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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Sciences and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2022) | Viewed by 34058

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Prof. Dr. Zhenxu Bai

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Guest Editor

Center for Advanced Laser Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China
Interests: solid-state laser; nonlinear frequency conversion; Brillouin laser; Raman laser; high-power laser
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Qiang Wu

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Guest Editor

School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
Interests: ultrafast photonics; ultrafast optics; terahertz phonon polariton; femtosecond laser hyperdoping

Dr. Quan Sheng

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Guest Editor

School of Precision Instruments and Optoelectronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Interests: solid-state laser; Raman laser; single-frequency fiber laser
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are inviting submissions to the Special Issue on Application of Surface Laser Technologies.

Since the invention in 1960, laser technology plays a pivotal role in modern society, meanwhile, the rapid development of lasers has injected new vitality into the research of nonlinear optics. In recent decades, the continuously emerging optical materials, modulation technology, amplification technology, nonlinear frequency conversion technology, have greatly improved the power and coherence of lasers, compressed the time scale of laser pulses, and expanded the wavelength coverage. At present, laser and nonlinear optics technologies enable technological progress in several fields including quantum optics, manufacturing, space exploration, Lidar, optical signal processing. Furthermore, all of these technologies are nowadays providing fundamental analysis tools in high-end scientific research, such as optical frequency comb, microimaging, etc., in addition, have also gone into everyday consumer products, such as displays, sensors, etc.

In this Special Issue, we invite submissions exploring cutting-edge research and recent advances in the fields of Lasers Technology and Nonlinear Optics. Both theoretical and experimental studies (including applications) are welcome, as well as comprehensive review papers.

Prof. Dr. Zhenxu Bai
Prof. Dr. Qiang Wu
Dr. Quan Sheng
Guest Editors

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Keywords

laser technology
nonlinear optics
ultrafast optics
photonics
terahertz technology
laser processing
laser spectroscopy
laser lidar
laser sensing
Raman/Brillouin laser

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 21923 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

High Repetition Rate, TEM₀₀ Mode, Compact Sub-Nanosecond 532 nm Laser

by Dongdong Meng, Tianqi Wang, Mi Zhou, Zhanduo Qiao, Xiaolong Liu and Zhongwei Fan

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(9), 4428; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12094428 - 27 Apr 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1904

Abstract

As a critical transmitter, compact 532 nm lasers operating on high repetition and short pulse widths have been used widely for airborne or space-borne laser active remote sensing. We developed a free space pumped TEM₀₀ mode sub-nanosecond 532 nm laser that occupied a volume of less than 125 mm × 50 mm × 40 mm (0.25 L). The fundamental 1064 nm laser consists of a passively Q-switched composite crystal microchip laser and an off-axis, two-pass power amplifier. The pump sources were two single-emitter semiconductor laser diodes (LD) with 808 nm wavelengths and a maximum continuous wave (CW) power of 10 W each. The average power of the fundamental 1064 nm laser was 1.26 W, with the laser operating at 16 kHz repetition rates and 857 ps pulse widths. Since the beam distortion would be severe in microchip lasers due to the increase in heat load, in order to obtain a high beam quality of 532 nm, the beam distortion in our experiment amplifying the fundamental laser was compensated by adjusting the distribution of the pumping beam. Furthermore, in the critical phase matching (CPM) regime for the second harmonic generation (SHG), a Type I LiB₃O₅ (LBO) crystal obtained 770 ps, a beam quality of M² < 1.2, and a 16 kHz pulse output at 532 nm, which was better than 0.6 W average power. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technologies and Nonlinear Optics in Surface Sciences)

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14 pages, 4264 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Concentration Dependent Improved Spectroscopic Characteristics and Near White Light Emission in Boro Phosphate Glasses Doped with Holmium

by Sajid Ali Ansari, Mohammad Omaish Ansari, Ahmed Alshahrie, Mohammad Shahadat, Nazish Parveen, Reem Darwesh and Samia Faisal Aboushoushah

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(5), 2632; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12052632 - 3 Mar 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2006

Abstract

The physical, structural, thermal, and optical properties of heavy metal (Ho³⁺) oxide incorporated lithium-boro-phosphate glass prepared utilizing melt quenching process are presented in this paper as a function of dopant concentration. To support the findings of the FTIR and DSC studies, many theoretical, experimental, physical, and optical parameters were calculated. XRD and FTIR measurements revealed the prepared glasses’ amorphous nature and the presence of significant borate functional groups. The optical band gap, Urbach energy, and steepness characteristics were tested to validate the structural results. The emission spectrums were recorded in the prepared glasses for an excitation of 450 and 550 nm to find powerful emission color. The color co-ordinates (0.33, 0.41) were found to be quite comparable to white light color co-ordinates. The present glasses can, therefore, be ideal candidates for possible applications with light-emitting diodes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technologies and Nonlinear Optics in Surface Sciences)

