Powerful 100-fs-scale Kerr-lens mode-locked thin-disk oscillator

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Kerr-lens mode-locking (KLM) is a crucial technique for generating ultrashort laser pulses.
• Thin-disk oscillators offer advantages for high-power laser applications due to their thermal management.
• Previous power scaling methods for KLM thin-disk oscillators had limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To extend a simple power scaling procedure to broadband high-peak-power thin-disk oscillators.
• To investigate the feasibility of achieving the full emission bandwidth of gain materials.
• To maintain high output power, efficiency, and stability in these systems.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a power scaling procedure for Kerr-lens mode-locked thin-disk oscillators.
• Utilizing high intracavity nonlinearities to achieve broad bandwidth operation.
• Characterization of pulse duration, peak power, and average power.

Main Results:

• Delivery of 140-fs pulses with a peak power of 62 MW and average power of 155 W.
• Demonstration of broadband operation in a high-peak-power thin-disk oscillator.
• Successful extension of the power scaling scheme to achieve desired performance metrics.

Conclusions:

• The developed power scaling scheme enables reaching the emission bandwidth of gain materials in KLM thin-disk oscillators.
• High intracavity nonlinearities are key to achieving broad bandwidths without sacrificing output power, efficiency, or stability.
• This work paves the way for more powerful and versatile ultrafast laser sources.