Multiterawatt Hybrid (Solid/Gas) Femtosecond Systems in the Visible

A novel hybrid (solid/gas) approach to the development of femtosecond high‐intensity laser systems operating in the visible is presented in this chapter. Behind this approach is a combination of a solid‐state front end relying on widespread and highly developed techniques for femtosecond pulse generation in the near infrared with a photochemically driven boosting amplifier operating in the visible spectral range. Historical background of developing photochemically pumped gas lasers on broad bandwidth electronic transitions in molecules and physical principles of their operation are briefly summarized as well. The architecture and the design issues of the hybrid femtosecond systems relying on the amplification of the second harmonic of Ti:sapphire front ends in the photodissociation XeF(C‐A) power‐boosting amplifiers driven by the VUV radiation from electron‐beam‐to‐VUV‐flash converters are described, as well as breakthrough results of proof‐of‐principle experiments demonstrating a high potential of the hybrid approach. Wavelength scaling of laser‐matter interaction is shortly discussed to demonstrate advantages of shorter driver wavelengths for some applications with main emphasis placed on recombination‐pumped soft X‐ray lasers

Prospects of controlling the propagation of high-power THz radiation by passive optical elements including 3D printed

Optical properties of different commercial plastics for fused deposition modeling 3D printing are defined at room temperature in the spectral range 0.2˗1.2 THz. We compare absorption coefficients and refractive index of ABS, PETG, and SBS printed 1-4 mm plates. Different types of optical elements for controlling high-power THz radiation are studied. A comparison is made of the efficiency of attenuation of linearly polarized THz radiation with homemade band-pass polarizers obtained by etching copper from a flexible polyimide substrate. Filters and polarizers created using 3D printing or by deposition of polymer matrix with magnetic particles under external field are cost-effective and can be easily changed or replaced. Comparison between plastic insets, filters based on magnetic particles, and polyimide film filters are made

Dielectric properties of BiB3O6 crystal in the sub-THz range

We present the thorough studies of dielectric properties of BiB3O6 (BIBO) crystal in the sub-THz range. We observe a large birefringence Δn = nZ −nX = 1.5 and the values of absorption coefficients of all three axes to be less than 0.5 cm−1. The difference from visible range in angle ϕ between the axes z and X is found to be more than 6°. The simulated phase-matching curves show the optimal value of the angle θ to be around 25.5°±1° for an efficient millimeter-wave generation under the pump of 1064 nm laser radiation

Potential of sub-THz-wave generation in Li2B4O7 nonlinear crystal at room and cryogenic temperatures

Due to their high optical damage threshold, borate crystals can be used for the efficient nonlinear down-conversion of terawatt laser radiation into the terahertz (THz) frequency range of the electromagnetic spectrum. In this work, we carried out a thorough study of the terahertz optical properties of the lithium tetraborate crystal (Li2B4O7; LB4) at 295 and 77 K. Approximating the terahertz refractive index in the form of Sellmeier’s equations, we assessed the possibility of converting the radiation of widespread high-power laser sources with wavelengths of 1064 and 800 nm, as well as their second and third harmonics, into the THz range. It was found that four out of eight types of three-wave mixing processes are possible. The conditions for collinear phase matching were fulfilled only for the o - e -o type of interaction, while cooling the crystal to 77 K did not practically affect the phase-matching curves. However, a noticeable increase of birefringence in the THz range with cooling (from 0.12 to 0.16) led to an increase in the coherence length for o-o-e and e-e-e types of interaction, which are potentially attractive for the down-conversion of ultrashort laser pulses

The accumulation of femtosecond laser radiation energy in crystals of lithium fluoride

We present the results of studies of energy accumulation during the non-destructive interaction of extremely intense near infrared laser radiation with model wide band gap dielectric crystals of lithium fluoride, when the intensity of pulses is sufficient for effective highly nonlinear absorption of light and for the excitation of the electron subsystem of matter and the energy of pulses is still not sufficient for significant heating, evaporation, laser breakdown or other destruction to occur. We studied the emission of energy in the form of light sum of thermally stimulated luminescence accumulated under conditions of self-focusing and multiple filamentation of femtosecond laser radiation. It was established that it's the F2 and F[3]{+} color centers and supplementary to them centers of interstitial type which accumulate energy under the action of a single femtosecond laser pulses. When irradiated by series of pulses the F3, F[3]{-} and F[4] centers additionally appear. F2 centers are the main centers of emission in the process of thermally stimulated luminescence of accumulated energy. The interstitial fluoride ions (I-centers) are the kinetic particles. They split off from the X[3]{-} centers in the result of thermal decomposition of latter on the I-centers and molecules X[2]{0}. I-centers recombine with F[3]{+} centers and form F[2] centers in excited state. The latter produce the characteristic emission spectrum emitted in the form of thermally stimulated luminescence

Millimetre-wave range optical properties of BIBO

We present the thorough studies of optical properties of BiB3O6 (BIBO) crystal in the millimeter-wave (subterahertz) range. We observe a large birefringence Δn = nZ −nX = 1.5 and the values of absorption coefficients of all three axes to be less than 0.5 cm−1 at the frequency of 0.3 THz. The difference from visible range in angle ϕ between the dielectric axis z and crystallophysical axis X is found to be more than 6°. The simulated phase-matching curves in the xz plane of the crystal show the optimal value of the angle θ to be around 25.5°±1° for an efficient millimeter-wave generation under the pump of 1064 nm laser radiation

THz pulse generation in ZnGeP2 with near-IR pumping

THz wave generation was investigated in nonlinear ZnGeP2 crystals with the fs pumping at 800 nm and 950 nm. Transmission and absorption spectra were analyzed. Refractive indices of the ZnGeP2 in the THz range were measured and approximated in the form of Sellmeier equations. Phase-matching conditions were calculated. Calculated conditions are well correlated with experimental data