The Generation of Ultrashort

Laser Pulses II
The phase condition

Trains of pulses – the Shah function

Laser modes and mode locking

Homogeneous vs. inhomogeneous gain media

Spatial modes

1
There are 3 conditions for steady-state laser operation.

Amplitude condition
threshold
slope efficiency

Phase condition
axial modes
homogeneous vs. inhomogeneous gain media

Transverse modes |E(x,y)|2

Hermite Gaussians
the “donut” mode

x y
2
Phase condition
collection of 4-level systems

length Lm Round-trip length Lrt

Steady-state condition #2:
Phase is invariant after each round trip

angle( Eafter ) 2c

 exp iLrt / c   1 q  q (q = an integer)
angle( Ebefore ) Lrt
Technically, this should be:
 Lrt  Lm  nair  Lm nsapphire

An integer number of wavelengths must fit in the cavity. 3

Longitudinal modes
“axial” or “longitudinal” cavity modes
2c
q  q Mode
Lrt laser gain
spacing:
(q = an integer) profile  = c/Lrt

0

fits

does not fit

But how does this translate to the case of short pulses? 4

Femtosecond lasers emit trains of
identical pulses.
Every time the laser pulse hits the output mirror, some of it emerges.

Back Output
mirror mirror

Laser medium

R = 100% R < 100%

I(t) I(t-2T) Intensity

The output of a vs. time
typical ultrafast laser
is a train of identical
very short pulses: t
-3T -2T -T 0 T 2T 3T

where I(t) represents a single pulse intensity vs. time and T is the time
between pulses. 5
 The Shah Function
The Shah function, III(t), is an infinitely long
train of equally spaced delta-functions.

… …

-7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 t

III(t )    (t  m)
m 

The symbol III is pronounced shah after the Cyrillic character , which is
said to have been modeled on the Hebrew letter (shin) which, in turn,
may derive from the Egyptian , a hieroglyph depicting papyrus plants
along the Nile.
6
The Fourier Transform of the Shah Function
Y {III(t )}  III(t)
 

   t  m) exp(it )dt … …

 m  t
-7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
 
 
m  
 t  m) exp(it )dt
If  = 2n, where n is an integer, the sum
 diverges; otherwise, cancellation occurs and
  exp(i m)
m 
the sum vanishes.
F{III(t)}

So:
… …

Y {III(t )}  III(    2
-7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7
 f(t) f(t-2T) E(t)
The Shah Function
and a Pulse Train t
-3T -2T -T 0 T 2T 3T
An infinite train of

identical pulses can
be written:
E (t )  
m 
f (t  mT )

where f(t) is the shape of each pulse and T is the time between pulses.
convolution
But E(t) can also can be written: E (t )  III(t / T )  f (t )
 
Proof:
III(t / T )  f (t )     (t  / T  m) f (t  t ) dt 
m  

To do the integral, set:
t’/T = m or t’ = mT
 
m 
f (t  mT )
8
The Fourier Transform of an Infinite Train of Pulses
f(t) f(t-2T) E(t)
An infinite train of
identical pulses can
be written:
t
E(t) = III(t/T) * f(t) -3T -2T -T 0 T 2T 3T

The Convolution Theorem says that the Fourier Transform of a

convolution is the product of
the Fourier Transforms. So:
F() E ( )

E ( )  III(T / 2 ) F ( 
 
-4 -2 0 2 4

The spacing between frequencies (modes) is then  T or  T.

9
The Fourier Transform of a Finite Pulse Train
A finite train of identical pulses can be written:

E (t )  [III(t / T ) g (t )]  f (t )
where g(t) is a finite-width envelope over the pulse train.
E(t)
g(t)
f(t)

t
Use the fact -3T -2T -T 0 T 2T 3T
that the Fourier
transform of a E ( )  [III(T / 2 )  G ( )] F ( )
product is a
convolution… E ( )
F()
G()


-6/T -4/T -2/T 0 /T /T /T 10
Actual Laser Modes
A laser’s frequencies are often called longitudinal modes.

They’re separated by 1/T = c/2L, where L is the length of the laser.

Which modes lase depends on the gain and loss profiles.

