We propose a scheme that utilizes weak-field-induced quantum beats to investigate the electronic coherences of atoms driven by a strong attosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulse. The technique involves using a strong XUV pump pulse to excite and ionize atoms and a time-delayed weak short pulse to probe the photoelectron signal. Our theoretical analysis demonstrates that the information regarding the bound states, initiated by the strong pump pulse, can be precisely reconstructed from the weak-field-induced quantum beat spectrum. To examine this scheme, we apply it to the attosecond XUV laser-induced ionization of hydrogen atoms by solving a three-dimensional time-dependent Schrödinger equation. This work provides an essential reference for reconstructing the ultrafast dynamics of bound states induced by strong XUV attosecond pulses.

High-power femtosecond mid-infrared (MIR) lasers are of vast importance to both fundamental research and applications. We report a high-power femtosecond master oscillator power amplifier laser system consisting of a single-mode Er:ZBLAN fiber mode-locked oscillator and pre-amplifier followed by a large-mode-area Er:ZBLAN fiber main amplifier. The main amplifier is actively cooled and bidirectionally pumped at 976 nm, generating a slope efficiency of 26.9%. Pulses of 8.12 W, 148 fs at 2.8 μm with a repetition rate of 69.65 MHz are achieved. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest average power ever achieved from a femtosecond MIR laser source. Such a compact ultrafast laser system is promising for a wide range of applications, such as medical surgery and material processing.

3~5 μm的中红外激光位于大气窗口，在环境监测、**、医疗、遥感等诸多领域有着重要的应用。利用纳秒量级的1064 nm调Q激光器泵浦扇形掺氧化镁周期极化铌酸锂(MgO: PPLN)，设计了一种高效率、宽调谐纳秒中红外激光输出光学参量振荡器(Optical parametric oscillator, OPO)。通过降低泵浦光的重频，有效地减小了OPO的振荡阈值，在10 kHz的泵浦重频下，OPO阈值为0.4 W。在泵浦功率为4.68 W，晶体极化周期为30.47 μm的条件下，获得了0.833 W的3.4 μm中红外激光输出，对应的光光转换效率为17.8%。实验研究了不同极化周期下的输出波长，实验结果与理论模拟值较为吻合。通过横向移动MgO: PPLN晶体改变其极化周期，在31.05~28.8 μm的调节范围内获得了1 440.7~1607.0 nm的信号光及3 171.1~4 088.1 nm的闲频光输出，其中信号光的脉宽约为8.1 ns。

High-power tunable femtosecond mid-infrared (MIR) pulses are of great interest for many scientific and industrial applications. Here we demonstrate a compact fluoride-fiber-based system that generates single solitons tunable from 3 to 3.8 μm. The system is composed of an Er:ZBLAN fiber oscillator and amplifier followed by a fusion-spliced Dy:ZBLAN fiber amplifier. The Er:ZBLAN fiber amplifier acts as a power booster as well as a frequency shifter to generate Raman solitons up to 3 μm. The Dy:ZBLAN fiber amplifier transfers the energy from the residual 2.8 μm radiation into the Raman solitons using an in-band pumping scheme, and further extends the wavelength up to 3.8 μm. Common residual pump radiation and secondary solitons accompanying the soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) are recycled to amplify Raman solitons, consequently displaying a higher output power and pulse energy, a wider shifting range, and an excellent spectral purity. Stable 252 fs pulses at 3.8 μm with a record average power of 1.6 W and a pulse energy of 23 nJ are generated. This work provides an effective way to develop high-power widely tunable ultrafast single-soliton MIR laser sources, and this method can facilitate the design of other SSFS-based laser systems for single-soliton generation.

Silicon nitride, with ultralow propagation loss and a wide transparency window, offers an exciting platform to explore integrated photonic devices for various emerging applications. It is appealing to combine the intrinsic optical properties of two-dimensional layered materials with high-quality optical waveguides and resonators to achieve functional devices in a single chip. Here we demonstrate a micro-ring resonator-based phase modulator integrated with few-layer MoS2. The ionic liquid is employed directly on the surface of MoS2 to form a capacitor configuration. The effective index of the composite MoS2–SiN waveguide can be modulated via adjusting bias voltages to achieve different charged doping induced electro-refractive responses in MoS2 film. The maximum effective index modulation of the composite MoS2–SiN waveguide can be achieved to 0.45×10-3. The phase tuning efficiency is measured to be 29.42 pm/V, corresponding to a VπL of 0.69 V·cm. Since the micro-ring resonator is designed near the critical coupling regime, the coupling condition between the bus waveguide and micro-ring resonator can also be engineered from under-coupling to over-coupling regime during the charged doping process. That can be involved as a degree of freedom for the coupling tailoring. The ability to modulate the effective index with two-dimensional materials and the robust nature of the heterostructure integrated phase modulator could be useful for engineering reliable ultra-compact and low-power-consumption integrated photonic devices.

Cylindrical vector beams (CVBs), with non-uniform state of polarizations, have become an indispensable tool in many areas of science and technology. However, little research has explored high power CVBs at the femtosecond regime. In this paper, we report on the generation of high quality CVBs with high peak power and femtosecond pulse duration in a fiber chirped-pulse amplification laser system. The radially (azimuthally) polarized vector beam has been obtained with a pulse duration of 440 fs (430 fs) and a maximum average output power of 20.36 W (20.12 W). The maximum output pulse energy is ∼20μJ at a repetition rate of 1 MHz, corresponding to a high peak power of ∼46MW. The comparison between simulated intensity profiles and measured experimental results suggests that the generated CVBs have a remarkable intensity distribution. The proposed configuration of our laser system provides a promising solution for high quality CVBs generation with the characteristics of high peak power, ultrashort pulse duration, and high mode purity.

We report on a mid-infrared fiber laser that uses a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber mirror to realize the mode-locking operation. The laser generates 3.5 µm ultra-short pulses from an erbium-doped fluoride fiber by utilizing a dual-wavelength pumping scheme. Stable mode-locking is achieved at the 3.5 µm band with a repetition rate of 25.2 MHz. The maximum average power acquired from the laser in the mode-locking regime is 25 mW. The experimental results indicate that the carbon nanotube is an effective saturable absorber for mode-locking in the mid-infrared spectral region.

中红外波段覆盖重要的分子吸收区与多个大气透射窗口，该波段的超快激光器在多个领域具有广泛应用。基于光纤的中红外超快激光器近年来在激光发射与传输、超快脉冲产生与应用等方面发展迅速，为中红外波段超快激光开辟了新的研究手段与应用领域。综述了近十年来中红外超快光纤激光器的发展概况，介绍了近年来中红外波段的激光传输与增益手段。其中，重点回顾了近年来中红外超快脉冲产生技术的研究进展及其代表性工作，包括非线性偏振旋转、可饱和吸收体以及频移反馈锁模技术。此外，还介绍了中红外超快脉冲的压缩放大技术与超连续谱产生应用。最后讨论并总结了中红外超快光纤激光器面临的挑战与可能的发展方向。