16J时,输出的1064nm调Q脉冲能量210mJ,电光转换效率1.3%,平均脉宽13ns,532nm脉冲能量110mJ,倍频效率50%,脉宽9~12ns.并对实验结果进行了分析和讨论.     

激光雷达用高性能光纤激光器

系统研究了窄线宽低噪声单频连续光纤激光器、高能量纳秒长脉冲单频光纤激光器以及高峰值功率纳秒短脉冲光纤激光器三类高性能光纤激光器:实现了工作于1、1.5及2 m波段的单频连续光纤激光器,典型光谱线宽小于3 kHz,强度噪声接近于散粒噪声极限;实现了高能量单频光纤激光器,脉冲能量超过200 J,重复频率20 kHz,脉冲宽度100~500 ns,激光波长位于1.5 m波段;实现了高峰值功率纳秒短脉冲光纤激光器,峰值功率超过700 kW,重复频率10 kHz,脉冲宽度3 ns;同时还实现了高重频高峰值功率纳秒短脉冲光纤激光器,峰值功率超过200 W,重复频率3 MHz,脉冲宽度1~5 ns。文中阐述了以上几类高性能光纤激光器在激光雷达探测系统中的应用前景。     

Compact High-Repetition-Rate Monochromatic Terahertz Source Based on Difference Frequency Generation from a Dual-Wavelength Nd:YAG Laser and DAST Crystal

Although high-repetition-rate dual-wavelength Nd:YAG lasers at 1319 and 1338 nm have been realized for quite a long time, we have employed it in generating monochromatic terahertz (THz) wave in this paper for the first time. The dual-wavelength laser was LD-end-pumped and acousto-optically (AO) Q-switched with the output power of watt level operating at different repetition rates from 5.5 to 30 kHz. Using a 0.6-mm-thick organic nonlinear crystal DAST for difference frequency generation (DFG), a compact terahertz source was achieved at 3.28 THz. The maximum average output power was about 0.58 μW obtained at a repetition rate of 5.5 kHz, corresponding to the conversion efficiency of about 6.4?×?10^?7. The output power scaling is still feasible with higher pump power and a longer nonlinear DFG crystal. Owing to the compactness of the dual-wavelength laser and the nonlinear crystal, a palm-top terahertz source is expected for portable applications such as imaging and so on.     

高峰值功率主动-主动瞬态锁模激光技术研究

研究了主动-主动瞬态锁模技术,腔长调节技术和单一脉冲选取技术。实现了单一脉冲选取率达到100%,单一脉冲能量达到1.087 mJ,能量抖动不超过3%;脉宽小于等于300 ps,瞬态峰值功率高达3.62×106 W。实现了外触发与出光时间抖动±15 ns。     

Analysis of Linewidth Tunable Terahertz Wave Generation in Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate

A new scheme of optical rectification of femtosecond laser pulses in a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal, which generates high energy and linewidth tunable multicycle terahertz (THz) pulses, is analyzed. The developed simple theoretical model allows investigating the generated THz spectrum and its dependence on spot size of the pump beam. It is shown that the transformation of THz radiation from narrowband to broadband is possible by simply reducing the pump beam size. The temporal waveform and energy of the multicycle THz pulses were calculated as well. It is shown that THz energy is inversely proportional to the pump beam size r _y , whereas energy spectral density is independent of r _y . The efficiency of optical-to-THz energy conversion for pump pulse energy of 1?mJ is estimated to be 0.8?×?10^?4. The possibility of tuning the generation frequency by changing the direction of the pump beam propagation is analyzed.     

准连续TEM00模被动调Q Nd:YAG激光器的研究

采用峰值功率为500 W准连续激光二极管(LD)阵列侧面泵浦Nd:YAG晶体,Cr4+:YAG可饱和吸收体作为被动调Q元件,在重复频率为40 Hz时实现了单脉冲能量为8.24 mJ、脉冲宽度约7 ns的1 064 nm TEM00模调Q激光脉冲输出,脉冲峰值功率达到1.2 MW,从而为主振荡功率放大(MOPA)系统提供高峰值功率、高光束质量的种子源。对泵浦功率和泵浦脉冲宽度对输出脉冲特性的影响进行了实验研究。     

基于PLZT开关的全光纤单模调Q掺Yb3+光纤激光器

PLZT电光陶瓷具有良好的透明性、高电光系数等特性,用来实现全光纤调Q开关具有很大的优势.分析了PLZT全光纤调Q开关的原理,测量了调Q开关的时间波形,研究了基于PLZT开关的全光纤单模环形调Q掺Yb3 光纤激光器.抽运光功率为180 mW,莆复频率为1 kHz时,得到峰值功率25.6 W,脉冲宽度80 ns,光谱宽度1 nm,脉冲能量2.0 μJ的调Q脉冲.此外,分别研究了抽运功率和重复频率对脉冲峰值功率和脉冲宽度的影响,结果表明,同一重复频率情形下,随着抽运功率的升高,峰值功率增大,脉冲宽度降低;同一抽运功率水平下,随着重复频率的增大,脉冲的峰值功率减小,脉冲宽度增大.