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Tapered semiconductor amplifiers for optical frequency combs in the near infrared

2006; Optica Publishing Group; Volume: 31; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1364/ol.31.001337

1539-4794

Flávio C. Cruz, Matthew C. Stowe, Jun Ye,

Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications

A tapered semiconductor amplifier is injection seeded by a femtosecond optical frequency comb at 780 nm from a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser. Energy gains of more than 17 dB(12 dB) are obtained for 1 mW(20 mW) of average input power when the input pulses are stretched into the picosecond range. A spectral window of supercontinuum light generated in a photonic fiber has also been amplified. Interferometric measurements show sub-Hertz linewidths for a heterodyne beat between the input and amplified comb components, yielding no detectable phase-noise degradation under amplification. These amplifiers can be used to boost the infrared power in f-to-2f interferometers used to determine the carrier-to-envelope offset frequency, with clear advantages for stabilization of octave-spanning femtosecond lasers and other supercontinuum light sources.