Sub-100 fs mode-locked Tm:CLTGG laser

Efficient continuous wave and broad tunable lasers with the Tm:GdScO3 crystal

The spectroscopic properties and tunable laser performances of the orthorhombic perovskite Tm:GdScO₃ crystal grown by the Czochralski method are comparatively studied for polarization along different crystallographic axes. The polarized emission spectrum of Tm:GdScO₃ along the b-axis exhibits, to the best of our knowledge, the broadest bandwidth among all the single Tm³⁺-doped bulk gain media, indicating the strong inhomogeneous line broadening of Tm³⁺ ions in GdScO₃ and thus leads to a broad and smooth gain spectrum. Tunable laser operation with a tuning range as broad as 321 nm from 1824 nm to 2145 nm is achieved, which indicates its potential for few-optical-cycle pulse generation in the 2-µm spectral range.

Feature issue introduction: advanced solid-state lasers

This joint issue of Optics Express and Optical Materials Express features 36 state-of-the art articles written by authors who participated in the international conference advanced solid state lasers held online from October 3-7, 2021. This review provides a summary of these articles covering a wide spectrum of topics around solid-state lasers from materials research to sources and from design innovation to applications.

Achievements and Future Perspectives of the Trivalent Thulium-Ion-Doped Mixed-Sesquioxide Ceramics for Laser Applications

This paper is devoted to reviewing the latest results achieved in solid-state lasers based on thulium-doped mixed-sesquioxide ceramics, i.e., (Lu,Sc,Y)2O3. The near- and mid-infrared regions are of interest for many applications, from medicine to remote sensing, as they match molecular fingerprints and cover several atmospheric transparency windows. These matrices are characterized by a strong electron-phonon interaction-which results in a large splitting of the ground state-and by a spectral broadening of the optical transition suitable for developing tunable and short-pulse lasers. In particular, the manuscript reports on the trivalent thulium laser transitions at 1.5, 1.9, and 2.3 µm, along with the thermal and optical characteristics of the (Lu,Sc,Y)2O3 ceramics, including the fabrication techniques, spectroscopic and optical properties, and laser performances achieved in different pumping regimes, such as continuous-wave (CW), quasi-CW, and pulsed modes. A comparison of the performance obtained with these mixed-sesquioxide ceramics and with the corresponding crystals is reported.

SWCNT-SA mode-locked Tm,Ho:LCLNGG laser

Sub-100 fs pulse generation from a passively mode-locked Tm,Ho-codoped cubic multicomponent disordered garnet laser at ∼2 µm is demonstrated. A single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber is implemented to initiate and stabilize the soliton mode-locking. The Tm,Ho:LCLNGG (lanthanum calcium lithium niobium gallium garnet) laser generated pulses as short as 63 fs at a central wavelength of 2072.7 nm with an average output power of 63 mW at a pulse repetition rate of ∼102.5 MHz. Higher average output power of 121 mW was obtained at the expense of longer pulse duration (96 fs) at 2067.6 nm using higher output coupling. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on mode-locked operation of the Tm,Ho:LCLNGG crystal.