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10 pages, 3128 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design Study of a Large-Angle Optical Scanning System for MEMS LIDAR

by Yajun Pang, Kai Zhang, Zhenxu Bai, Youchun Sun and Meiling Yao

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(3), 1283; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12031283 - 25 Jan 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4189

Abstract

MEMS-based LIDAR has the advantages of fast-scanning, simple structure, small volume, and light weight, which make it a hot topic for 3D imaging. In order to overcome the limited scanning angle of the current MEMS mirrors, a large angle MEMS-based optical scanning system was designed using telephoto structure. In this design an f-θ lens group is used for flat field scanning and a symmetrical cemented lens group is used for angle expansion. The principle of this system is discussed in detail and an optical design is implemented by ZEMAX software. The designed system realized a scanning angle as large as 57° and is in excellent linear relation with the tilt angle of the MEMS mirror. At the target distance of 100 m, the maximum RMS radius of the light spot is only 7 cm. This optical scanning system shows a significant application potentiality for 3D imaging LIDAR. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technologies and Nonlinear Optics in Surface Sciences)

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10 pages, 1697 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

A Method for Correcting the Interference of Overlapping Absorption Lines Using Second Harmonic Spectral Reconstruction

by Yue Hou and Kejin Huang

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(1), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12010073 - 22 Dec 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2670

Abstract

The measurement accuracy of trace gas detection based on infrared absorption spectroscopy is influenced by the overlap of absorption lines. A method for correcting the interference of overlapping absorption lines using second harmonic spectral reconstruction (2f-SR) is proposed to improve the measurement accuracy. 2f-SR includes three parts: measurement of gas temperature and use of the differences in temperature characteristics of absorption lines to correct the temperature error, 2f signal restoration based on laser characteristics to eliminate the influence of waveform change on overlapping absorption lines, and fast multi-peak fitting for the separation of interference from overlapping absorption lines. The CH₄ measurement accuracy based on overlapping absorption lines is better than 0.8% using 2f-SR. 2f-SR has a lower minimum detection limit (MDL) and a higher detection accuracy than the separation of overlapping absorption lines based on the direct absorption method. The MDL is reduced by two to three orders of magnitude and reaches the part per million by volume level. 2f-SR has clear advantages for correcting the interference of overlapping absorption lines in terms of both MDL and measurement accuracy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technologies and Nonlinear Optics in Surface Sciences)

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9 pages, 2359 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Frequency-Tunable Pulsed Microwave Waveform Generation Based on Unbalanced Single-Arm Interferometer Excited by Near-Infrared Femtosecond Laser

by Xing Jia, Longhuang Tang, Shenggang Liu, Heli Ma, Tianjiong Tao, Long Chen, Jian Wu, Chengjun Li, Xiang Wang, Linwen Zhang and Jidong Weng

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(24), 11928; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112411928 - 15 Dec 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1707

Abstract

Femtosecond laser-excited generation of frequency-tunable microwave pulses, based on an unbalanced single-arm interferometer with frequency-to-time mapping, has been proposed and demonstrated with easy-to-obtain commercial devices. The optical wave-to-microwave frequency conversion, which involves continuous tuning in the range from 2.0 GHz to 19.7 GHz, was achieved based on simple spatial–optical group delay adjustment. Additionally, the pulse duration of the microwave waveform was measured to be 24 ns as the length of the linear dispersion optical fiber was fixed at 20 km. In addition, owing to the designs of the single-arm optical path and polarization-independent interference, the generated microwave pulse train had better stability in terms of frequency and electrical amplitude. Furthermore, a near-triangular-shaped microwave pulse at 4.5 GHz was experimentally obtained by the superposition of two generated sinusoidal signals, which verified the potential of this system to synthesize special microwave waveform pulses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technologies and Nonlinear Optics in Surface Sciences)

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12 pages, 5081 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characteristics of Collimators Based on the Large-Mode-Area CMCF for Coupling Laser Beam

by Xuran Zhang, Xiao Liang, Zhenxu Bai, Shuo Liu, Zhaoxin Geng and Tianhe Yin

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(24), 11604; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112411604 - 7 Dec 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3053

