2~5 μm中红外飞秒光学参量振荡器研究进展（特邀）

自1994年首次利用克尔透镜锁模钛宝石激光器泵浦RTA光学参量振荡器实现中红外飞秒激光输出以来,在这20多年的时间内,随着高功率近红外泵浦源与各种优质非线性晶体的不断涌现,中红外飞秒光学参量振荡器在平均功率、脉冲宽度、调谐范围等方面都取得了长足的发展,为基础科学研究、生物医疗以及国防安全等领域提供了多样化的应用工具。文中将2~5 μm中红外飞秒光学参量振荡器分为波长可调谐输出型与宽光谱输出型两类,分别重点就这两类中红外飞秒光学参量振荡器的国内外研究进展进行综述,最后对进一步发展趋势进行了展望。高功率、高光束质量中红外飞秒光学参量振荡器和大能量中红外飞秒光学参量振荡器是其中两个重要的发展方向。     

光纤型宽调谐中红外激光光源的设计与研制

报道一种光纤型宽调谐中红外差频产生（DFG）激光光源,该系统分别以掺镱光纤激光器（YDFL）和掺铒光纤激光器（EDFL）作为泵浦和信号源。为拓宽基频光调谐范围,采用了4个不同工作波段的YDFL,并通过电控光开关实现段间的快速切换,总调谐范围为1040-1110nm;采用电控偏振控制器 (ECPC)分别对基频光偏振态进行精确快速控制,以提高系统转化效率;利用PID算法和负反馈技术分别稳定泵浦LD温度和驱动电流,并将其工作状态通过LCD实时显示。测试结果表明,该中红外激光系统可在3.04-3.72μm内连续调谐。     

飞秒激光在多孔光纤中传输特性的研究

介绍了多孔光纤的特性以及对飞秒激光在多孔光纤中传输特性的研究。     

同步脉冲诱导的高功率中红外差频产生技术（特邀）

提出并实验探究了基于同步脉冲诱导的中红外差频产生技术,利用高速光电探测器将泵浦光脉冲转换为超短电信号,使其驱动宽带的幅度调制器,作用于可调谐连续激光器上,从而实现双色脉冲的稳定时域同步。利用了同步脉冲诱导的非线性差频过程,有效降低了光参量下转换的泵浦阈值,能够获得瓦量级的中红外超短脉冲输出,最大泵浦光转换效率达60%,且中心波长在3000~3175 nm范围内可调谐。得益于全保偏光纤架构,平均功率的不稳定度(STD/MEAN)在1 h内低至0.07%,展现了优异的长期稳定性。此外,该方案利用光-电-光高速调制实现高精度脉冲同步,免除了复杂的反馈电路,具有结构简单、即插即用、鲁棒性强的特点,为拓展中红外光源在野外的应用奠定了基础。     

小型化宽调谐光纤型DFG中红外激光源的研制

研制了一种小型化宽调谐光纤型DFG/QPM中红外光源。该光源的基频光采用分段调谐的方案,以3个不同工作波段的YDFL作为泵浦源,3个不同工作波段的EDFL作为信号源,并通过光开关实现各波段间的快速切换。研制了DFG中红外光源样机,其尺寸为440×290×500mm3,测试结果表明,泵浦/信号光可在1050~1110nm和1535～1600nm范围内宽带连续调谐,经差频过程最终中红外激光实现3054.5~4009.1nm波段内宽带无缝调谐。     

飞秒激光脉冲在双折射微结构光纤中频率变换的研究

报道了高非线性的双折射微结构光纤(MFs)与纳焦耳量级的飞秒激光脉冲相互作用下，在可见光波段通过相位匹配的四波混频效应获得了波长可调谐的反斯托克斯波的实验结果。由于该光纤的双折射性质，因此在不同偏振方向上具有不同的色散特性，所产生的反斯托克斯超短脉冲的中心波长受到输入脉冲的偏振态的影响。通过旋转输人端的半波片，在相互垂直的两种偏振态的飞秒激光脉冲的作用下，所产生的反斯托克斯波脉冲的中心波长分别为490nm和510nm，在微结构光纤的输出端能分别观察到明亮的蓝光和绿光的基模输出。实验研究了在不同功率飞秒脉冲激光的作用下，在不同长度的双折射微结构光纤中反斯托克斯波的产生情况，并对一系列现象进行了对比分析。     

光子晶体光纤中飞秒激光脉冲传输的研究

为更精细地描绘飞秒光脉冲在光子晶体光纤中的传输和演化,在用分步傅里叶方法求解广义非线性薛定谔方程的基础上,详细考虑光纤参数随脉冲峰值频移的变化,模拟了飞秒光脉冲在光子晶体光纤中传输和演化的过程。研究发现,光纤色散和强非线性对飞秒脉冲在光子晶体光纤中传输、演化以及超连续谱的展宽有很大影响。     

基于中空光子带隙光纤的飞秒激光脉冲压缩

利用中空光子带隙光纤(HC-PBGF)对光子晶体光纤飞秒激光器输出的激光脉冲进行腔外再压缩.激光器输出的脉冲中心波长为1040 nm,脉冲宽度为475 fs,平均功率为400 mw,单脉冲能量为8 nJ.通过白光干涉法测量可中空光子带隙光纤的色散参数为-48 ps2/km,并利用截断实验得到了所用光纤的最优化长度,压缩后获得的最短脉冲宽度为108 fs,接近变换极限,传输效率为89%.由于该光纤纤芯的非线性系数较低,脉冲在其中传输无非线性效应,压缩后输出光谱保持不变.     

