Experimental study on compression of 216-W laser pulses below 2 ps at 1030 nm with chirped volume Bragg grating.

We report on the characterization of a high-power, chirped volume Bragg grating (CVBG) pulse compressor. It includes measurements of the CVBG's diffraction efficiency, beam profile, beam quality ( parameter), pulse spectrum, the CVBG's temperature, and the thermal lens. These parameters were monitored for a wide range of input laser powers and with different clamping forces applied on the CVBG.

Wavelength tunable, single-longitudinal-mode optical parametric oscillator with a transversally chirped volume Bragg grating.

We report on single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) operation of a low-threshold optical parametric oscillator, with a 17 nm tunability near 2 µm. The oscillator uses a MgO:PPLN crystal in Type 0 quasi-phase-matching configuration, pumped by a 1.064 µm SLM laser.

Compact fiber CPA system based on a CFBG stretcher and CVBG compressor with matched dispersion profile.

In this work, a compact fiber chirped pulse amplification system exploiting a tandem of a chirped fiber Bragg grating stretcher and a chirped volume Bragg grating compressor with matched chromatic dispersion is presented. Chirped pulses of 230 ps duration were amplified in a Yb-doped fiber amplifier and re-compressed to 208 fs duration with good fidelity. The compressed pulse duration was fine-tuned by temperature gradient along the fiber Bragg grating stretcher.

Mass-loss rates from decomposition of plant residues in spruce forests near the northern tree line subject to strong air pollution.

Mass-loss rates during the early phase of decomposition of plant residues were studied for a period of 3 years in Norway spruce forests subjected to air pollution by Cu-Ni smelters on the Kola Peninsula, northwest Russia. Litterbags were deployed in two main patches of forests at the northern tree line, between and below the crowns of spruce trees older than 100 years. The study results demonstrated the dependence of the decomposition rates on the initial concentrations of nutrients and the C/N and lignin/N ratios in plant residues.

Spectral narrowing and stabilization of interband cascade laser by volume Bragg grating.

A volume Bragg grating recorded in photo-thermo-refractive glass was used to spectrally lock the emission from an 18-μm-wide interband cascade laser ridge to a wavelength of 3.12 μm. The spectral width of emission into the resonant mode is narrowed by more than 300 times, and the thermal wavelength shift is reduced by 60 times.

Metric for the measurement of the quality of complex beams: a theoretical study.

We present a theoretical study of various definitions of laser beam width in a given cross section. Quality of the beam is characterized by dimensionless beam propagation products (BPPs) Δx·Δθ(x)/λ, which are different for the 21 definitions presented, but are close to 1. Six particular beams are studied in detail.

Saturation of multiplexed volume Bragg grating recording.

Recording of volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) in photo-thermo-refractive glass is limited to a maximum refractive index change about 0.002. We discuss various saturation curves and their influence on the amplitudes of recorded gratings.

2-μm wavelength, high-energy Ho:YLF chirped-pulse amplifier for mid-infrared OPCPA.

A 2-μm wavelength laser delivering up to 39-mJ energy, ∼10  ps duration pulses at 100-Hz repetition rate is reported. The system relies on chirped pulse amplification (CPA): a modelocked Er:Tm:Ho fiber-seeder is followed by a Ho:YLF-based regenerative amplifier and a cryogenically cooled Ho:YLF single pass amplifier. Stretching and compressing are performed with large aperture chirped volume Bragg gratings (CVBG).

Thermal tuning of volume Bragg gratings for spectral beam combining of high-power fiber lasers.

High-radiance lasers are desired for many applications in defense and manufacturing. Spectral beam combining (SBC) by volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) is a very promising method for high-radiance lasers that need to achieve 100 kW level power. Laser-induced heating of VBGs under high-power radiation presents a challenge for maintaining Bragg resonance at various power levels without mechanical realignment.

Ultimate efficiency of spectral beam combining by volume Bragg gratings.

Spectral beam combining (SBC) by volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) recorded in photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass is a powerful tool for laser applications that require higher radiance than a single laser unit can achieve. The beam-combining factor (BCF) is introduced as a tool to compare various beam-combining methods and experiments. It describes the change of radiance provided by a beam-combining system but is not affected by the initial beam quality of the combined lasers.

Using a volume Bragg grating instead of a Faraday isolator in lasers incorporating stimulated Brillouin scattering wavefront reversal or beam cleanup.

A master-oscillator power-amplifier with stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) beam cleanup or wavefront reversal typically incorporates a Faraday isolator to outcouple the Stokes light, limiting the power scalability. Volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) have the potential for scaling to higher powers. We report here the results of tests on a VBG designed to resolve wavelengths 0.

Continuous-wave diode-pumped laser action of Nd³⁺-doped photo-thermo-refractive glass.

Laser action of the photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass, which is the photosensitive material for holographic recording of volume Bragg gratings (VBGs), was demonstrated for the first time by introducing Nd³⁺. Nd:PTR glass has a bandwidth of 27.8 nm and 16.