Abstract

A new collimator based on a homemade concentric multilayer-core fiber (CMCF) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. This collimator was fabricated using a tail fiber with large mode area and single-mode operation. By exploiting the optical transmission matrix, the propagation characteristic and coupling mechanism of this CMCF-based collimator was introduced meticulously. The coupling losses of the laser beam using this collimator in the off-axis, angular, and axial deviations were analyzed separately. In order to determine the relationship between the geometric redundancy of this collimator and the effective mode field area of the tail fiber, the corresponding mathematical model was established. Through model calculation and experiment measurement, the coupling properties of the collimator were improved effectively. Compared with the common SMF-based collimator, the declination redundancy of the CMCF-based one improved by 20%, which could make the coupling of the optical fiber collimator easier. Therefore, this collimator has potential application value in the laser diode coupling unit and high-speed optical communication system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technologies and Nonlinear Optics in Surface Sciences)

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11 pages, 3126 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Yb-ASE Suppression in Single-Frequency Hybrid Double Cladding Erbium–Ytterbium Co-Doped Fiber Amplifier with SMS Structure

by Xiaolei Bai, Meng Wang, Yuxing Yang, Zhiguo Lv and Weiguo Jia

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(19), 9334; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11199334 - 8 Oct 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2760

Abstract

A hybrid double cladding erbium–ytterbium co-doped fiber (EYDF) amplifier with a single-mode-multimode-single-mode (SMS) active fiber is demonstrated in this study. The hybrid gain fiber with an SMS structure is composed of two kinds of EYDFs with 6 and 12 μm core diameters. The transmission spectra of the SMS fiber structure were theoretically analyzed and the simulation results indicated that the maximum loss in the 1~1.1 μm band where the Yb-band amplified spontaneous emission (Yb-ASE) located, was much larger than that of the 1.5-μm band because of the wavelength difference. The power performance and spectra properties of the hybrid fiber amplifier were theoretically and experimentally analyzed and compared with a typical uniform fiber amplifier under the same conditions. The experimental results demonstrated that this hybrid fiber amplifier can suppress the Yb-ASE by over 12 dB and increase the slope efficiency by more than 2%, but the ASE in the 1.5-μm band increases by 2~3 dB. This work provides a possible method to enable EYDF amplifiers to suppress the Yb-ASE and overcome the pump bottleneck effect. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technologies and Nonlinear Optics in Surface Sciences)

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10 pages, 1994 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Tailorable Brillouin Light Scattering in a Lithium Niobate Waveguide

by Wuyue Wang, Yu Yu, Yunfei Li, Zhenxu Bai, Gong Wang, Kai Li, Changyu Song, Zhiyong Wang, Sensen Li, Yulei Wang, Zhiwei Lu, Yuhai Li, Tongyu Liu and Xiusheng Yan

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(18), 8390; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11188390 - 10 Sep 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2888

Abstract

Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) lasers based on silicon waveguides with large SBS gain have been widely used in frequency tunable laser emissions, mode-locked pulse lasers, low-noise oscillators, optical gyroscopes and other fields. However, among SBS lasers, the realization of Brillouin laser output often requires a longer waveguide length, which not only increases waveguide loss but also increase the size of the device. As a new medium, lithium niobate has been fabricated into a new type of hybrid structure. Meanwhile, the width of a suspended waveguide is adjusted to tune the phonon frequency of an SBS laser based on lithium niobate substrate. Simulation results show that the tunable forward SBS effect is realized in a lithium niobate-suspended optical waveguide, showing a larger forward stimulated Brillouin scattering gain of 0.31 W⁻¹m⁻¹. The tunable phonon frequency ranges from 1 to 15 GHz. Therefore, utilizing the photon–phonon conversion effect, the waveguide system with LiNbO₃ will pave a new way forward with better integration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technologies and Nonlinear Optics in Surface Sciences)

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10 pages, 5501 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Behavior of Generated Gas during Femtosecond Laser Lens Irradiation in Porcine Cadaver Eyes

by Yoichiro Masuda, Kotaro Oki, Akira Watanabe, Makiko Ohkido, Hisaharu Iwaki, Takuya Shiba and Tadashi Nakano

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(17), 8247; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11178247 - 6 Sep 2021

Viewed by 1845

Abstract

(1) Background: We investigated the behavior of gas inside a lens and its influence on the lens capsule, which may cause complications by lens irradiation with a femtosecond laser cataract surgery device. (2) Methods: The crystalline lenses of 6-month-old porcine cadaver eyes were observed during laser irradiation. An intraocular endoscope in the vitreous cavity was used to measure the posterior capsule position. Optical coherence tomography measurements of the anterior chamber depth before and after the laser irradiation, as well as measurements of the equatorial perimeter of the extracted lens, were compared with those of the controls. (3) Results: Femtosecond laser-generated gas in the porcine lens was dependent on laser irradiation energy. Increases in the amount of laser irradiation energy caused the generated gas to coalesce, move backwards beyond the laser irradiation site, and expand the lens capsule and posterior capsule. (4) Conclusions: The present results suggest that laser irradiation-induced gas moves in the direction of the posterior capsule beyond the lens irradiation site and expands the lens capsule, which may be involved in the development of capsular block syndrome. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technologies and Nonlinear Optics in Surface Sciences)

