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Rochester researchers advance a revolutionary technique first developed at the Laser Energy Laboratory.
The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics was shared by researchers who developed a technique to create ultrashort, yet extremely energetic, laser pulses at the University of Rochester.
Today, researchers at the University’s Institute of Optics have produced these same high-power pulses, called pulse pulses, in a way that works even with inexpensive, relatively low-quality equipment. The new work could pave the way for:
- Better high capacity telecommunications systems
- Improved astrophysical calibrations used to find exoplanets
- Even more precise atomic clocks
- Precise devices for measuring chemical contaminants in the atmosphere
In a newspaper in Optical, the researchers describe the first demonstration of highly modulated pulses created by the use of a spectral filter in a Kerr resonator, a type of simple optical cavity that operates without amplification. These cavities have generated great interest among researchers because they can withstand “a multitude of complicated behaviors, including useful broadband light bursts,” says co-author William Renninger, assistant professor of optics.
By adding the spectral filter, researchers can manipulate a laser pulse in the resonator to widen its wavefront by separating colors from the beam.
The new method is beneficial because “as you widen the pulse, you reduce the peak of the pulse, which means that you can then put more energy into it before it reaches a high peak power. that’s causing problems, â€says Renninger.
The new work is linked to the approach used by Nobel Laureates Donna Strickland ’89 (PhD) and Gerard Mourou, who helped usher in a revolution in the use of laser technology when they pioneered amplification pulsed pulses while doing research at the university lab for the laser. Energetic.
The work takes advantage of the way light is scattered as it passes through optical cavities. Most anterior cavities require rare “abnormal” scattering, which means blue light travels faster than red light.
However, the emitted pulses live in “normal” scattering cavities in which red light travels faster. The dispersion is said to be “normal†because this is the case much more frequently, which will considerably increase the number of cavities that can generate pulses.
Anterior cavities are also designed to have less than one percent loss, while modulated pulses can survive in the cavity despite very high energy loss. “We are showing emitted pulses that remain stable even with energy loss greater than 90%, which really challenges conventional wisdom,†says Renninger.
“With a simple spectral filter, we are now using loss to generate pulses in normal dispersion and lossy systems. So, in addition to improving energy performance, it really helps to know what types of systems can be used. “
Other collaborators include senior author Christopher Spiess, Qiang Yang, and Xue Dong, all current and former graduate research assistants in Renninger’s lab, and Victor Bucklew, a former postdoctoral associate in the lab.
“We are very proud of this journal,†says Renninger. “It has been a long time coming.”
The University of Rochester and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the National Institutes of Health supported this project with funding.
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