All-fiber widely tunable ultrafast laser source for multimodal imaging in nonlinear microscopy.

In this Letter, we present an all-fiber, easy-to-use, wavelength-tunable, ultrafast laser, based on soliton self-frequency shifting in an Er-doped polarization-maintaining very large mode area fiber. The system is tunable over 370 nm, starting at 1620 nm, with an average power of up to 1.5 W that emits 120 fs short laser pulses directly out of the fusion-spliced fiber without using bulky pulse compression optics. The output is subsequently frequency doubled to a wavelength range covering 810 nm up to almost 1000 nm with more than 500 mW average power and 120 fs pulse width. Having a polarization extinction ratio better than 40 dB and a M2 of 1.1, the fully computer-controlled laser system presents a robust and compact laser source. These parameters make the laser perfectly suited for multimodal imaging in nonlinear microscopy.

Self-frequency-shifted solitons in a polarization-maintaining, very-large-mode area, Er-doped fiber amplifier.

We demonstrate soliton self-frequency-shifted, femtosecond-pulse amplification in a newly-developed, polarization-maintaining, Er-doped, very-large-mode-area fiber amplifier. The PM-VLMA Er fiber had a core diameter of 50 µm, an effective area of ~1050 µm2, and Er absorption of 50 dB/m. The measured birefringence beat length of the PM-VLMA Er fiber was 14.1 mm. The soliton wavelength could be shifted by more than 90 nm. The soliton generation process resulted in remarkably clean, 86 fs pulses with 21 nJ energy at 1650 nm and 244 kW peak power from an all-fiber, fusion spliced system without bulk-optics for pulse compression. The polarization extinction ratio of the soliton was greater than 40 dB, and the M2 was 1.1. The fully polarization-maintaining fiber laser system provides robust and stable soliton generation. Peak-to-peak variation in the soliton wavelength, measured over the course of an hour was only 0.03% and pulse energy variation was only 0.5%.

High energy, 1572.3 nm pulses for CO2 LIDAR from a polarization-maintaining, very-large-mode-area, Er-doped fiber amplifier.

We demonstrate the first polarization-maintaining, very-large-mode-area, Er-doped fiber amplifier with ~1100 µm2 effective area. The amplifier is core pumped by a Raman fiber laser and is used to generate single-frequency, one-microsecond, pulses with pulse energy of 541 µJ, peak power of 700 W, M2 of 1.1, and polarization extinction > 20 dB. The amplifier operates at 1572.3 nm, a wavelength useful for trace atmospheric CO2 detection.

Antibacterial effects of conventional glass ionomer cement.

OBJECTIVES: The antibacterial activity of conventional glass ionomer cement against three different microorganism strains alone and following incorporation of 1, 2 and 3% Benzalkonium Chloride and Cetylpyridinium Chloride was evaluated. METHODS: Agar diffusion method was used to determine the inhibitory effect of the conventional glass ionomer cement ChemFlex on Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus casei and Actinomyces viscosus. Bacterial strains were inoculated into BHIB, and incubated in an anaerobic atmosphere (37 °C). From the bacteria grown in the liquid medium, the density of the inoculum was set to be equivalent to McFarland 2 standard. In Shaedler agar, 350 µL of the bacterial suspension were equally spread. Specimens (4 mm × 6 mm) were prepared from the cement without and with addition of 1, 2 and 3% Benzalkonium Chloride and Cetylpyridinium Chloride. The inhibition zones were determined after 48 hours, after 2, 7 and 21 days of incubation. RESULTS: The combination ChemFlex + Benzalkonium Chloride has the best effect on the three analysed bacteria. The Benzalkonium Chloride antibacterial compound has a stronger antibacterial effect than Cetylpyridinium Chloride. CONCLUSIONS: Glass ionomer cements can potentially be used as a medium for slow release of active antimicrobial components, and they have the potential to improve clinical outcomes of the cements (Tab. 3, Fig. 3, Ref. 31).

Axicons for mode conversion in high peak power, higher-order mode, fiber amplifiers.

