Comparison of different Kerr-lens mode locking laser design techniques

摘要

Three numerical methods for the design of Kerr Lens Mode-Locking (KLML) ultrashort pulse cavities that use a solid state Brewster-cut nonlinear gain medium are compared. The nonlinear medium is modeled first deploying a matrix approximation that considers non-coupled (tangential analysis is independent of sagittal analysis) Kerr and thermal self-focusing; and second with a differential equation that relates the real and imaginary parts of the inverse of the complex Gaussian beam parameter. The third comparison is against a matrix analysis method that considers the coupling between the sagittal and tangential modes inside the nonlinear medium in order to determine the impact of this effect. The three methods search the self-consistency condition for the complex beam parameter and the results are compared.