光纤激光泵浦的多波长中红外光参量振荡器

介绍了一种光纤激光泵浦的三波长中红外光参量振荡器。在最大泵浦功率70.7 W,泵浦波长为1 060、1 065、1 080 nm的情况下,实现了8.7 W的中红外闲频光输出,斜效率达到16%,闲频光三个波长分别为3 132、3 170、3 310 nm,但产生的信号光只有一个波长为1 604 nm。对实验结果进行了理论分析和实验测试,得出在谐振腔内1 060 nm泵浦光发生了光参量振荡,而1 065、1 080 nm泵浦光分别与1 604 nm信号光发生了差频过程,同时还利用差频转换效率理论对1 065、1 080 nm差频产生的闲频光强度的差异进行了分析和解释。     

Invited paper: Short pulse generation in mid-IR fiber lasers

Mode-locked fiber lasers emitting short pulses of light at wavelengths of 2 μm and longer are reviewed. Rare-earth doped silica and fluoride fiber lasers operating in the mode-locked regime in the mid-IR (2–5 μm) have attracted attention due to their usefulness to spectroscopy, nonlinear optics, laser surgery, remote sensing and ranging to name a few. While silica fiber lasers are fundamentally limited to emission wavelengths below 2.2 μm, fluoride fiber lasers can reach to nearly 4 μm. The relative infancy of fluoride fibers as compared to silica fibers means the field has work to do to translate the mode-locking techniques to systems beyond 2 μm. However, with the recent demonstration of a stable, mode-locked 3 μm fiber laser, the possibility of achieving high performance 3 μm class mode-locked fiber lasers looks promising.     

LD泵浦的高重复频率全固态飞秒激光器（特邀）

GHz飞秒激光器相比于传统的百MHz飞秒激光器,其频域中相邻纵模的间隔更大、可分辨率更高,相同光谱范围内纵模密度更小,每个纵模分得的平均功率相对更高,在梳齿可分辨光谱学、直接频率梳光谱学、光学任意波形产生以及天文摄谱仪校准等诸多领域有着更重要的应用价值。文中从GHz飞秒脉冲的产生方案出发,着重对激光二极管泵浦的GHz重复频率全固态飞秒激光的产生方案以及相应的技术挑战进行了详细介绍,然后重点综述了国际上基于SESAM被动锁模以及克尔透镜锁模全固态GHz飞秒激光器的研究进展,并结合笔者所在课题组取得的初步研究结果对全固态GHz重复频率飞秒激光器的应用价值以及笔者所在课题组的研究目标进行了展望。     

时分复制脉冲放大技术在超快光纤激光器中的应用研究进展

随着高功率超快光纤激光器的迅速发展,时分复制脉冲放大技术近年来获得了广泛的关注。时分复制脉冲放大技术可以通过双折射晶体组或自由空间时延来实现。将时分复制脉冲技放大技术与啁啾脉冲放大、空间分束和光子晶体光纤放大等技术相结合,运用于相干光束合成和非线性压缩,可以提升超快光纤激光器的脉冲能量和峰值功率。文中对时分复制脉冲放大技术在超快光纤激光器中的最新研究进展进行了详细综述,重点分析了时分复制脉冲放大技术在相干光束合成应用中的不同系统结构,并对时分复制脉冲放大技术的优化和发展方向进行了展望。     

超快光纤激光器中的周期分岔研究进展(特邀)

超快光纤激光器已成为超短脉冲光源的理想选择对象并得到实际应用。由于光束直径受限于光纤截面及光与光纤的长相互作用距离,非线性效应不可避免。在非线性效应导致的脉冲分裂出现之前,在合适的条件下超快光纤激光器可以实现输出的周期分岔。周期分岔是指输出脉冲的参数以腔长的倍数为固定周期重复出现。周期分岔是非线性系统的本征特性之一,广泛存在于所有非线性系统中。文中对超快光纤激光器中的周期分岔的研究进展进行了详细综述,重点分析了不同色散区间周期分岔的表征特性,并对矢量孤子的周期分岔特性,以及多脉冲情况下的周期分岔特性进行讨论。     

