Burst shaping in a fiber-amplifier chain seeded by a gain-switched laser diode

Method for controlled tissue theranostics using a single tunable laser source

Tissue diseases and related disorders need to be first recognized using diagnostic methods and then later treated by therapeutic methods-a joint procedure called theranostics. One of the main challenges in the field of retinal therapies remains in the success of the treatment, typically improving the local metabolism, by sparing the surrounding tissue and with the immediate information of the laser effect. In our study, we present a concept for real-time controlled tissue theranostics on a proof-of-concept study capable of using a single tunable ps laser source (in terms of irradiance, fluence, and repetition rate), done on ex-vivo human retinal pigment epithelium. We have found autofluorescence intensity and lifetime imaging diagnostics very promising for the recognition and quantification of laser effects ranging from selective non-destructive molecular tissue modification to complete tissue ablation. The main novelty of our work presents the developed algorithm for optimized theranostics based on the model function used to quantify laser-induced tissue changes through the diagnostics descriptors, fluorescence lifetime and fluorescence intensity parameters. This approach, together with the operation of the single adaptable laser source, can serve as a new theranostics method in personalized medicine in the future not only limited to treat retinal diseases.

Laser-based material interactions and ablation processes by bursts of 70 ps pulses

The intermediate pulse duration regime between typical ultra-short and nanosecond pulses has been investigated using MHz-range bursts of 70 ps pulses emitted from a custom-made fiber laser source. The goal of this study was to observe and understand the processes involved during laser ablation on the timescales from picoseconds to nanoseconds, relevant due to pulses in bursts. We developed material processing approaches that enable similar behaviour as single 70 ps pulse ablation to ultra-short pulses in terms of quality and burst-mode behaviour like nanosecond pulses in terms of efficiency. The variability of the fiber laser operation modes was studied and compared to both ultra-short and nanosecond pulses from standard laser sources.

Femtosecond CPA hybrid laser system with pulse-on-demand operation

In this manuscript we present a true pulse-on-demand concept of a hybrid CPA laser system, consisting of a chirped-pulse fiber amplifier and an additional solid-state amplifier, capable of generating femtosecond pulses on demand without an external optical modulator/shutter. Pulse-on-demand operation is achieved by introducing idler pulses with a few nanoseconds duration and selectively switching between the femtosecond and idler pulses. The idler pulses are used to maintain a constant population inversion in the fiber amplifier as well as in the solid-state amplifier. Second harmonic generation (SHG) unit then effectively filters out the idler pulses due to their low peak power, leaving only a stable femtosecond pulse train. This concept is demonstrated on a CPA hybrid system that can generate pulses with up to 200 µJ at 515 nm with a pulse duration under 450 fs. As there is no optical modulator at the laser output, the presented concept also enables further power scaling.

Silicon crystallinity control during laser direct microstructuring with bursts of picosecond pulses

Laser ablation and modification using bursts of picosecond pulses and a tightly focused laser beam are used to manufacture structures in the bulk silicon. We demonstrate precise control of the surface crystallinity as well as the structure depth and topography of the processed areas, achieving homogeneous surface properties. The control is achieved with a combination of a well-defined pulse energy, systematic pulse positioning on the material, and the number of pulses in a burst. A custom designed fiber laser source is used to generate bursts of 1, 5, 10, and 20 pulses at a pulse repetition rate of 40 MHz and burst repetition rate of 83.3 kHz allowing for a fast and stable processing of silicon. We show a controlled transition through different laser-matter interaction regimes, from no observable changes of the silicon at low pulse energies, through amorphization below the ablation threshold energy, to the ablation with either complete, partial or nonexistent amorphization. Single micrometer-sized areas of desired shape and crystallinity were defined on the silicon surface with submicron precision, offering a promising tool for applications in the field of optics.

100 μJ pulse energy in burst-mode-operated hybrid fiber-bulk amplifier system with envelope shaping

A theoretical method was proposed to compensate the burst envelope distortion in a solid-state master-oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) system operating in burst mode at an intra-burst repetition rate of 40 MHz. Arbitrary envelope shapes were achieved at inter-burst repetition rate of 100 kHz with 40 pulses in the burst, showing excellent agreement with the calculated ones. This is the first demonstration of arbitrary burst envelope without an adaptive feedback loop in a solid-state laser system. The maximum pulse energy of 100 μJ was achieved at inter-burst repetition rate of 40 kHz, with 10 pulses in the burst.

Burst-mode-operated, sub-nanosecond fiber MOPA system incorporating direct seed-packet shaping

We report a novel burst-mode-operated sub-nanosecond fiber Master Oscillator, Power Amplifier (MOPA) system incorporating direct seed-packet shaping without external modulators. A fast digital-to-analog converter with 1 Gsps sampling rate and 16 bit resolution was developed to control the pulse amplitudes and sequences of a distributed feedback semiconductor seed laser to realize packet-shaped burst mode operation. Optical pulses with durations as short as 700 ps and peak power as high as 1 W can be generated from the seed by applying proper reverse voltages after positive electrical pulses to the laser driver to cancel the residual charges at its gate electrode. The average power of the laser can be amplified to nearly 40 W with FWHM spectral linewidth of ~0.12 nm after three stages of polarization maintaining fiber amplifiers. Different packet shapes including ramp-off, Gaussian, square and double rectangle can be produced from the fiber MOPA by finely pre-shaping the seed pulse bursts. It is believed that such a laser has provided a cost-effective solution to the generation of pulse bursts with arbitrary packet shapes for different practical applications including material micromachining and nonlinear frequency conversion.

High power fiber MOPA based QCW laser delivering pulses with arbitrary duration on demand at high modulation bandwidth

We report on a concept of a fiber MOPA based quasi-CW laser working at high modulation bandwidths up to 40 MHz capable of producing arbitrary pulse durations at arbitrary repetition rates. An output power of over 100 W was achieved and an on-off contrast of 25 dB. The laser features a dual-channel (dual-wavelength) seed source, a double stage YDF amplifier and a volume-Bragg-grating-based signal de-multiplexer. Minimization of transients was conducted through experiment and model analysis.