Apparatus and methods for producing ultrashort optical pulses are described. A high-power, solid-state, passively mode-locked laser can be manufactured in a compact module that can be incorporated into a portable instrument. The mode-locked laser can produce sub-50-ps optical pulses at a repetition rates between 200 MHz and 50 MHz, rates suitable for massively parallel data-acquisition. The optical pulses can be used to generate a reference clock signal for synchronizing data-acquisition and signal-processing electronics of the portable instrument.

A line narrowing module includes a prism that refracts laser light in a first plane, a grating that disperses the laser light in the first plane, first to fourth elements, and a rotation mechanism and narrows the linewidth of the laser light. The second element is supported between the first and fourth elements by the first element. The rotation mechanism rotates the second element relative to the first element around an axis intersecting the first plane. The prism is located between the second and fourth elements and so supported by the second element that the rotation mechanism rotates the prism and the second element. The third element has elasticity and is compressed and located between the prism and the fourth element. The fourth element receives reaction force from the compressed third element. The second element is mechanically independent of the fourth element in the rotational direction of the rotation mechanism.

An optical device may include a package having a first port for receiving signal light, a source for providing pump light, a combiner for combining the signal light and the pump light into combined light, a second port for sending the combined light, a third port for receiving amplified light, and a free-space optical system for filtering amplified signal light from the amplified light, and a fourth port for sending the amplified signal light. The free-space optical system may include beam shaping optics that enlarge a beam size of the amplified light prior to the filtering.

A pulse stretching fiber oscillator (or laser cavity) may comprise a chirped fiber Bragg grating (CFBG) and an optical circulator arranged such that a first portion of a beam that is transmitted through the CFBG continues to propagate through the laser cavity while a second portion of the beam that is reflected from the CFBG is stretched and chirped by the CFBG and directed out of the laser cavity by the optical circulator. Accordingly, a configuration of the CFBG and the optical circulator in the laser cavity may enable pulse stretching contemporaneous with outcoupling, which may prevent deleterious nonlinear phase from accumulating prior to stretching.

A pulse laser apparatus (100) for creating laser pulses (1), in particular soliton laser pulses (1), based on Kerr lens mode locking of a circulating light field in an oscillator cavity (10), comprises at least two resonator mirrors (11, 12, . . . ) spanning a resonator beam path (2) of the oscillator cavity (10), at least one Kerr-medium (21, 22, 23) for introducing self-phase modulation and self-focusing to the circulating light field in the oscillator cavity (10), at least one gain-medium (31) for amplifying the circulating light field in the oscillator cavity (10), and a tuning device (40) for setting a first mode-locking condition and a second mode-locking condition of the oscillator cavity (10) such that an intra-cavity threshold-power for mode-locking at the first mode-locking condition is lower than that at the second mode-locking condition, wherein the first mode-locking condition is adapted for starting or shutting-down of the Kerr lens mode locking and the second mode-locking condition is adapted for continuous Kerr lens mode locking and a resonator-internal peak-power of the circulating light field is higher at the second mode-locking condition than at the first mode-locking condition. Furthermore, a method of operating a pulse laser apparatus is described.

Disclosed is a laser system that incudes a chirped fiber oscillator, a laser amplifier, and a compressor. The laser amplifier includes a laser Faraday isolator. The fiber oscillator output is directly coupled to the laser Faraday isolator.

Disclosed is a laser system that includes a femtosecond oscillator, a regenerative amplifier for chirped pulse amplification of femtosecond laser pulses, and a compressor. The regenerative amplifier includes a plurality of positive Group Delay Dispersion (GDD) mirrors disposed within a cavity of the regenerative amplifier. The compressor receives amplified laser pulses from the regenerative amplifier.

An apparatus can be provided which can include a laser arrangement which can be configured to provide a laser radiation, and can include an optical cavity. The optical cavity can include a dispersive optical first arrangement which can be configured to receive and disperse at least one first electro-magnetic radiation so as to provide at least one second electro-magnetic radiation. Such cavity can also include an active optical modulator second arrangement which can be configured to receive and modulate the at least one second radiation so as to provide at least one third electro-magnetic radiation. The optical cavity can further include a dispersive optical third arrangement which can be configured to receive and disperse at least one third electro-magnetic radiation so as to provide at least one fourth electro-magnetic radiation. For example, actions by the first, second and third arrangements can cause a spectral filtering of the fourth electro-magnetic radiation(s) relative to the first electro-magnetic radiation(s). The laser radiation can be associated with the fourth radiation(s), and a wavelength of the laser radiation can be controlled by the spectral filtering caused by the actions by the first, second and third arrangements.

A laser device includes a gain medium, a zero-degree reflective mirror, a first retro-reflective mirror, a second retro-reflective mirror, and an output coupling mirror. The gain medium is used to generate radiation light; the zero-degree reflective mirror has a common optical axis with the gain medium, and the zero-degree reflective mirror is used to totally reflect second-direction radiation light that is incident on the zero-degree reflective mirror in an optical-axis direction; the first-direction radiation light and the first emitted light are spaced from and parallel to each other in opposite directions; the first emitted light and the second emitted light are spaced from and parallel to each other in opposite directions; a resonant cavity is formed between the zero-degree reflective mirror and the output coupling mirror; the output coupling mirror is used to transmit and output first partial radiation light, and reflect second partial radiation light.

Apparatus and methods for producing ultrashort optical pulses are described. A high-power, solid-state, passively mode-locked laser can be manufactured in a compact module that can be incorporated into a portable instrument. The mode-locked laser can produce sub-50-ps optical pulses at a repetition rates between 200 MHz and 50 MHz, rates suitable for massively parallel data-acquisition. The optical pulses can be used to generate a reference clock signal for synchronizing data-acquisition and signal-processing electronics of the portable instrument.