可调谐单频光纤激光器的研究进展（特邀）

可调谐单频光纤激光器具有调谐范围宽、光信噪比高、线宽窄、噪声低和兼容性好等特点,在光谱学、光学探测、光学传感、光纤通信等领域有着重要的应用价值,引起了国内外研究者的广泛关注。简单介绍了可调谐单频光纤激光的调谐和选模关键技术,对1.0、1.5、2.0 μm和中红外等不同波段的可调谐单频光纤激光器进行了总结与归纳,综述了其国内外研究现状,并展示了其在调谐范围、激光线宽、光信噪比、输出功率、输出功率平坦度等性能指标方面取得的成果。此外,结合笔者课题组近年来在可调谐单频光纤激光器方面的研究工作,介绍了基于复合腔结构实现可调谐单频光纤激光的最新进展,并展望了可调谐单频光纤激光器的未来发展趋势。     

飞秒激光辐照下金属薄膜材料的热力响应

考虑到金属材料热导率、弛豫时间、电子-晶格耦合系数等热力学参数随温度非线性变化因素的影响,运用具有人工粘性和自适应步长的有限差分算法,数值求解了飞秒激光辐照金属薄膜的超快热弹性模型,分析了飞秒激光辐照200nm铜膜时温度场和应力场的变化规律。结果表明：电子热导率和电子-晶格耦合系数对温度场变化有较大影响;在超快加热早期,热电子崩力在金属薄膜表面附近迅速达到峰值,后期急剧减小的热电子崩力和逐渐增大的晶格温度梯度共同决定了薄膜体系中应力场的变化。     

Recent progress on ultrafast/ultrashort/frequency-stabilized erbium-doped fiber lasers and their applications

There are many kinds of fiber lasers in the 1.5 μm band using erbium-doped fiber amplifiers. Our group has been studying and developing advanced fiber lasers, such as 1) 10-40 GHz harmonically mode-locked fiber lasers, 2) femtosecond fiber lasers that use single-wall carbon nanotube (CNT)-doped polymers as a saturable absorber, and 3) frequency-stabilized fiber lasers that employ acetylene C2H2. We will describe recent progress on these fiber lasers and their applications in this article.     

Photochemical gas lasers and hybrid (solid/gas) blue-green femtosecond systems

The review summarizes milestones and major breakthrough results obtained in the course of the development of a photochemical method applied to optical excitation of gas lasers on electronic molecular transitions by radiation from such unconventional pump sources as high-temperature electrical discharges and strong shock waves in gas. It also describes principles and techniques applied in hybrid (solid/gas) high-intensity laser systems emitting in the blue-green spectral region, and discusses wavelength scaling of laser-matter interaction by the example of laser wake-field acceleration (LWFA), high-order harmonic generation (HHG) and “water window” soft X-ray lasers. One of the most significant results of the photochemical method development consists in emerging broad bandwidth lasers (XeF(C-A), Xe₂Cl, and Kr₂F) operating in the blue-green spectral range, which have potential for amplification of ultra-short (down to 10 fs) optical pulses towards the Petawatt peak power level. The main goal of this review is to argue that the active media of these lasers may provide a basis for the development of fs systems generating super-intense ultrashort laser pulses in the visible spectral range. Some specific hybrid schemes, comprising solid state front-ends and photodissociation XeF(C-A) power boosting amplifiers, are described. They are now under development at the Lasers Plasmas and Photonic Processes (LP3) Laboratory (Marseille, France), the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute (Moscow, Russia) and the Institute of High-Current Electronics (Tomsk, Russia) with the aim of conducting proof-of-principle experiments. Some consequences of the visible-wavelength laser field interaction with matter are also surveyed to demonstrate advantages of short driver wavelength in the considered examples. One of the most important consequences is the possibility of coherent soft X-ray generation within the “water window” spectral range with the use of short wavelength driver pulses to pump a recombination laser.     

Spectral purity and sources of noise in femtosecond-demodulationterahertz sources driven by Ti:sapphire mode-locked lasers

Direct measurements of the spectral purity in terahertz femtosecond-demodulation sources are reported and compared to theory. Because these sources operate at very high harmonics (~102-10⁴) of the mode-lock frequency, a high spectral purity source is very dependent on a low-jitter femtosecond laser. Conversely, the spectral content of the terahertz sources provides detailed information about timing jitter and stringent tests of models used to describe the jitter. We find that both the behavior of the central core, and the noise skirts of the power spectrum of our sources, can be quantitatively related to measured ripple and continuum amplitude noise on the Ar⁺ pump laser by use of modulation theory     

Anomalous I–V and pulse noise in reverse biased p–n junctions

A correlation between anomalous I-V characteristics and pulse noise in degraded p-n junctions under reverse bias conditions is found. In order to explain the appearance of two-polarity and multi-level pulse noise, a physical model of noise sources is proposed. The model is based on the presumptions that conduction channels and a p-inversion layer exist in degraded p-n junctions and that the current flow through the defects is modulated by traps adjacent to the defects. The experimental results for silicon field plated PIN photodiodes are in qualitative agreement with the model.