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Review

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15 pages, 2613 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Development of High-Energy Short-Pulse Lasers with Cryogenically Cooled Yb:YAG

by Yuan Sui, Mingheng Yuan, Zhenao Bai and Zhongwei Fan

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(8), 3711; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12083711 - 7 Apr 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3133

Abstract

High-power solid-state lasers are among the hot research directions at the forefront of laser research and have major applications in industrial processing, laser-confined nuclear fusion, and high-energy particle sources. In this paper, the properties of Yb:YAG and Nd:YAG crystals as gain media for high-power solid-state lasers were briefly compared, according to the results of which Yb:YAG crystals are more suitable for high-power applications. Then, the effects of the thermodynamic and spectral properties of Yb:YAG crystals with temperature were analyzed in detail, and it was shown that the laser beams amplified by the cryogenically cooled Yb:YAG crystals could have higher beam quality, higher pump absorption efficiency, lower pump threshold, and higher gain. The change in properties of Yb:YAG crystal at low temperature makes it more suitable as a gain medium for high-power lasers. Subsequently, two types of kilowatt-class lasers using cryogenically cooled Yb:YAG crystals as gain media are introduced—100 J, 10 Hz nanosecond lasers and 1 J, 1 kHz picosecond lasers. Their configuration, main parameters, and typical output results were analyzed. Finally, future directions in the development of cryogenically cooled Yb:YAG lasers are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technologies and Nonlinear Optics in Surface Sciences)

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18 pages, 3937 KiB

Open AccessReview

Vector Optical Beam with Controllable Variation of Polarization during Propagation in Free Space: A Review

by Wen-Yue Wang, Tian-Yu Cheng, Zhen-Xu Bai, Shuo Liu and Jia-Qi Lü

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(22), 10664; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112210664 - 12 Nov 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2515

Abstract

The vector optical beam with longitudinally varying polarization during propagation in free space has attracted significant attention in recent years. Compared with traditional vector optical beams with inhomogeneous distribution of polarization in the transverse plane, manipulating the longitudinal distribution of polarization provides a new dimension for the expansion of the applications of vector optical beams in volume laser machining, longitudinal detection, and in vivo micromanipulation. Two theoretical strategies for achieving this unique optical beam are presented in the way of constructing the longitudinally varying phase difference and amplitude difference. Relevant generation methods are reviewed which can be divided into the modulation of complex amplitude in real space and the filtering of the spatial spectrum. In addition, current problems and prospects for vector optical beams with longitudinally varying polarization are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technologies and Nonlinear Optics in Surface Sciences)

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Other

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19 pages, 77342 KiB

Open AccessTechnical Note

Developments of Space Debris Laser Ranging Technology Including the Applications of Picosecond Lasers

by Haifeng Zhang, Mingliang Long, Huarong Deng, Shaoyu Cheng, Zhibo Wu, Zhongping Zhang, Ali Zhang and Jiantao Sun

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(21), 10080; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112110080 - 27 Oct 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3812

Abstract

Debris laser ranging (DLR) is receiving considerable attention as an accurate and effective method of determining and predicting the orbits of space debris. This paper reports some technologies of DLR, such as the high pulse repetition frequency (PRF) laser pulse, large-aperture telescope, telescope array, multi-static stations receiving signals. DLR with a picosecond laser at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory is also presented. A few hundred laps of space debris laser-ranging measurements have been made. A double-pulse picosecond laser with an average power of 4.2 W, a PRF of 1 kHz, and a wavelength of 532 nm has been implemented successfully in DLR, it’s the first time that DLR technology has reached a ranging precision at the sub-decimeter level. In addition, the characteristics of the picosecond-pulse-width laser transmission with the advantages of transmission in laser ranging were analyzed. With a mode of the pulse-burst picosecond laser having high average power, the DLR system has tracked small debris with a radar cross-section (RCS) of 0.91 m² at a ranging distance up to 1726.8 km, corresponding to an RCS of 0.1 m² at a distance of 1000 km. These works are expected to provide new technologies to further improve the performance of DLR. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technologies and Nonlinear Optics in Surface Sciences)

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