University of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc.

Clomson University

Timothy McComb

Martin C Richardson

Vikas Sudesh

Michael Bass

John Ballato

Robert Bernath

Anthony Siegman

Joshua Duncan

Michael Hemmer

Etienne Puyoo

William Hagemann

Methods and systems for hybrid gain guiding in laser resonators that combines the features of gain guiding and fiber or other types of lasers into a single system. Hybrid gain guiding in laser resonators is not limited to conventional fiber lasers. Any type of gain guided fiber, index guided or anti-guided, is used as an intracavity element to induce loss on high order modes in an otherwise multimode laser system. The gain guided element contributes little gain to the laser oscillator but allows only the lowest order mode to transmit without loss. When the gain guiding fiber length is selected so the loss for a particular cavity mode is greater than the gain, the cavity mode does not lase. Since the gain guiding fiber induces loss for all laser modes other than the lowest order mode it makes sure that the mode one higher than the lowest order mode does not lase and as a result, no other cavity modes lase.

Hybrid gain guiding in laser resonators

Methods, systems and devices for a waveguide pumping gain guided index antiguided fiber laser having a fiber selected for a refractive index crossover at a wavelength between a pump wavelength and a laser emission wavelength. A waveguide pumping system pumps a light having a pump wavelength into the fiber allowing a laser light to be captured by a gain guided process in the core while the pump light, propagating in the cladding is coupled to the core. The fiber selection includes selecting a fiber with a cladding material having a refractive index less than a core material refractive index for a pump wavelength and a core refractive index at the laser emission wavelength is less than the cladding refractive index at the same laser emission wavelength to allow the pump light to propagate through the cladding as a conventional wave guided fiber laser, white the laser emission is captured within the core as an index antiguided, gain guided wave.

Waveguide-pumping gain guided index antiguided fiber laser

Systems and methods for measuring a pulse length (&#x3c4;) of an ultra-short light pulse (P) based on processing a number of substantially similar light pulses. The system includes an autocorrelation optical system adapted to receive the light pulses Pand create from each light pulse two beams having an associated optical path length difference &#x394;OPL. Providing a different &#x394;OPL for each light pulse creates an autocorrelation interference pattern representative of an autocorrelation of the light pulse P. An LED detector detects the autocorrelation interference pattern and generates therefrom an autocorrelation signal. A signal-processing unit forms from the autocorrelation signal a digital count signal representative of a number of counted peaks in the autocorrelation signal above the full-width half maximum. Control electronics unit causes the varying &#x394;OPL and provides a difference signal (S) representative of the &#x394;OPL to the signal-processing unit. The signal processing unit is adapted to calculate the pulse length based on &#x394;OPL and the number Nof counted peaks. The autocorrelation optical system can either be prism-based or electro-optical-interferometer based. The measurement system can be made very compact and is far less expensive and far easier to use as compared to prior art ultra-short pulse measurement systems.

Systems and methods for measuring ultra-short light pulses

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Orlando, FL, United States of America

Timothy McComb