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175 GHz, 400-fs-pulse harmonically mode-locked surface emitting semiconductor laser

175 GHz, 400-fs-pulse harmonically mode-locked surface emitting semiconductor laser
175 GHz, 400-fs-pulse harmonically mode-locked surface emitting semiconductor laser
We report a harmonically mode-locked vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL) producing 400 fs pulses at a repetition frequency of 175 GHz with an average output power of 300 mW. Harmonic mode-locking was established using a 300 µm thick intracavity single crystal diamond heat spreader in thermal contact with the front surface of the gain sample using liquid capillary bonding. The repetition frequency was set by the diamond microcavity and stable harmonic mode locking was achieved when the laser cavity length was tuned so that the laser operated on the 117th harmonic of the fundamental cavity. When an etalon placed intracavity next to the gain sample, but not in thermal contact was used pulse groups were observed. These contained 300 fs pulses with a spacing of 5.9 ps. We conclude that to achieve stable harmonic mode locking at repetition frequencies in the 100s of GHz range in a VECSEL there is a threshold pulse energy above which harmonic mode locking is achieved and below which groups of pulses are observed.
1094-4087
7040-7045
Wilcox, Keith G.
b7c8da76-3530-4cbf-aaec-ffa11c347230
Quarterman, Adrian H.
1c79380a-ea21-4ff2-9aeb-62b1bfc3de31
Apostolopoulos, Vasilis
8a898740-4c71-4040-a577-9b9d70530b4d
Beere, Harvey E.
21adf7b3-de6c-4b51-96ce-76c673e4dc31
Farrer, Ian
030154ac-5a34-490e-b99f-9f4b330b60e4
Ritchie, David A.
dafb13bd-0736-4dd3-972f-0c73570a4278
Tropper, Anne C.
f3505426-e0d5-4e91-aed3-aecdb44b393c
Wilcox, Keith G.
b7c8da76-3530-4cbf-aaec-ffa11c347230
Quarterman, Adrian H.
1c79380a-ea21-4ff2-9aeb-62b1bfc3de31
Apostolopoulos, Vasilis
8a898740-4c71-4040-a577-9b9d70530b4d
Beere, Harvey E.
21adf7b3-de6c-4b51-96ce-76c673e4dc31
Farrer, Ian
030154ac-5a34-490e-b99f-9f4b330b60e4
Ritchie, David A.
dafb13bd-0736-4dd3-972f-0c73570a4278
Tropper, Anne C.
f3505426-e0d5-4e91-aed3-aecdb44b393c

Wilcox, Keith G., Quarterman, Adrian H., Apostolopoulos, Vasilis, Beere, Harvey E., Farrer, Ian, Ritchie, David A. and Tropper, Anne C. (2012) 175 GHz, 400-fs-pulse harmonically mode-locked surface emitting semiconductor laser. Optics Express, 20 (7), 7040-7045. (doi:10.1364/OE.20.007040). (PMID:22453384)

Record type: Article

Abstract

We report a harmonically mode-locked vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL) producing 400 fs pulses at a repetition frequency of 175 GHz with an average output power of 300 mW. Harmonic mode-locking was established using a 300 µm thick intracavity single crystal diamond heat spreader in thermal contact with the front surface of the gain sample using liquid capillary bonding. The repetition frequency was set by the diamond microcavity and stable harmonic mode locking was achieved when the laser cavity length was tuned so that the laser operated on the 117th harmonic of the fundamental cavity. When an etalon placed intracavity next to the gain sample, but not in thermal contact was used pulse groups were observed. These contained 300 fs pulses with a spacing of 5.9 ps. We conclude that to achieve stable harmonic mode locking at repetition frequencies in the 100s of GHz range in a VECSEL there is a threshold pulse energy above which harmonic mode locking is achieved and below which groups of pulses are observed.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 13 March 2012
Published date: 26 March 2012
Organisations: Quantum, Light & Matter Group

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 339033
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/339033
ISSN: 1094-4087
PURE UUID: 76a3d8c0-a3c2-413f-980f-a94cdb06fc48
ORCID for Vasilis Apostolopoulos: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3733-2191

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 22 May 2012 09:23
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:29

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Contributors

Author: Keith G. Wilcox
Author: Adrian H. Quarterman
Author: Harvey E. Beere
Author: Ian Farrer
Author: David A. Ritchie
Author: Anne C. Tropper

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