Abstract
We demonstrate the use of a single prism for adjustable dispersion compensation in a mode-locked laser cavity, instead of the standard approach with a prism pair. A simple model based on the prism-pair configuration is presented to determine the group-velocity dispersion by use of ray optics to trace the wavelength-dependent optical axes through the cavity. We experimentally demonstrated this concept with a passively mode-locked diode-pumped Nd:glass laser producing 200-fs pulses with a 200-mW average output power, using only one intracavity prism. The advantages of such a cavity design are simple alignment, reduced loss, and lossless wavelength tunability This technique can be generalized to other angularly dispersive elements such as prismatic output couplers.
© 1996 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
S. Gatz, J. Herrmann, and M. Müller
Opt. Lett. 21(19) 1573-1575 (1996)
Malini Ramaswamy-Paye and J. G. Fujimoto
Opt. Lett. 19(21) 1756-1758 (1994)
Jia-Min Shieh, Hwa-Ming Twu, and Ci-Ling Pan
Opt. Lett. 21(14) 1058-1060 (1996)