System for the generation of tunable ultrafast optical pulses (Market Study)

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Ultrafast laser pulses featuring wavelength tunability from the ultraviolet to the infrared range, which is beyond the direct reach of typical laser gain media, can bring a decisive advantage in many applications. However, nowadays the most commonly implemented technologies to generate such pulses, for instance optical parametric amplification, necessitate a complicated combination of multiple optical nonlinear processes for frequency conversion and amplification, essentially requiring bulky and expensive apparatus and still not automatically guaranteeing a gap-free tunability. Also, the time duration of the output pulses remains at a level comparable to the initial pumping laser system, so that further complexity needs to be added to achieve shorter durations, e.g., via pulse compression. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a simple and cost-effective system to generate wavelength-tunable and energy-scalable optical pulses, with the additional benefit of a pulse duration shorter than the one of the amplified laser employed as a pump. Our strategy is based on nonlinear spectral broadening (arising from self-phase modulation or stimulated Raman scattering) in a gas-filled hollow-core fiber (HCF), followed by a subsequent optical filtering stage. The tuning range, which can be controlled by the proper combination of gas type and pressure, can span continuously from the ultraviolet to the infrared. Once the outermost spectral lobe is selected from the broadened output spectrum by standard optical filtering, quasi-transform-limited pulses are directly obtained with energy conversion efficiencies of at least 10-15% (comparable with commercial optical parametric amplifiers) and pulse durations 3-4 times shorter than the one of the pump laser, without the need of any pulse post-compression. Considering the ease of fabrication of HCFs with different dimensions, the proposed technology could be utilized with various amplified lasers, potentially being capable of performing at extremely high (or low) average power or peak intensity conditions. This NSERC I2I Market Study will assist us in identifying the most promising applications, analyzing the potential market, and facilitating technology transfer.