Passively mode-locked Tm,Ho:YAG laser at 2 µm based on saturable absorption of intersubband transitions in quantum wells

doi:10.1364/OE.18.006537

Passively mode-locked Tm,Ho:YAG laser at 2 µm based on saturable absorption of intersubband transitions in quantum wells

Kejian Yang, Hubertus Bromberger, Hartmut Ruf, Hanjo Schäfer, Joerg Neuhaus, Thomas Dekorsy, Christiana Villas-Boas Grimm, Manfred Helm, Klaus Biermann, and Harald Künzel »View Author Affiliations

Optics Express, Vol. 18, Issue 7, pp. 6537-6544 (2010)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.18.006537

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Abstract

We report the first demonstration of a solid state laser passively mode-locked through the saturable absorption of short-wavelength intersubband transitions in doped quantum wells: a continuous wave Ti:sapphire laser end-pumped Tm,Ho:YAG laser at the center wavelength of 2.091 μm utilizing intersubband transitions in narrow In_0.53Ga_0.47As/Al_0.53As_0.47Sb quantum wells. Stable passive mode-locking operation with maximum average output power of up to 160 mW for 2.9 W of the absorbed pump power could last for hours without external interruption and a mode-locked pulse with duration of 60 ps at repetition rate of 106.5 MHz was generated.

OCIS Codes
(140.3070) Lasers and laser optics : Infrared and far-infrared lasers
(140.4050) Lasers and laser optics : Mode-locked lasers
(140.5680) Lasers and laser optics : Rare earth and transition metal solid-state lasers
(140.7090) Lasers and laser optics : Ultrafast lasers
(160.4330) Materials : Nonlinear optical materials
(160.6000) Materials : Semiconductor materials

ToC Category:
Lasers and Laser Optics

History
Original Manuscript: January 15, 2010
Revised Manuscript: March 1, 2010
Manuscript Accepted: March 5, 2010
Published: March 15, 2010

Citation
Kejian Yang, Hubertus Bromberger, Hartmut Ruf, Hanjo Schäfer, Joerg Neuhaus, Thomas Dekorsy, Christiana Villas-Boas Grimm, Manfred Helm, Klaus Biermann, and Harald Künzel, "Passively mode-locked Tm,Ho:YAG laser at 2 µm based on saturable absorption of intersubband transitions in quantum wells," Opt. Express 18, 6537-6544 (2010)
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-18-7-6537

