Super-octave longwave mid-infrared coherent transients produced by optical rectification of few-cycle 25-μm pulses
Abstract
Femtosecond laser sources and optical frequency combs in the molecular fingerprint region of the electromagnetic spectrum are crucial for a plethora of applications in natural and life sciences. Here we introduce Cr2+-based lasers as a convenient means for producing super-octave mid-IR electromagnetic transients via optical rectification (or intra-pulse difference frequency generation, IDFG). We demonstrate that a relatively long, 2.5 μm, central wavelength of a few-cycle Cr2+:ZnS driving source (20 fs pulse duration, 6 W average power, 78 MHz repetition rate) enabled the use of highly nonlinear ZnGeP2 crystal for IDFG with exceptionally high conversion efficiency (>3%) and output power of 0.15 W, with the spectral span of 5.8–12.5 μm. Even broader spectrum was achieved in GaSe crystal: 4.3–16.6 μm for type I and 5.8–17.6 μm for type II phase matching. The results highlight the potential of this architecture for ultrafast spectroscopy and generation of broadband frequency combs in the longwave infrared.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham, AL (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC); US Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research (ONR); Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1490922
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1612965
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0018378
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Optica
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Optica Journal Volume: 6 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2334-2536
- Publisher:
- Optical Society of America
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; Optics
Citation Formats
Vasilyev, Sergey, Moskalev, Igor S., Smolski, Viktor O., Peppers, Jeremy M., Mirov, Mike, Muraviev, Andrey V., Zawilski, Kevin, Schunemann, Peter G., Mirov, Sergey B., Vodopyanov, Konstantin L., and Gapontsev, Valentin P. Super-octave longwave mid-infrared coherent transients produced by optical rectification of few-cycle 25-μm pulses. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1364/OPTICA.6.000111.
Vasilyev, Sergey, Moskalev, Igor S., Smolski, Viktor O., Peppers, Jeremy M., Mirov, Mike, Muraviev, Andrey V., Zawilski, Kevin, Schunemann, Peter G., Mirov, Sergey B., Vodopyanov, Konstantin L., & Gapontsev, Valentin P. Super-octave longwave mid-infrared coherent transients produced by optical rectification of few-cycle 25-μm pulses. United States. https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.6.000111
Vasilyev, Sergey, Moskalev, Igor S., Smolski, Viktor O., Peppers, Jeremy M., Mirov, Mike, Muraviev, Andrey V., Zawilski, Kevin, Schunemann, Peter G., Mirov, Sergey B., Vodopyanov, Konstantin L., and Gapontsev, Valentin P. Thu .
"Super-octave longwave mid-infrared coherent transients produced by optical rectification of few-cycle 25-μm pulses". United States. https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.6.000111.
@article{osti_1490922,
title = {Super-octave longwave mid-infrared coherent transients produced by optical rectification of few-cycle 25-μm pulses},
author = {Vasilyev, Sergey and Moskalev, Igor S. and Smolski, Viktor O. and Peppers, Jeremy M. and Mirov, Mike and Muraviev, Andrey V. and Zawilski, Kevin and Schunemann, Peter G. and Mirov, Sergey B. and Vodopyanov, Konstantin L. and Gapontsev, Valentin P.},
abstractNote = {Femtosecond laser sources and optical frequency combs in the molecular fingerprint region of the electromagnetic spectrum are crucial for a plethora of applications in natural and life sciences. Here we introduce Cr2+-based lasers as a convenient means for producing super-octave mid-IR electromagnetic transients via optical rectification (or intra-pulse difference frequency generation, IDFG). We demonstrate that a relatively long, 2.5 μm, central wavelength of a few-cycle Cr2+:ZnS driving source (20 fs pulse duration, 6 W average power, 78 MHz repetition rate) enabled the use of highly nonlinear ZnGeP2 crystal for IDFG with exceptionally high conversion efficiency (>3%) and output power of 0.15 W, with the spectral span of 5.8–12.5 μm. Even broader spectrum was achieved in GaSe crystal: 4.3–16.6 μm for type I and 5.8–17.6 μm for type II phase matching. The results highlight the potential of this architecture for ultrafast spectroscopy and generation of broadband frequency combs in the longwave infrared.},
doi = {10.1364/OPTICA.6.000111},
journal = {Optica},
number = 1,
volume = 6,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {1}
}
https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.6.000111
Web of Science
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