An electrodeless laser-driven light source includes a laser that generates a CW sustaining light. A pump laser generates pump light. A Q-switched laser crystal receives the pump light generated by the pump laser and generates pulsed laser light at an output in response to the generated pump light. A first optical element projects the pulsed laser light along a first axis to a breakdown region in a gas-filled bulb comprising an ionizing gas. A second optical element projects the CW sustaining light along a second axis to a CW plasma region in the gas-filled bulb comprising the ionizing gas. A detector detects plasma light generated by a CW plasma and generates a detection signal at an output. A controller generates control signals that control the pump light to the Q-switched laser crystal so as to extinguish the pulsed laser light within a time delay after the detection signal exceeds a threshold level.

Systems and methods are described for producing an amplitude-modulated laser pulse train. The laser pulse train can be used to cause fluorescence in materials at which the pulse trains are directed. The parameters of the laser pulse train are selected to increase fluorescence relative to a constant-amplitude laser pulse train. The amplitude-modulated laser pulse trains produced using the teachings of this invention can be used to enable detection of specific molecules in applications such as gene or protein sequencing.

A method for directly synthesizing graphene on a surface of a target object includes: forming a non-metal layer on a support substrate; disposing the target object in a space above the support substrate, which is opposite to the non-metal layer; and injecting a carbon precursor to form graphene on the surface of the target object to synthesize a graphene film, wherein the graphene is nucleated and grown by a decomposition of the carbon precursor, the carbon precursor is decomposed by heat with catalytic assistance from the non-metal layer, and a carbon atom from the decomposition of the precursor is anchored on the surface to form the graphene film.

A passively, Q-switched laser operating at an eye safe wavelength of between 1.2 and 1.4 microns is described. The laser may operate at a lasing wavelength of 1.34 microns and use a gain element of Nd:YVO.sub.4 and a saturable absorber element of V:YAG. The position of the resonator axial mode spectrum relative to a gain peak of the gain element is controlled to yield desired characteristics in the laser output.

An optical device includes first and second 45 Faraday rotators. A 45 polarizer is located between the first and second Faraday rotators such that light in a prescribed polarization state that is incident on the first 45 Faraday rotator traverses the first 45 Faraday rotator as well as the 45 polarizer and the second 45 Faraday rotator. In one implementation the optical device is operable to receive a light beam traveling in a first direction and output a light beam that is in a predetermined polarization state. Likewise, the optical device is operable to receive an unpolarized light beam traveling in a second direction opposite the first direction and outputs a light beam that is in a predetermined polarization state. The polarization state in which the two output beams are arranged may be the same or orthogonal to one another.

A surface plasmon infrared nano-pulse laser having a multi-resonance competition mechanism, consisting of the four parts of a surface plasmon nano-pin resonance chamber (1), a spacer layer (2), a gain medium (3), and a two-dimensional material layer (4). The surface plasmon nano-pin resonance chamber (1) consists of a metal nano rod (11) and one or more nano sheets (12) grown thereon, the surface plasmon nano-pin resonance chamber (1) and the gain medium (3) being isolated by the isolating layer (2), and the two-dimensional material layer (4) covering a surface of the surface plasmon nano-pulse laser; positive and negative electrodes (5) are located at two ends of the surface plasmon nano-pulse laser, and a layer of a two-dimensional material having a feature of saturatable absorption is introduced to a surface of the nano-pin resonance chamber.

A passively Q-switched solid-state laser includes a resonator (1) with an active laser material (2) and a decoupling end mirror (6) for decoupling laser pulses that have a pulse duration of less than 1 ns from the resonator (1), an optical fiber (13), into which the laser pulses decoupled from the decoupling end mirror (6) are injected, and a chirped volume Bragg grating (17), at which the laser pulses are reflected after they have passed through the optical fiber (13) for shortening the pulse duration. The pulse duration after the reflection on the chirped volume Bragg grating (17) is less than 30 ps. The active laser material (2) is Nd:YAG and a saturable absorber (3) that is formed from Cr:YAG and has a transmission in the unsaturated state of less than 50% is also arranged in the resonator. The length (a) of the resonator (1) is from 1 mm to 10 mm and the laser pulses decoupled at the decoupling end mirror (6) have a pulse energy from 1 J to 200 J.

Systems and methods for employing an electro-optic and photoconductive optical element operating in combination with a polarizer and 100% reflective mirrors to passively control dumping of power from a resonator. The optical element may be constructed of electro-optic material (e.g., Bismuth Silicon Oxide (BSO), Bismuth Germanium Oxide (BGO)), the refractive index of which may be altered by the application of an externally applied electric field. The presence of incident light changes the photoconductivity of the optical element and, therefore, also changes the polarization state of the light passing through the optical element. When combined with a conventional polarizer, the device acts as a self-triggering optical valve to suddenly divert the path of light within a laser to outside of the normal resonator path. Optical power that has been stored inside the laser resonator is then dumped out of the laser in a single, very-high power pulse.

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.

Provided are a saturable absorber including at least one material selected from a group of MXenes, and a Q-switching and mode-locked pulsed laser system using the same.