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References

T. M. Taczak and D. K. Killinger, “Development of a Tunable, Narrow-Linewidth, CW 2.066-mum Ho:YLF Laser for Remote Sensing of Atmospheric CO(2) and H(2)O,” Appl. Opt. 37(36), 8460–8476 (1998). [CrossRef]
P. A. Budni, L. A. Pomeranz, M. L. Lemons, C. A. Miller, J. R. Mosto, and E. P. Chicklis, “Efficient mid-infrared laser using 1.9-μm pumped Ho:YAG and ZnGeP2 optical parametric oscillators,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 17(5), 723–728 (2000). [CrossRef]
J. F. Pinto, L. Esterowitz, and G. H. Rosenblatt, “Continuous-wave mode-locked 2- µm Tm: YAG laser,” Opt. Lett. 17(10), 731–732 (1992). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
F. Heine, E. Heumann, G. Huber, and K. L. Schepler, “Mode locking of room-temperature cw thulium and holmium lasers,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 60(10), 1161–1163 (1992). [CrossRef]
G. Galzerano, M. Marano, S. Longhi, E. Sani, A. Toncelli, M. Tonelli, and P. Laporta, “Sub-100-ps amplitude-modulation mode-locked Tm–Ho:BaY2F8 laser at 2.06 μm,” Opt. Lett. 28(21), 2085–2087 (2003). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
D. Gatti, G. Galzerano, A. Toncelli, M. Tonelli, and P. Laporta, “Actively mode-locked Tm-Ho:LiYF4 and Tm-Ho:BaY2F8 lasers,” Appl. Phys. B 86(2), 269–273 (2007). [CrossRef]
U. Keller, “Recent developments in compact ultrafast lasers,” Nature 424(6950), 831–838 (2003). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
F. Haxsen, A. Ruehl, M. Engelbrecht, D. Wandt, U. Morgner, and D. Kracht, “Stretched-pulse operation of a thulium-doped fiber laser,” Opt. Express 16(25), 20471–20476 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
R. C. Sharp, D. E. Spock, N. Pan, and J. Elliot, “190-fs passively mode-locked thulium fiber laser with a low threshold,” Opt. Lett. 21(12), 881–883 (1996). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
S. Kivistö, T. Hakulinen, M. Guina, and O. G. Okhotnikov, “Tunable Raman Soliton Source Using Mode-Locked Tm–Ho Fiber Laser,” IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 19(12), 934–936 (2007). [CrossRef]
Q. Wang, J. Geng, T. Luo, and S. Jiang, “Mode-locked 2 mum laser with highly thulium-doped silicate fiber,” Opt. Lett. 34(23), 3616–3618 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
A. A. Lagatsky, F. Fusari, S. Calvez, J. A. Gupta, V. E. Kisel, N. V. Kuleshov, C. T. A. Brown, M. D. Dawson, and W. Sibbett, “Passive mode locking of a Tm,Ho:KY(WO4)2 laser around 2 μm,” Opt. Lett. 34(17), 2587–2589 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
M. A. Solodyankin, E. D. Obraztsova, A. S. Lobach, A. I. Chernov, A. V. Tausenev, V. I. Konov, and E. M. Dianov, “Mode-locked 1.93 microm thulium fiber laser with a carbon nanotube absorber,” Opt. Lett. 33(12), 1336–1338 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
W. B. Cho, A. Schmidt, J. H. Yim, S. Y. Choi, S. Lee, F. Rotermund, U. Griebner, G. Steinmeyer, V. Petrov, X. Mateos, M. C. Pujol, J. J. Carvajal, M. Aguiló, and F. Díaz, “Passive mode-locking of a Tm-doped bulk laser near 2 microm using a carbon nanotube saturable absorber,” Opt. Express 17(13), 11007–11012 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
I. A. Denisov, N. A. Skoptsov, M. S. Gaponenko, A. M. Malyarevich, K. V. Yumashev, and A. A. Lipovskii, “Passive mode locking of 2.09 μm Cr,Tm,Ho:Y3Sc2Al3O12 laser using PbS quantum-dot-doped glass,” Opt. Lett. 34(21), 3403–3405 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
K. Seeger, Semiconducutor Physics, 9th edition, Springer, Berlin, 2004.
T. Akiyama, N. Georgiev, T. Mozume, H. Yoshida, A. V. Gopal, and O. Wada, “1.55-μm picosecond all-optical switching by using intersubband absorption in InGaAs-AlAs-AlAsSb coupled quantum wells,” IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 14(4), 495–497 (2002). [CrossRef]
N. Georgiev, T. Dekorsy, F. Eichhorn, M. Helm, M. Semtsiv, and W. T. Masselink, “Short-wavelength intersubband absorption in strain compensated InGaAs/AlAs quantum well structures grown on InP,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 83(2), 210–213 (2003). [CrossRef]
C. V.-B. Tribuzy, S. Ohser, S. Winnerl, J. Grenzer, H. Schneider, M. Helm, J. Neuhaus, T. Dekorsy, K. Biermann, and H. Künzel, “Femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy of intersubband relaxation dynamics in narrow InGaAs/AlAsSb quantum well structures,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 89(17), 171104 (2006). [CrossRef]
F. Shohda, M. Nakazawa, R. Akimoto, and H. Ishikawa, “An 88 fs fiber soliton laser using a quantum well saturable absorber with an ultrafast intersubband transition,” Opt. Express 17(25), 22499–22504 (2009). [CrossRef]
C. V.-B. Tribuzy, S. Ohser, M. Priegnitz, S. Winnerl, H. Schneider, M. Helm, J. Neuhaus, T. Dekorsy, K. Biermann, and H. Künzel, “Inefficiency of intervalley transfer in narrow InGaAs/AlAsSb quantum wells,” Phys. Status Solidi 5(1), 229–231 (2008) (c). [CrossRef]
R. C. Stoneman and L. Esterowitz, “Efficient 1.94-µm Tm:YALO laser,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron. 1(1), 78–81 (1995). [CrossRef]
A. A. Lagatsky, F. Fusari, S. Calvez, S. V. Kurilchik, V. E. Kisel, N. V. Kuleshov, M. D. Dawson, C. T. A. Brown, and W. Sibbett, “Femtosecond pulse operation of a Tm,Ho-codoped crystalline laser near 2 microm,” Opt. Lett. 35(2), 172–174 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
L. Zhang, M. Lei, Y. Wang, J. Li, Y. Wang, and J. Liu, “Crystal growth and spectral properties of Yb3+:KY(WO4)2,” J. Rare Earths 24(1), 125–128 (2006). [CrossRef]
B. Zhou, Z. Wei, Y. Zhang, X. Zhong, H. Teng, L. Zheng, L. Su, and J. Xu, “Generation of 210 fs laser pulses at 1093 nm by a self-starting mode-locked Yb:GYSO laser,” Opt. Lett. 34(1), 31–33 (2009). [CrossRef]

