February 22, 2005, Dexter, MI--A femtosecond fiber-oscillator/fiber-amplifier system introduced by Clark-MXR produces up to 20 W average power; this is more than an order of magnitude higher than has traditionally been available in a one-box ultrashort-pulse laser design. Direct-write waveguides and high-signal-to-noise pump/probes are two of many potential applications.
Called the Impulse, the laser is an all-diode and direct-diode-pumped ytterbium (Yb)-doped fiber-oscillator/amplifier system capable of producing variable pulse energies up to 10 microjoules at repetition rates between single-shot and 2 MHz (up to 20 W average power output at 2 MHz). The repetition rate is further adjustable up to 25 MHz at a constant 20-W average power output (that is, reduced pulse energy above 2 MHz). This average-power capacity for the Impulse laser is based on a novel (patent-pending) concept in mode-locked oscillator/amplifier technology. The use of a Yb-doped fiber-oscillator/fiber-amplifier design combines the low-noise performance associated with solid-state operation with the high-spatial-mode quality of fiber lasers. The laser is a compact, robust source of femtosecond pulses that has the ease of operation, stability, and reliability of a fiber source. Options include multiphoton-photopolymerization and waveguide-writing workstations, harmonic generators, and OPA/NOPA wavelength converters for high-signal-to-noise, rapid data acquisition in pump/probe experiments.
Its performance parameters include a repetition rate that is user-variable from single-shot to 25 MHz, a pulse energy that is user-variable between 1 nanojoule and 10 microjoules (greater than 0.8 microjoule at 25 MHz, greater than 10 microjoule at less than 2 MHz), and an average power output of greater than 20 W at a greater-than-or-equal-to 2-MHz repetition rate. It's pulse width is less than 250 fs; its transverse mode is TEM00 with a beam quality M2 of better than 1.2. The center wavelength is 1.03 microns and the laser requires 110 VAC, 20 amps.
