Efficient femtosecond mid-infrared generation based on a Cr:ZnS oscillator and step-index fluoride fibers.

Femtosecond light sources in the 3-5 μm region are highly sought after for numerous applications. While they can be generated by using nonlinear effects in optical fibers, the efficiencies and effectiveness of frequency conversion can be significantly enhanced by using ultrashort driving pulses. Here, we report on a few-cycle Cr:ZnS oscillator driving low-order soliton dynamics in soft-glass fibers. By selecting appropriate parameters, sub-two-cycle pulses or broad supercontinua spanning over 1.7 octaves from 1.6 to 5.1 μm can be generated at average power levels exceeding 300 mW. In the same setting, Raman-induced soliton self-frequency shifting has been exploited to generate sub-100-fs pulses continuously tunable from 2.3 to 3.85 μm with a conversion efficiency of ∼50%. These results demonstrate the vast potential of using Cr:ZnS or Cr:ZnSe lasers for powerful mid-infrared generation.

[1]  Evgeni Sorokin,et al.  Supercontinuum generation in mid-IR using chalcogenide and germanate nonlinear fiber , 2013, Photonics West - Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering.

[2]  Gwenael Mazé,et al.  Mid-infrared supercontinuum generation to 4.5 microm in ZBLAN fluoride fibers by nanosecond diode pumping. , 2006, Optics letters.

[3]  Trevor M. Benson,et al.  Mid-infrared supercontinuum covering the 1.4–13.3 μm molecular fingerprint region using ultra-high NA chalcogenide step-index fibre , 2014, Nature Photonics.

[4]  Hans A Bechtel,et al.  Ultrabroadband infrared nanospectroscopic imaging , 2014, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[5]  A. Andrianov,et al.  Widely tunable mid-infrared fiber laser source based on soliton self-frequency shift in microstructured tellurite fiber. , 2015, Optics letters.

[6]  2/3 octave Si/SiO2 infrared dispersive mirrors open new horizons in ultrafast multilayer optics. , 2019, Optics express.

[7]  岡本 勝就.  Fundamentals of optical waveguides , 2006 .

[8]  Boris Mizaikoff,et al.  Advances in Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis. , 2016, Annual review of analytical chemistry.

[9]  Valentin Gapontsev,et al.  Three optical cycle mid-IR Kerr-lens mode-locked polycrystalline Cr(2+):ZnS laser. , 2015, Optics letters.

[10]  Johann Troles,et al.  Coherent octave-spanning mid-infrared supercontinuum generated in As2S3-silica double-nanospike waveguide pumped by femtosecond Cr:ZnS laser. , 2016, Optics express.

[11]  Valentin Gapontsev,et al.  Ultrafast middle-IR lasers and amplifiers based on polycrystalline Cr:ZnS and Cr:ZnSe , 2017 .

[12]  Gorjan Alagic,et al.  #p , 2019, Quantum information & computation.

[13]  Vladislav V. Dvoyrin,et al.  Mid-IR Ultrashort Pulsed Fiber-Based Lasers , 2014, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[14]  Takenobu Suzuki,et al.  Analysis of soliton self-frequency shift in ZBLAN fiber as a broadband supercontinuum medium , 2013, Photonics West - Optoelectronic Materials and Devices.

[15]  Zach DeVito,et al.  Opt , 2017 .

[16]  A. A. Lanin,et al.  Time-domain spectroscopy in the mid-infrared , 2014, Scientific Reports.

[17]  Reza Salem,et al.  Mid-infrared supercontinuum generation spanning 1.8 octaves using step-index indium fluoride fiber pumped by a femtosecond fiber laser near 2 µm. , 2015, Optics express.

[18]  Christos Markos,et al.  Increased mid-infrared supercontinuum bandwidth and average power by tapering large-mode-area chalcogenide photonic crystal fibers. , 2017, Optics express.

[19]  Frank W. Wise,et al.  Generation of intense 100 fs solitons tunable from 2 to 4.3 μm in fluoride fiber , 2016 .

[20]  Yoonchan Jeong,et al.  Wavelength-Tunable, Passively Mode-Locked Erbium-Doped Fiber Master-Oscillator Incorporating a Semiconductor Saturable Absorber Mirror , 2013 .

[21]  Samuel Poulain,et al.  Mid-IR supercontinuum from 2.4 to 5.4 μm in a low-loss fluoroindate fiber. , 2016, Optics letters.

[22]  V. V. Dvoyrin,et al.  Broadband Dispersion Measurement of ZBLAN, Germanate and Silica Fibers in MidIR , 2012, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[23]  Valentin Gapontsev,et al.  Frontiers of Mid-IR Lasers Based on Transition Metal Doped Chalcogenides , 2018, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[24]  Mike Mirov,et al.  Progress in Mid-IR Lasers Based on Cr and Fe-Doped II–VI Chalcogenides , 2015, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[25]  Michel Piché,et al.  Watt-level fiber-based femtosecond laser source tunable from 2.8 to 3.6  μm. , 2016, Optics letters.

[26]  J. Dudley,et al.  Supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fiber , 2006 .

[27]  Valentin Petrov,et al.  Femtosecond optical parametric generators and amplifiers for the near infrared based on BiB3O6 , 2009, Ultrafast Nonlinear Optics.

[28]  Erik E. Josberger,et al.  A cryogenic scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope. , 2013, The Review of scientific instruments.

[29]  Evgeni Sorokin,et al.  Kerr-lens mode-locked Cr:ZnS laser. , 2013, Optics letters.