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[1] T. M. Taczak and D. K. Killinger, “Development of a Tunable, Narrow-Linewidth, CW 2.066-mum Ho:YLF Laser for Remote Sensing of Atmospheric CO(2) and H(2)O,” Appl. Opt. 37(36), 8460–8476 (1998). [CrossRef]

[2] P. A. Budni, L. A. Pomeranz, M. L. Lemons, C. A. Miller, J. R. Mosto, and E. P. Chicklis, “Efficient mid-infrared laser using 1.9-μm pumped Ho:YAG and ZnGeP2 optical parametric oscillators,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 17(5), 723–728 (2000). [CrossRef]

[3] J. F. Pinto, L. Esterowitz, and G. H. Rosenblatt, “Continuous-wave mode-locked 2- µm Tm: YAG laser,” Opt. Lett. 17(10), 731–732 (1992). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[4] F. Heine, E. Heumann, G. Huber, and K. L. Schepler, “Mode locking of room-temperature cw thulium and holmium lasers,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 60(10), 1161–1163 (1992). [CrossRef]

[5] G. Galzerano, M. Marano, S. Longhi, E. Sani, A. Toncelli, M. Tonelli, and P. Laporta, “Sub-100-ps amplitude-modulation mode-locked Tm–Ho:BaY2F8 laser at 2.06 μm,” Opt. Lett. 28(21), 2085–2087 (2003). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[6] D. Gatti, G. Galzerano, A. Toncelli, M. Tonelli, and P. Laporta, “Actively mode-locked Tm-Ho:LiYF4 and Tm-Ho:BaY2F8 lasers,” Appl. Phys. B 86(2), 269–273 (2007). [CrossRef]

[7] U. Keller, “Recent developments in compact ultrafast lasers,” Nature 424(6950), 831–838 (2003). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[8] F. Haxsen, A. Ruehl, M. Engelbrecht, D. Wandt, U. Morgner, and D. Kracht, “Stretched-pulse operation of a thulium-doped fiber laser,” Opt. Express 16(25), 20471–20476 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[9] R. C. Sharp, D. E. Spock, N. Pan, and J. Elliot, “190-fs passively mode-locked thulium fiber laser with a low threshold,” Opt. Lett. 21(12), 881–883 (1996). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[10] S. Kivistö, T. Hakulinen, M. Guina, and O. G. Okhotnikov, “Tunable Raman Soliton Source Using Mode-Locked Tm–Ho Fiber Laser,” IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 19(12), 934–936 (2007). [CrossRef]

