420-MHz Cr:forsterite femtosecond ring laser and continuum generation in the 1-2-micrometre range

Stabilization of a self-referenced, prism-based, Cr:forsterite laser frequency comb using an intracavity prism

The frequency comb from a prism-based Cr:forsterite laser has been frequency stabilized using intracavity prism insertion and pump power modulation. Absolute frequency measurements of a CW fiber laser stabilized to the P(13) transition of acetylene demonstrate a fractional instability of approximately 2 x 10(-11) at a 1 s gate time, limited by a commercial Global Positioning System (GPS)-disciplined rubidium oscillator. Additionally, absolute frequency measurements made simultaneously using a second frequency comb indicate relative instabilities of 3 x 10(-12) for both combs for a 1 s gate time. Estimations of the carrier-envelope offset frequency linewidth based on relative intensity noise and the response dynamics of the carrier-envelope offset to pump power changes confirm the observed linewidths.

Passively modelocked, diode-pumped Yb:KYW femtosecond oscillator with 1 GHz repetition rate

We demonstrate a high repetition rate, single mode fiber-coupled diode pumped, Yb:KYW laser in a four mirror ring cavity configuration and study its performance in soft aperture, Kerr lens mode-locked operation at around 1.04 microm.

Improved stabilization of a 1.3 microm femtosecond optical frequency comb by use of a spectrally tailored continuum from a nonlinear fiber grating

We report significant enhancement (+24 dB) of the optical beat note between a 657 nm cw laser and the second-harmonic generation of the tailored continuum at 1314 nm generated with a femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser and a nonlinear fiber Bragg grating. The same continuum is used to stabilize the carrier-envelope offset frequency of the Cr:forsterite femtosecond laser and permits improved optical stabilization of the frequency comb from 1.0 to 2.2 microm. Using a common optical reference at 657 nm, a relative fractional frequency instability of 2.0 x 10(-15) is achieved between the repetition rates of Cr:forsterite and Ti:sapphire laser systems in 10 s averaging time. The fractional frequency offset between the optically stabilized frequency combs of the Cr:forsterite and Ti:sapphire lasers is +/-(0.024 +/- 6.1) x 10(-17).

Compact fiber-delivered Cr:forsterite laser for nonlinear light microscopy

We demonstrate a compact and self-starting fiber-delivered femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser for nonlinear light microscopy. A semiconductor saturable absorber mirror provides the self-starting mechanism and maintains long-term stability in the laser cavity. Four double-chirped mirrors are employed to reduce the size of the cavity and to compensate for group velocity dispersion. Delivered by a large-mode-area photonic crystal fiber, the generated laser pulses can be compressed down to be with a nearly transform-limited pulse width with 2.2-nJ fiber-output pulse energy. Based on this fiber-delivered Cr:forsterite laser source, a compact and reliable two-photon fluorescence microscopy system can thus be realized.

Study of the excess noise associated with demodulation of ultra-short infrared pulses

The demodulation of ultra-short light pulses with photodetectors is accompanied by excess phase noise at the pulse repetition rate and harmonics in the spectrum of the photocurrent. The major contribution to this noise is power fluctuations of the detected pulse train that, if not compensated for, can seriously limit the stability of frequency transfer from optical to microwave domain. By making use of an infrared femtosecond laser, we measured the spectral density of the excess phase noise, as well as power-to-phase conversion for different types of InGaAs photodetectors. Noise measurements were performed with a novel type of dual-channel readout system using a fiber coupled beam splitter. Strong suppression of the excess phase noise was observed in both channels of the measurement system when the average power of the femtosecond pulse train was stabilized. The results of this study are important for the development of low-noise microwave sources derived from optical "clocks" and optical frequency synthesis.

