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Two different pulse cleaning techniques for ultra-high contrast laser systems are comparably analysed in this work. The first pulse cleaning technique is based on noncollinear femtosecond optical-parametric amplification (NOPA) and second-harmonic generation (SHG) processes. The other is based on cross-polarized wave (XPW) generation. With a double chirped pulse amplifier (double-CPA) scheme, although temporal contrast enhancement in a high-intensity femtosecond Ti:sapphire chirped pulse amplification (CPA) laser system can be achieved based on both of the techniques, the two different pulse cleaning techniques still have their own advantages and are suitable for different contrast enhancement requirements of different laser systems.

Employing a novel front-end based on femtosecond noncollinear optical-parametric amplification and second-harmonic generation processes in a Ti:sapphire chirped pulse amplification laser system, we first demonstrate the efficient enhancement of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) contrast. Cleaned seed pulses of 100-μJ energy generated by the front-end are amplified to 0.75 J before compressor. After compression and under pulse peak power of 7 TW, the ASE contrast is promoted from original ~ 108 to ~ 1011. The experimental results for nanometer film target interactions also demonstrate the improvement of the contrast. Finally, the evolution of the ASE contrast under different seed pulse energy is demonstrated experimentally, which can be used to design the higher power laser with higher ASE contrast.

This paper was presented at the SPIE conference indicated above but inadvertently published by SPIE subsequent to its publication in another journal (Optics Letters). The paper has therefore been withdrawn from the SPIE Proceedings by the author and the publisher. The journal paper can be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OL.34.002730.

We experimentally investigate the high harmonic generation (HHG) from CH4 molecules and Xe atoms in a two-color field (using the 800 nm laser and the tunable laser with the longer wavelength from 1500 nm to 1900 nm), and observe that the longer wavelength component can destructively suppress the HHG from CH4 molecules. By controlling the time delay between the two color laser pulses or tuning the laser intensity of the longer wavelength component, the suppressions of the HHG from CH4 molecules and the enhancements of the HHG from Xe atoms at the same laser condition are observed. The results indicate that the longer wavelength component around the molecular infrared absorption can suppress the molecular HHG process.

We experimentally investigate the wavelength effect on high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in CH(4) molecules and Xe atoms driven by a tunable infrared parametric source, and observe that the molecular HHG around the vibrational resonance is more sensitive to the driver wavelength than HHG from an atomic gas with comparable ionization potential. The results can be attributed to the light nuclear motion induced by the driving laser field, and it becomes possible to control the proton vibration in the molecular HHG by tuning the infrared wavelength of the driving laser.

Theoretical calculations of the mode characteristics of an equilateral-triangle resonator (ETR) with a 10μm cavity side length show that the fundamental mode, with longitudinal mode index of 25, has a wavelength of 2.185μm and a longitudinal mode separation of 100nm. This mode has a quality factor (∼2×105) that is much larger than the first (∼5×104) and second (∼3×104) order modes, indicating that single fundamental mode lasing should be accessible over a broad wavelength tuning range. An electrically injected ETR based on this design is fabricated from an InGaAsSb∕AlGaAsSb∕GaSb, graded-index separate-confinement heterostructure, laser diode wafer with a 2.1μm emission wavelength. This device achieved single mode, continuous wave operation at 77K with a threshold current of 0.5mA and a single mode wavelength tuning range of 3.25nm, which is accomplished by varying the injection current from 0.5to6.0mA.