Hydrogen-like light muonic ions, in which one negative muon replaces all of the electrons, are extremely sensitive probes of nuclear structure. Using pulsed laser spectroscopy, we have measured three 2S-2P transitions in the muonic helium-3 (μ3He+) ion, an ion formed by a negative muon and bare helium-3 nucleus. This allowed us to extract the Lamb shift, the 2P fine structure splitting, and the 2S-hyperfine splitting in μ3He+. Comparing these measurements with theory, we determined the root-mean-square charge radius of the helion (3He nucleus) to be rh = 1.97007(94) fm, in good agreement with the value from elastic electron scattering but a factor 15 more accurate. Our results represent benchmarks for few-nucleon theories and open the way for precision quantum electrodynamics tests in He atoms and ions.

Space debris laser tracking is a versatile tool for mitigation of collision risks in low earth orbit. Thin Disk lasers are highly suitable to provide the required laser parameters. A transportable kW-class pulsed laser system was developed and tested. New Thin Disk concepts promise a more compact future system. Beyond monitoring, the Thin Disk can also be part of a ground-based laser debris removal system.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03360-2.

We report on a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror mode-locked thin-disk oscillator based on Yb:YAB delivering pulses with a duration of 462 fs at an average output power of 19.2 W and a pulse energy of 0.38 µJ.

A hybrid-system approach using a low-gain Yb:YAG single crystal booster amplifier behind a state-of-the-art industrial high-power femtosecond fiber system is studied to significantly increase the output pulse energy of the fiber amplifier. With this system, more than 60 W of average power is demonstrated at 100 kHz for pulse duration of 400 fs, corresponding to an energy per pulse of 600 µJ. Reducing the repetition rate, the energy is increased up to 2.5 mJ (before compression), which corresponds to the limitation due to laser damage threshold of the optical coatings. To scale further the energy, passive divided-pulse amplification is then implemented at the entrance of the bulk amplifier. Using this geometry, a safe nominal operating point is presented with output pulse energies of 3 mJ before and 2.3 mJ after compression and with a pulse duration of 520 fs, corresponding to a peak power of 4.4 GW.

We review the status of the proton charge radius puzzle. Emphasis is given to the various experiments initiated to resolve the conflict between the muonic hydrogen results and the results from scattering and regular hydrogen spectroscopy.

520fs, 2.3-mJ pulses are demonstrated in a Yb:YAG booster amplifier delivering peak powers up to 4.4GW. To avoid damage and nonlinear-effect issues, passive divided pulse amplification is studied for the first time for bulk-amplifier.

The need for ultra-short (sub-ps) pulsed laser systems with high power and high energy has advanced the mode-locked Ytterbium-doped thin-disk technology in the last decade. Therefore several research groups have made efforts to explore new laser crystals e.g. Yb:SSO, Yb:CAlGO or Yb:Lu2O3 for the generation of sub-500 fs pulses in thin-disk oscillators. Another promising and known candidate for ultra-short pulsed lasers is Yb:CaF2, which has been so far only used in bulk laser architecture. In this work, we present the first demonstration of a mode-locked Yb:CaF2 laser in thin-disk configuration. The resonator cavity was designed for eight passes through the disk per roundtrip at a repetition rate of 35 MHz. A saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) was used to obtain the soliton mode-locking. We achieved close-to transform-limited pulses with a pulse duration of less than 445 fs and an emission spectral width of 2.6 nm at FWHM (i.e. time-bandwidth product of 0.323). At the average output power of 6.6 W this corresponds to a peak-power of 430 kW and pulse energy of 190 nJ. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest average output power and pulse energy using Yb: CaF2 as gain material reported to date. Taking into account the dispersion, self-phase modulation, pulse energy, output coupling ratio and laser gain, the pulse-duration estimated from the soliton-equation and our numerical calculations of pulse-propagation is in good agreement with the pulse-duration obtained in the experiment. Higher powers and shorter pulse-durations with this material are the subject of our future investigations.

Laser spectroscopy of the Lamb shift (2S-2P energy difference) in light muonic atoms or ions, in which one negative muon $\mu^-$ is bound to a nucleus, has been performed. The measurements yield significantly improved values of the root-mean-square charge radii of the nuclei, owing to the large muon mass, which results in a vastly increased muon wave function overlap with the nucleus. The values of the proton and deuteron radii are 10 and 3 times more accurate than the respective CODATA values, but 7 standard deviations smaller. Data on muonic helium-3 and -4 ions is being analyzed and will give new insights. In future, the (magnetic) Zemach radii of the proton and the helium-3 nuclei will be determined from laser spectroscopy of the 1S hyperfine splittings, and the Lamb shifts of muonic Li, Be and B can be used to improve the respective charge radii.

