2023/10/02 by Mallachi-Elia Meller, Leon Bello, Meller, Mallachi-Elia +7
Physics and Astronomy · Engineering · #Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies #Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications #Solid State Laser Technologies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2310.01229
We present a mode-locked semiconductor laser oscillator that emits few picosecond pulses (5-8ps at 379MHz repetition) with record peak power (112W) and pulse energy (0.5nJ) directly out of the oscillator (with no amplifier). To achieve this high power performance we employ a high-current broad-area, spatially multi-mode diode amplifier (0.3x5mm), placed in an external cavity that enforces oscillation in a single spatial mode. Consequently, the brightness of the beam is near-ideal (M2 = 1.3). Mode locking is achieved by dividing the large diode chip (edge emitter) into two sections with independent electrical control: one large section for gain and another small section for a saturable absorber. Precise tuning of the reverse voltage on the absorber section allows to tune the saturation level and recovery time of the absorber, which provides a convenient control knob to optimize the mode-locking performance for various cavity conditions.