[11] Q. Wang, J. Geng, T. Luo, and S. Jiang, “Mode-locked 2 mum laser with highly thulium-doped silicate fiber,” Opt. Lett. 34(23), 3616–3618 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[12] A. A. Lagatsky, F. Fusari, S. Calvez, J. A. Gupta, V. E. Kisel, N. V. Kuleshov, C. T. A. Brown, M. D. Dawson, and W. Sibbett, “Passive mode locking of a Tm,Ho:KY(WO4)2 laser around 2 μm,” Opt. Lett. 34(17), 2587–2589 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[13] M. A. Solodyankin, E. D. Obraztsova, A. S. Lobach, A. I. Chernov, A. V. Tausenev, V. I. Konov, and E. M. Dianov, “Mode-locked 1.93 microm thulium fiber laser with a carbon nanotube absorber,” Opt. Lett. 33(12), 1336–1338 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[14] W. B. Cho, A. Schmidt, J. H. Yim, S. Y. Choi, S. Lee, F. Rotermund, U. Griebner, G. Steinmeyer, V. Petrov, X. Mateos, M. C. Pujol, J. J. Carvajal, M. Aguiló, and F. Díaz, “Passive mode-locking of a Tm-doped bulk laser near 2 microm using a carbon nanotube saturable absorber,” Opt. Express 17(13), 11007–11012 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[15] I. A. Denisov, N. A. Skoptsov, M. S. Gaponenko, A. M. Malyarevich, K. V. Yumashev, and A. A. Lipovskii, “Passive mode locking of 2.09 μm Cr,Tm,Ho:Y3Sc2Al3O12 laser using PbS quantum-dot-doped glass,” Opt. Lett. 34(21), 3403–3405 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[16] K. Seeger, Semiconducutor Physics, 9th edition, Springer, Berlin, 2004.

[17] T. Akiyama, N. Georgiev, T. Mozume, H. Yoshida, A. V. Gopal, and O. Wada, “1.55-μm picosecond all-optical switching by using intersubband absorption in InGaAs-AlAs-AlAsSb coupled quantum wells,” IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 14(4), 495–497 (2002). [CrossRef]

[18] N. Georgiev, T. Dekorsy, F. Eichhorn, M. Helm, M. Semtsiv, and W. T. Masselink, “Short-wavelength intersubband absorption in strain compensated InGaAs/AlAs quantum well structures grown on InP,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 83(2), 210–213 (2003). [CrossRef]

[19] C. V.-B. Tribuzy, S. Ohser, S. Winnerl, J. Grenzer, H. Schneider, M. Helm, J. Neuhaus, T. Dekorsy, K. Biermann, and H. Künzel, “Femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy of intersubband relaxation dynamics in narrow InGaAs/AlAsSb quantum well structures,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 89(17), 171104 (2006). [CrossRef]

[20] F. Shohda, M. Nakazawa, R. Akimoto, and H. Ishikawa, “An 88 fs fiber soliton laser using a quantum well saturable absorber with an ultrafast intersubband transition,” Opt. Express 17(25), 22499–22504 (2009). [CrossRef]

[21] C. V.-B. Tribuzy, S. Ohser, M. Priegnitz, S. Winnerl, H. Schneider, M. Helm, J. Neuhaus, T. Dekorsy, K. Biermann, and H. Künzel, “Inefficiency of intervalley transfer in narrow InGaAs/AlAsSb quantum wells,” Phys. Status Solidi 5(1), 229–231 (2008) (c). [CrossRef]

[22] R. C. Stoneman and L. Esterowitz, “Efficient 1.94-µm Tm:YALO laser,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron. 1(1), 78–81 (1995). [CrossRef]

[23] A. A. Lagatsky, F. Fusari, S. Calvez, S. V. Kurilchik, V. E. Kisel, N. V. Kuleshov, M. D. Dawson, C. T. A. Brown, and W. Sibbett, “Femtosecond pulse operation of a Tm,Ho-codoped crystalline laser near 2 microm,” Opt. Lett. 35(2), 172–174 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[24] L. Zhang, M. Lei, Y. Wang, J. Li, Y. Wang, and J. Liu, “Crystal growth and spectral properties of Yb3+:KY(WO4)2,” J. Rare Earths 24(1), 125–128 (2006). [CrossRef]

[25] B. Zhou, Z. Wei, Y. Zhang, X. Zhong, H. Teng, L. Zheng, L. Su, and J. Xu, “Generation of 210 fs laser pulses at 1093 nm by a self-starting mode-locked Yb:GYSO laser,” Opt. Lett. 34(1), 31–33 (2009). [CrossRef]

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Passively mode-locked Tm,Ho:YAG laser at 2 µm based on saturable absorption of intersubband transitions in quantum wells