In the context of the Lamb shift measurement in muonic helium [1,2,3,4] we developed a thin-disk laser composed of a Q-switched oscillator and a multi-pass amplifier delivering pulses of 150 mJ at a pulse duration of 100 ns. Its peculiar requirements are stochastic trigger and short delay time (< 500 ns) between trigger and optical output [5]. The concept of the thin-disk laser allows for energy and power scaling with high efficiency. However the single pass gain is small (about 1.2). Hence a multi-pass scheme with precise mode matching for large beam waists (w = 2 mm) is required. Instead of using the standard 4f design, we have developed a multi-pass amplifier with a beam propagation insensitive to thermal lens effects and misalignments. The beam propagation is equivalent to multiple roundtrips in an optically stable resonator. To support the propagation we used an array of 2 x 8 individually adjustable plane mirrors. Astigmatism has been minimized by a compact mirror placement. Precise alignment of the kinematic array was realized using our own mirror mount design. A small signal gain of 5 for 8 passes at a pump power of 400 W was reached. The laser was running for more than 3 months without the need of realignment. Pointing stability studies is also reported here.

Avalanche photodiodes are commonly used as detectors for low energy x-rays. In this work, we report on a fitting technique used to account for different detector responses resulting from photoabsorption in the various avalanche photodiode layers. The use of this technique results in an improvement of the energy resolution at 8.2 keV by up to a factor of 2 and corrects the timing information by up to 25 ns to account for space dependent electron drift time. In addition, this waveform analysis is used for particle identification, e.g., to distinguish between x-rays and MeV electrons in our experiment.

CW laser operations of thin-disk lasers with Lu-based oxide ceramics are reported. An output power of 166 W and a slope efficiency of 72.2% were obtained with an Yb:LuAG ceramic disk. We have also successfully demonstrated thin-disk lasers with Yb:Lu2O3 ceramics which were bonded by our soldering and gluing techniques. Slope efficiencies of 60.6% and 55.6% were obtained from a soldered disk and a glued disk, respectively. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America

We report on the first demonstration of a passively (SESAM) mode-locked Yb:CaF(2) thin-disk laser operating at a repetition rate of 35 MHz with close to diffraction-limited beam quality (M(2) ≈ 1.1) at an average output power of up to 6.6 W. The optical efficiency was 15.3%. Nearly transform limited pulses with a duration of 445 fs and a spectral width of 2.6 nm at full width half maximum (FWHM) were obtained at the maximum output power. This corresponds to a pulse-energy of approximately 0.19 μJ and a peak-power of 0.4 MW.

Yb:LuAG ceramic is very promising for thin-disk laser and amplifier architectures since it exhibits a higher thermal conductivity at high doping concentrations and a larger emission cross section than Yb:YAG. In this Letter, we present what we believe to be the first demonstration of a thin-disk laser based on Yb:LuAG ceramic. A maximum output power of 101 W with an optical efficiency of 56% and a slope efficiency of 64% was obtained with a multimode laser resonator. Fundamental-mode laser operation with near diffraction limited beam quality (M2≈1.22) was also achieved. The fundamental-mode laser resonator showed the output power of 49 W, an optical efficiency of 31%, and a slope efficiency of 44%. A linearly polarized output beam was demonstrated in multimode operation using an intracavity Brewster window. The depolarization loss was measured to be as low as 0.15% per round trip.

Get PDF Email Share Share with Facebook Tweet This Post on reddit Share with LinkedIn Add to CiteULike Add to Mendeley Add to BibSonomy Get Citation Copy Citation Text J. Negel, S. Piehler, B. Weichelt, K. Wentsch, A. Loescher, B. Dannecker, M. Eckerle, M. Rumpel, J. Wolter, A. Voss, T. Graf, and M. A. Ahmed, "Recent progress in thin-disk lasers based on various Yb-doped materials," in Advanced Solid State Lasers, OSA Technical Digest (online) (Optica Publishing Group, 2014), paper AM2A.1. Export Citation BibTex Endnote (RIS) HTML Plain Text Citation alert Save article

Results on high-power oscillators based on Yb:CALGO in thindisk architecture are presented, in fs regime, 28W, 1.3μJ, 300 fs pulses and 20W, 0.9μJ, 197 fs pulses and in cw multimode regime 152W.

First laser oscillation of Yb3+-doped Lu3Al5O12 ceramic thin-disk laser is demonstrated. Maximum output power of 101 W was obtained from a 300-μm thick disk and 55% slope efficiency was obtained from a 150-μm thick disk.

We report on a thin-disk laser comprised of a Q-switched oscillator and a multi-pass amplifier delivering pulses of 150 mJ. Its peculiar requirements are stochastic trigger and short delay time (< 500 ns) between trigger and optical output.