Ultrafast laser amplifier, optical oscillator

Spectra-Physics, Santa Clara, CA, a brand of Newport Corp., unveiled two new ultrafast lasers at last week's Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO 2012): a high-power amplifier and optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The Spitfire Ace power amplifier delivers 12+ W output at 5/10 kHz, and 10+ W at 1 kHz repetition rate. Beam quality (with XP cavity) is M² < 1.45, even at highest energy configuration. Energy stability is <0.75% rms over 24 hours; beam pointing stability is <25 μrad/°C. The product targets applications including multicolor pump-probe spectroscopy, coherent control, nonlinear optics, and time-resolved spectroscopy. The infrared ultrafast Inspire IR OPO for imaging and spectroscopy applications tunes gap-free from 1000-1580 nm, with high power and short pulse widths (<200 fs) across the full range. It has two ports for single output (1000-1580 nm, >600 mW at 1300 nm) and fundamental output (690-1040 nm, with >1 W). Wavelength tuning is fully automated, complete with automated cavity alignment to maintain optimal power and pulse durations. Its design ensures high stability and insensitivity to ambient temperature change.