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Materials Science

Laser Seeding

Laser output injected into an amplifier or another laser

A seed laser is a laser whose output is injected into some amplifier or another laser. Seed lasers are typically combined with an amplifier in a master oscillator power amplifier configuration used for generating an output with high power. The seed laser approach is often superior to a direct high power laser as very often certain features of low power seed lasers such as short pulses, adjustable repetition rates or narrow spectral line widths are easier to obtain.

Image Laser Seeding

PicoQuant offers specially designed diode laser system as seeding sources for Erbium or Ytterbium doped fiber lasers or amplifiers. The laser systems are build around a common control unit of the PDL Series and different laser heads emitting at 1030 nm, 1064 nm, or 1530 nm. Different pulse shapes and pulse patterns can be generated with different driving electronics:

  • picosecond pulses at variable and adjustable repetition rates up to 80 MHz with constant pulse energy
  • fast switched lasers with nanosecond pulses with variable pulse length
  • nanosecond pulses with programmable pulse shapes

All laser systems deliver either a collimated output or emit from a FC/APC fiber connector. Compact OEM units are available upon special request.

Available Sources

LDH Series - picosecond pulsed diode laserLDH Series

Picosecond Pulsed Diode Laser Heads

  • Wavelengths between 375 nm and 1990 nm
  • Pulse widths as short as 50 ps (FWHM) or CW operation
  • Adjustable (average) power up to 20 mW
  • Repetition rate from single shot to 80 MHz

Example of a seed laser pulse and spectrum at 1063nmThe image shows a measured pulse profile and spectrum of a seed laser at 1063 nm. The measured pulse energy is 16 pJ and the measured pulse width is 39 ps (FWHM).

 

Compensation of amplifier saturation by programmable seed pulsesCompensation of amplifier saturation

Programmable pulse shapes can be used to compensate for saturation effects of fiber amplifiers, which exihibts strong gain-saturation especially in nanosecond pulse regime.The example shows the output of a fibre amplifier with and without compensation by pulse shaping of the seed pulse using the PPL 400 as a seed laser.