Frequency-comb-based absolute frequency measurements in the mid-infrared with a difference-frequency spectrometer

We demonstrate the possibility of extending the well-established metrological performance of optical frequency-comb synthesizers to the mid-IR region by phase locking the pump and signal lasers of a difference-frequency source to two near-IR teeth of an optical comb. An uncertainty of 800 Hz (1.1 x 10(-11)) in the absolute frequencies of CO2 transitions near 4.2 microm has been measured by cavity-enhanced saturated-absorption spectroscopy. Prospects for the creation of a new dense set of high-quality molecular frequency standards in the IR are discussed.

Stabilized frequency comb with a self-referenced femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser

A frequency comb is generated with a Cr:forsterite femtosecond laser, spectrally broadened through a highly nonlinear optical fiber to span from 1.0 to 2.2 ,m, and stabilized using the f-to-2f self-referencing technique. The repetition rate and the carrier-envelope offset frequency are stabilized to a hydrogen maser, calibrated by a cesium atomic fountain clock. Simultaneous frequency measurement of a 657-nm cw laser by use of the stabilized frequency combs from this Cr:forsterite system and a Ti:sapphire laser agree at the 10(-13) level. The frequency noise of the comb components is observed at 1064, 1314, and 1550 nm by comparing the measured beat frequencies between cw lasers and the supercontinuum frequency combs.

Multiplying the repetition rate of passive mode-locked femtosecond lasers by an intracavity flat surface with low reflectivity

By inserting a low-reflectivity flat surface inside the oscillator cavity, we demonstrate a flexible and phase-insensitive method for multiplying the repetition rate of a femtosecond passive mode-locked solid-state laser. Without mode matching and feedback control, we successfully multiplied the repetition rate of a passively mode-locked Cr:forsterite laser from 124 MHz to 1.24 GHz. High-repetition-rate femtosecond optical pulses with average power of >100 mW can be obtained with the demonstrated method.

Absolute frequency measurement of a 1.5-microm acetylene standard by use of a combined frequency chain and femtosecond comb

We have developed and characterized a pair of Doppler-free acetylene-stabilized diode laser frequency standards as optical communications references. The Allan deviation sigma/f of an individual system reaches a minimum of 4 x 10(-14) at a sampling time of 5000 s, and the long-term lock-point repeatability is found to be 0.4 kHz (one standard uncertainty), corresponding to a fractional uncertainty of 2 x 10(-12). Using a combination of a frequency chain and a self-referenced femtosecond comb, we have measured the frequency of line P(16) of the v1 + v3 overtone band of 13C2H2 to be 194,369,569,385.9 (3.0) kHz. The uncertainty of this number is limited solely by the reproducibility of the standards.

Broadband phase-coherent optical frequency synthesis with actively linked Ti:sapphire and Cr:forsterite femtosecond lasers

We link the output spectra of a Ti:sapphire and a Cr:forsterite femtosecond laser phase coherently to form a continuous frequency comb with a wavelength coverage of 0.57-1.45 microm at power levels of 1 nW to 40 microW per frequency mode. To achieve this, the laser repetition rates and the carrier-envelope offset frequencies are phase locked to each other. The coherence time between the individual components of the two combs is 40 micros. The timing jitter between the lasers is 20 fs. The combined frequency comb is self-referenced for access to its overall offset frequency. We report the first demonstration to our knowledge of an extremely broadband and continuous, high-powered and phase-coherent frequency comb from two femtosecond lasers with different gain media.

Absolute-frequency measurements with a stabilized near-infrared optical frequency comb from a Cr:forsterite laser

A frequency comb is generated with a chromium-doped forsterite femtosecond laser, spectrally broadened in a dispersion-shifted highly nonlinear fiber, and stabilized. The resultant evenly spaced comb of frequencies ranges from 1.1 to beyond 1.8 microm. The frequency comb was referenced simultaneously to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's optical frequency standard based on neutral calcium and to a hydrogen maser that is calibrated by a cesium atomic fountain clock. With this comb we measured two frequency references in the telecommunications band: one half of the frequency of the d/f crossover transition in 87Rb at 780 nm, and the methane v2 + 2v3 R(8) line at 1315 nm.