Acquisition and Development of a High Power Wavelength Tunable Ultrafast Laser System

我们建议组装，通过仪器采集和开发，一个通用的飞秒激光系统，致力于研究先进材料，高性能电子和光电子器件和电路，以及超高比特率光通信系统。该设备基于钛蓝宝石（Ti:S）激光振荡器和放大器系统，可产生持续时间小于100飞秒的脉冲，可在750 nm至1000 nm范围内调谐，或者以100 MHz的重复率和每脉冲10 nJ的水平，或者以1 kHz的重复率和每脉冲1 nJ的水平可调谐到近5 um。能够产生1 kHz-100 fsec脉冲序列的光参量放大器，可在相同范围内调谐，但每脉冲的水平优于10 uJ，飞秒白光连续体产生站和太赫兹发生器，能够产生接近直流电的电磁辐射形式超过10太赫兹。这种独一无二的激光设备是最先进的飞秒激光技术。因此，一部分将从一家专门从事此类设备的公司收购，另一部分将由我们设计、制造和测试。该设施将由五个具有应用物理、电气工程、等离子体物理和光学背景的主要用户运营，他们是共同的主要研究人员，已经建立了成功的联合研究工作，并拥有丰富的经验，致力于超高速技术、工艺和设备。使用新设备进行的研究范围从设备和电路测试到凝聚态物质中的基本非线性物理现象，从半导体到超导体和聚合物。常见的是需要高峰值功率飞秒激光脉冲，可从可见到中红外调谐，这是该设施将提供的。项目示例包括用于3至5微米区域的非线性材料和器件，以及通过量子干涉增强光学非线性，使用电光成像仪测试微电子电路，设计和测试用于光纤通信的超宽带光中继器，高温超导体中超快速过程和光电探测器的开发，以及高次谐波产生。美国国家科学基金会对该设施的资助将促进罗切斯特大学活跃的超快社区的活动。通过使用最先进的设备，罗切斯特集团在超高速激光应用于材料研究以及与先进材料和高性能通信相关的设备的开发和测试领域的领导地位将得到更新和重新强调。因此，其他研究人员，包括罗切斯特大学和柯达、施乐和克拉克- mxr等与我们有长期合作关系的当地公司，将被鼓励使用该设施。此外，吸引到我们设施的研究生和博士后的质量和多样性将得到保持和提高。

9413989 FAUCHET We propose to assemble, through instrumentation acquisition and development, a versatile femtosecond laser system dedicated to research on advanced materials, high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices and circuits, and ultra-high bit rate optical communication systems. The facility is based on a titanium sapphire (Ti:S) laser oscillator and amplifier system, which generates pulses of less than 100 femtosecond duration tunable form 750 nm to 1000 nm, either at a repetition rate of 100 MHz and level of 10 nJ per pulse, or at a repetition rate of 1 kHz and level of 1 mJ per trains tunable to near 5 um at a level of 1 nJ per pulse, and optical parametric amplifier capable of generating 1 kHz-100 fsec pulse trains tunable in the same range but at a level of better than 10 uJ per pulse, a femtosecond white light continuum generation station and a terahertz generator, capable of producing electromagnetic radiation form near dc to more than 10 THz. This one-of-a-kind laser facility is at the cutting edge of the most modern femtosecond laser technology. As such, part of it will be acquired form a company that specializes in this kind of equipment, and another part will be designed, built and tested by us. This facility will be operated by five primary users with backgrounds in applied physics, electrical engineering, plasma physics and optics, who are the co-principal investigators, already have established successful joint research efforts, and have ample experience with and are committed to ultra fast technology, process and devices. The scope of the research to be conducted using the new facility runs from device and circuit testing to basic nonlinear physical phenomena in condensed matter, and form semiconductors to superconductors and polymers. The common them is the need for high peak power femtosecond laser pulses tunable form the visible to the mid-infrared, which this for facility will provide. Examples of projects include nonlinear materials and devices f or the 3 to 5 um region and enhancement of optical nonlinearities via quantum interference, testing of microelectronics circuits using an electro-optic imager, design and testing of ultra-wide-band optical repeaters for fiber communications, ultra fast processes and development of photodetectors in high-temperature superconductors, and high order harmonic generation. Funding of this facility by the National Science Foundation will boost the activities of the active ultra fast community at the University of Rochester. The leadership of the Rochester group in the area of application of ultra fast lasers to the study of materials and the development and testing of devices relevant to advanced materials and high-performance communication will be renewed and reemphasized through access to the most state-of-the-art equipment. As a result, other researchers, forma the University of Rochester and local companies such as Kodak, Xerox and Clark-MXR with which we have had long-lasting collaborations, will be encouraged to use the facility. In addition, the quality and diversity of the graduate students and post-doctoral students attracted to our facility will be maintained and improved.