Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena, 2nd Edition

364 Ultrashort Sources II: Examples

Because the pump power is limited an increase in pulse energy can only be at

the expense of repetition rate. Several different techniques have been developed.

A cavity dumper can be inserted in the Kerr lens mode-locked Ti:sapphire

laser resonator [83,84]. This allows the fs pulse to build up in a high Q cavity

with essentially no outcoupling losses. When a certain energy is reached the

outcoupler (typically based on an acousto-optic modulator) is turned on, and the

pulse is coupled out of the cavity. Repetition rates typically range from a few

100 kHz to a few MHz. Pulse energies of up to the 100-nJ level are possible.

Another method tries to capitalize on the inherent trend in solid-state lasers to

show relaxation ...