Abstract

Self-focusing has recently been used for fast saturable absorber mode locking and femtosecond pulse generation in Ti:Al₂O₃ lasers. We describe the operation, design, and optimization of self-focusing loss modulators for mode locking. A new formalism is developed that simplifies the treatment of self-focusing in thick nonlinear media by using a simple transform of the complex Gaussian beam parameter. Theoretical predictions are confirmed by experimental measurements.

© 1992 Optical Society of America

Self-mode-locking of Ti:sapphire lasers: a matrix formalism

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