Laser pulse compression company Biophotonic Solutions (BSI; East Lansing, MI) announced that a "MIIPS" automated pulse compression and shaping system is key in scientific experiments at Michigan State University (MSU), where researchers in the Dantus Research Group have established a new method to determine the pulse-to-pulse stability of ultrafast laser sources.
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The researchers are using BSI's MIIPS system to characterize pulse "fidelity," a measurement of the spectral phase and amplitude noise in individual femtosecond laser pulses and an indication of laser output repeatability. For details of the experiment, see "Spectral amplitude and phase noise characterization of titanium-sapphire lasers.”
"Modern femtosecond lasers have such high repetition rates that it makes single pulse characterization impractical; therefore, one relies on averaged values that fail to identify shot-to-shot instabilities and can grossly underestimate pulse duration," says Marcos Dantus, professor of chemistry and physics at MSU and the founder and chief technology officer at BSI. “MIIPS is now the first pulse characterization method that quantifies the spectral phase and amplitude stability of ultrafast sources. Shot-to-shot laser stability values let us know if the system is working properly, and this greatly improves repeatability."
In the experiments, researchers used a titanium sapphire oscillator and a regenerative amplifier system equipped with BSI's MIIPS-based FemtoFit pulse shaping system. The MIIPS system measured and compressed the average dispersion of the laser pulses, scanned linear chirp, and characterized the pulse-to-pulse noise. Originally invented by the Dantus Research Group at MSU, MIIPS is a proprietary BSI technology that provides automated ultrafast laser pulse measurement, compression, and shaping in real time, so users can deliver optimized laser pulses to the target on demand.
Said Dantus, "We chose Ti:sapphire lasers so we could show how fidelity measurements work on standard, well-behaved laser systems and how standard autocorrelation is insensitive to pulse-to-pulse fluctuations. As new ultrafast lasers based on fiber lasers, diode lasers, and parametric amplification are developed, a tool able to quantify pulse-to-pulse consistency and stability becomes essential to ensure consistent laser performance and repeatable application results."
BSI CEO Kiyomi Monro said, "As we look forward to femtosecond laser adoption into more lab and commercial settings, we recognize the need for both manufacturers and end users to have an accurate measurement of laser output performance that could be used as feedback for automated stabilization."
SOURCE: Biophotonic Solutions; http://biophotonicsolutions.com/