Single resonance monolithic Fabry-Perot filters formed by volume Bragg gratings and multilayer dielectric mirrors.

A new class of Fabry-Perot filters produced by a multilayer dielectric mirror deposited on top of a reflecting volume Bragg grating is described. The first fabricated prototype for the 852 nm region demonstrates a 30 pm bandwidth, 90+% transmission at resonance, and a good agreement with theoretical simulation.

Ultranarrow bandwidth moiré reflecting Bragg gratings recorded in photo-thermo-refractive glass.

An experimental demonstration of a moiré reflecting Bragg grating in photo-thermo-refractive glass is carried out. This narrowband filter is obtained by the recording of two reflecting Bragg gratings with different periods. Filters with central wavelength at 1550 nm, bandwidth of 50 pm, and transmission higher than 95% are demonstrated.

Cross-correlation technique for dispersion characterization of chirped volume Bragg gratings.

We propose using cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating for dispersion characterization of optical elements with high dispersion, such as ultrashort pulse stretchers and compressors. The technique is based on spectrally resolved second-order cross correlation (sum frequency generation) of a stretched pulse with a reference short pulse. Dispersion of optical elements with a high pulse stretching ratio can be completely characterized using this method, even with moderate resolution of spectral measurements of the cross-correlation signal.

Femtosecond Yb-fiber chirped-pulse-amplification system based on chirped-volume Bragg gratings.

A 100 W amplified (75 W compressed) femtosecond (650 fs) Yb-fiber chirped-pulse-amplification system is demonstrated using broadband chirped-volume Bragg gratings (CVBGs) for the stretcher and compressor. With a 75% compression efficiency, the CVBG-based compressor exhibits an excellent average power handling capability and indicates the potential for further power scaling with this compact and robust technology.

Tunable narrowband optical parametric oscillator using a transversely chirped Bragg grating.

We demonstrate a novel technique for locking and tuning of a near-degenerate nanosecond optical parametric oscillator (OPO) using a transversely chirped volume Bragg grating. When the grating was translated, the OPO signal wavelength could be tuned from 1011 to 1023 nm (3.5 THz).

Reflection of light by composite volume holograms: Fresnel corrections and Fabry-Perot spectral filtering.

Effects in composite volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) are studied theoretically and experimentally. The mathematics of reflection is formulated with a unified account of Fresnel reflections by the boundaries and of VBG reflection. We introduce the strength S of reflection by an arbitrary lossless element such that the intensity of reflection is R=tanh(2) S.

Efficient power scaling of laser radiation by spectral beam combining.

The possibility of achieving multikilowatt laser radiation by spectrally combining beams using volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) is shown. The VBGs recorded in a photothermorefractive glass exhibit long-term stability of all its parameters in high-power laser beams with power density >1 MW/cm2 in the cw beam of total power on a kilowatt level. We consider an architecture-specific beam-combining scheme and address the cross-talk minimization problem based on optimal channel positioning.

Spectral filtering in a diode-pumped Nd:YLF regenerative amplifier using a volume Bragg grating.

Instrument-limited suppression of out-of-band Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) is demonstrated in a Nd:YLF Diode-Pumped Regenerative Amplifier (DPRA) using a Volume Bragg Grating (VBG) as a spectrally selective reflective element. A VBG with 99.4% diffraction efficiency and 230-pm-FWHM reflection bandwidth produced a 43-pm- FWHM output spectral width in an unseeded DPRA compared to 150-pm FWHM in the same DPRA with no VBG.

Large-aperture chirped volume Bragg grating based fiber CPA system.

A fiber chirped pulse amplification system at 1558 nm was demonstrated using a large-aperture volume Bragg grating stretcher and compressor made of Photo-Thermal-Refractive (PTR) glass. Such PTR glass based gratings represent a new type of pulse stretching and compressing devices which are compact, monolithic and optically efficient. Furthermore, since PTR glass technology enables volume gratings with transverse apertures which are large, homogeneous and scalable, it also enables high pulse energies and powers far exceeding those achievable with other existing compact pulse-compression technologies.

Stable coherent coupling of laser diodes by a volume Bragg grating in photothermorefractive glass.

Two separate laser diodes emitting near 980 nm were coupled by a thick volume Bragg grating recorded in a photothermorefractive glass. The coupled diodes emitted at the same wavelength with a spectral width narrowed to below the resolution of the spectrum analyzer (<30 pm). Coherent emission at a pumping level greater than five times above the threshold was observed for several months with near-unity visibility of the interference pattern.

Solid-state laser spectral narrowing using a volumetric photothermal refractive Bragg grating cavity mirror.

Dramatic spectral narrowing of two normally broadband lasers, Ti:sapphire and Cr:LiSAF, was achieved by simply replacing the output mirror with a reflective, volumetric Bragg grating recorded in photothermal refractive glass. The output power of each laser was unchanged from that obtained using dielectric coated output mirrors with the same output coupling as the Bragg grating while spectral brightness increased by 3 orders of magnitude.