Spectral broadening method and arrangement of laser pulses for nonlinear pulse compression

摘要

A method and arrangement of spectral broadening laser pulses for nonlinear pulse compression is provided. The method and arrangement is based on a transition from spectral broadening in a waveguide to spectral broadening in a suitably shaped lens conductor. The arrangement is less sensitive to variations in pulse power, laser beam position and parameters. The spectrally broadened pulse is fully compressed and the quality of the laser beam is maintained. To achieve this, the nonlinear phase required for spectral broadening is divided into sufficiently small steps that can be separated without nonlinearity by appropriate propagation. Thus, the limitation of the pulse output to less than the critical output of the dielectric is overcome, and a pulse energy range is developed in which spectral broadening in the glass fiber cannot be used. The arrangement is particularly suitable for compressing pulses with a large average power, since it does not have any limiting aperture and therefore does not absorb or cut off power. [Selection figure] None