Here,
Intensity

additional
narrowband
filtering has
yielded a
single
mode.
Frequency
11
 Mode-locked vs. non-mode-locked light

Mode-locked pulse train:

E ( )  F (  III(T / 2 ) A train of
short pulses

 F ( )   (  2 m / T )
m 

Non-mode-locked pulse train:

Random phase for each mode

E ( )   F ( ) exp(i
m 
m )  (  2 m / T )


 F ( )  exp(im )  (  2 m / T ) A mess…
m 
12
Generating short pulses = Mode-locking
Locking vs. not locking the phases of the laser modes (frequencies)

Intensity vs. time

Random Light bulb
phases

Time

Intensity vs. time

Locked Ultrashort
phases pulse!

Time
13
Ti:sapphire: how many modes lock?
Typical cavity layout:
length of path from
pump
M1 to M4 = 1.5 m

200 nm
bandwidth!

Wavelength (nm) Ti: sapphire crystal

Therefore  = c/Lrt  100 MHz

Q: How many different modes can oscillate simultaneously in

a 1.5 meter Ti:sapphire laser?

A: Gain bandwidth  = 200 nm   = (c/2)  ~ 1014 Hz

bandwidth/mode = 106 modes

That seems like a lot. Can this really happen? 14

Homogeneous gain media
We have seen that the gain is given by:

1 N 0 0 2  0 
g ()    where  
2 1  I / I sat 1   2 

independent of 

Suppose the gain is increased to a point where it

equals the loss at a particular frequency, q
which is one of the cavity mode frequencies.
losses
Q: Suppose the gain is increased
further. Can it be increased so that the
laser mode at q+1 oscillates in steady state?
gain
profile
q1 q q+1
A: In an ideal laser, NO!
At q, Gain = Loss!
15
Inhomogeneous gain media
Suppose that the collection of 4-level systems do not all share the same 0

Consider a collection of sites, with fractional number between 0 and 0 + d0:

dN (0 )  Ng (0 )d0

The modified susceptibility is:

   d0  h ; 0 g (0 )

inhomogeneous
homogeneous “packet” line

“packets” are mutually independent -

they can saturate independently! 16
Inhomogeneous broadening
Lorentian Gaussian
homogeneous inhomogeneous
2
line shape    
 4 ln( 2 )  0 0  distribution of
   d0  h ; 0   e   
width 

No closed-form solution

For strong inhomogeneous broadening (  ):

" = Gaussian, with width =  (NOT )
': no simple form, but it resembles h'

Examples:
Nd:YAG - weak inhomogeneity
Nd:glass - strong inhomogeneity
Ti:sapphire - absurdly strong inhomogeneity
17
Hole burning
Q: Suppose the gain is increased above threshold
in an inhomogeneously broadened laser. Can it be
increased so that the mode at q+1 oscillates cw?

A: Yes! Each homogeneous packet saturates independently

“spectral hole burning”

multiple oscillating cavity modes

a priori, these modes

losses need not have any
particular phase
relationship to one
another
laser gain
profile
q q1 q q+1 q+2 q+3
18
There are 3 conditions for steady-state laser operation.

Amplitude condition
threshold
slope efficiency

Phase condition
axial modes
homogeneous vs. inhomogeneous gain media

Transverse modes |E(x,y)|2

Hermite Gaussians
the “donut” mode

x y
19
Condition on the transverse profile

Steady-state condition #3:

Transverse profile reproduces on each round trip

"transverse modes": those which reproduce themselves on

each round trip, except for overall amplitude and phase factors

How would we determine these modes?

An eigenvalue problem:
nm  E nm  x, y    K  x, y; x 0 , y 0   E nm  x 0 , y0  dx 0 dy0

propagation kernel 20
Transverse modes
Solutions are the product of two functions, one for each transverse dimension:

Enm  x, y   un  x   um  y 

where the un’s are Hermite Gaussians:

 2x   x2 
un  x   H n    exp   2 
w = beam waist
parameter
 w   w 
Notation:
"TEM" = transverse electric and magnetic

"nm" = number of nodes along two principal axes

21
Transverse modes - examples
|E(x,y)|2 |E(x,y)|2

x y x y

12 mode A superposition of the 10 and

01 modes: the “donut mode”

TEM00 TEM01 TEM02 TEM13

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http://www.physics.adelaide.edu.au/optics/