Higher-order mode fiber amplifiers have demonstrated effective areas as large as 6000 µm2, allowing for high pulse energy and peak power amplification. Long-period gratings are used to convert the fundamental mode to the higher-order mode at the entrance to the amplifier, and reconvert back to the fundamental at the exit, to achieve a diffraction limited beam. However, long period gratings are susceptible to nonlinearity at high peak power. In this work, we propose and demonstrate axicons for linear bulk-optic mode conversion at the output of higher order mode amplifiers. We achieve an M2 of less than 1.25 for 80% mode conversion efficiency. Experiments with pulsed amplifiers confirm that the mode conversion is free from nonlinearity. Furthermore, chirp pulse amplifier experiments confirm that HOM amplifiers plus axicon mode convertors provide energy scalability in femtosecond pulses, compared to smaller effective area, fundamental mode fiber amplifiers. We also propose and demonstrate a route towards fiber integration of the axicon mode convertor by fabricating axicons directly on the tip of the fiber amplifier end-cap.

Measuring higher-order modes in a low-loss, hollow-core, photonic-bandgap fiber.

We perform detailed measurements of the higher-order-mode content of a low-loss, hollow-core, photonic-bandgap fiber. Mode content is characterized using Spatially and Spectrally resolved (S2) imaging, revealing a variety of phenomena. Discrete mode scattering to core-guided modes are measured at small relative group-delays. At large group delays a continuum of surface modes and core-guided modes can be observed. The LP11 mode is observed to split into four different group delays with different orientations, with the relative orientations preserved as the mode propagates through the fiber. Cutback measurements allow for quantification of the loss of different individual modes. The behavior of the modes in the low loss region of the fiber is compared to that in a high loss region of the fiber. Finally, a new measurement technique is introduced, the sliding-window Fourier transform of high-resolution transmission spectra of hollow-core fibers, which displays the dependence of HOM content on both wavelength and group delay. This measurement is used to illustrate the HOM content as function of coil diameter.

Scaling the effective area of higher-order-mode erbium-doped fiber amplifiers.

We demonstrate scaling of the effective area of higher-order mode, Er-doped fiber amplifiers. Two Er-doped higher-order mode fibers, one with 3800 µm(2) A(eff) in the LP(0,11) mode, and one with 6000 µm(2) effective area in the LP(0,14) mode, are demonstrated. Output beam profiles show clean higher order modes, and S(2) imaging measurements show low extraneous higher order mode content. CW and pulsed amplifier experiments are reported. Nanosecond pulses are amplified to 0.5 mJ pulse energy with 0.5 MW peak power.

Direct-comb molecular spectroscopy with accurate, resolved comb teeth over 43 THz.

We demonstrate a dual-comb spectrometer using stabilized frequency combs spanning 177 to 220 THz (1360 to 1690 nm) in the near infrared. Comb-tooth-resolved measurements of amplitude and phase generate over 4×10(5) individually resolved spectral elements at 100 MHz point spacing and kilohertz-level resolution and accuracy. The signal-to-noise ratio is 100 to 3000 per comb tooth. Doppler-broadened phase and amplitude spectra of CO(2), CH(4), C(2)H(2), and H(2)O in a 30 m multipass cell agree with established spectral parameters, achieving high-resolution measurements with optical bandwidth generally associated with blackbody sources.

In Vitro Evaluation of the Stabilization Time of Chemical Bonds During Setting Reaction and Microhardness of Preheated Glass-Ionomer Cements.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of preheating glass-ionomer cement (GIC) restorative materials on stabilization time (ST) of their metal carboxylate bonds and on microhardness. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Two conventional high-viscosity GICs, Ketac Universal (3M ESPE) and Equia Forte (GC), were evaluated. The thermographic camera was used to measure the temperature inside the glass-ionomer cement capsules before and after heating. The preheating of capsules was performed at 54°C for 30 seconds in a commercial device. Characterization of ST in the GICs was determined by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. For this, 10 samples of each material were prepared, five in the non-preheated group (control) and five with preheating. FTIR spectra were obtained 10 minutes after mixing (control group) or after heating and then every 10 minutes for 120 minutes. For the microhardness test, 20 cylindrical specimens (3 mm height x 6 mm diameter) were prepared for each material (10 preheated, 10 control). The microhardness was determined at three time intervals: 10 minutes after mixing, after the ST as detected through the FTIR part of the study, and after one week. Knoop microhardness was assessed using a diamond indenter with a 25 g load and 15 seconds dwell time. RESULTS: Ketac Universal showed an increase in temperatures of 15.7°C for powder and 3.6°C for liquid, while Equia Forte showed 16.4°C for powder and 8.5°C for liquid. FTIR spectra indicated that preheating reduced the ST for Equia Forte but increased it for Ketac Universal. Preheating increased the initial microhardness (T1) of Equia Forte. With maturation over one week, it was observed that preheating significantly improved the microhardness of both materials compared with the control specimens. CONCLUSION: Preheating influenced the ST and the microhardness of Ketac Universal and Equia Forte. The ST and microhardness of Ketac Universal increased after seven days, whereas Equia Forte showed a reduced ST and increased microhardness from the outset.

A higher-order-mode erbium-doped-fiber amplifier.

We demonstrate the first erbium-doped fiber amplifier operating in a single, large-mode area, higher-order mode. A high-power, fundamental-mode, Raman fiber laser operating at 1480 nm was used as a pump source. Using a UV-written, long-period grating, both pump and 1564 nm signal were converted to the LP(0,10) mode, which had an effective area of 2700 microm(2) at 1550 nm. A maximum output power of 5.8 W at 1564 nm with more than 20 dB of gain in a 2.68 m long amplifier was obtained. The mode profile was undistorted at the highest output power.

Raman fiber laser with 81 W output power at 1480 nm.

We demonstrate a Raman fiber laser with an operating wavelength of 1480 nm and record output power of 81 W. High-power operation is enabled by a long-period grating used to frustrate backward lasing at the Stokes wavelength in the Yb-doped fiber amplifier. A cascaded Raman fiber with a long-wavelength fundamental mode cutoff enables efficient multiple Stokes scattering from 1117 to 1480 nm while preventing further unwanted scattering to 1590 nm.

Spatially and spectrally resolved imaging of modal content in large-mode-area fibers.

A new measurement technique, capable of quantifying the number and type of modes propagating in large-mode-area fibers is both proposed and demonstrated. The measurement is based on both spatially and spectrally resolving the image of the output of the fiber under test. The measurement provides high quality images of the modes that can be used to identify the mode order, while at the same time returning the power levels of the higher-order modes relative to the fundamental mode. Alternatively the data can be used to provide statistics on the level of beam pointing instability and mode shape changes due to random uncontrolled fluctuations of the phases between the coherent modes propagating in the fiber. An added advantage of the measurement is that is requires no prior detailed knowledge of the fiber properties in order to identify the modes and quantify their relative power levels. Because of the coherent nature of the measurement, it is far more sensitive to changes in beam properties due to the mode content in the beam than is the more traditional M(2) measurement for characterizing beam quality. We refer to the measurement as Spatially and Spectrally resolved imaging of mode content in fibers, or more simply as S(2) imaging.

Diffraction limited amplification of picosecond pulses in 1170 microm2 effective area erbium fiber.

Robust fundamental mode propagation and amplification of picosecond pulses at 1.56 microm wavelength is demonstrated in a core-pumped Er fiber with 1170 microm2 effective area. Record peak power exceeding 120 kW, and 67 nJ pulse energy are achieved before the onset of pulse breakup. A small increase in input pulse energy results in a temporal collapse of the pulse center to 58 fs duration, with peak powers approaching 200 kW.

Water transport in resin-modified glass-ionomer dental cement.

Water uptake and water loss have been studied in a commercial resin-modified glass-ionomer cement, Fuji II LC, under a variety of conditions. Uptake was generally non-Fickian, but affected by temperature. At room temperature, the equilibrium water uptake values varied from 2.47 to 2.78% whereas at low temperature (12 degrees C), it varied from 0.85 to 1.18%. Cure time affected uptake values significantly. Water uptake was much lower than in conventional glass-ionomer restorative cements exposed to water vapor. Loss of water under desiccating conditions was found to be Fickian for the first 5 h loss at both 22 and 12 degrees C. Diffusion coefficients were between 0.45 and 0.76 x 10( -7) cm(2)/s, with low temperature diffusion coefficients slightly greater than those at room temperature. Plotting water loss as percentage versus s(-(1/2)) allowed activation energies to be determined from the Arrhenius equation and these were found to be 65.6, 79.8, and 7.7 kJ/mol respectively for 30, 20, and 10 s cure times. The overall conclusion is that the main advantage of incorporating HEMA into resin-modified-glass-ionomers is to alter water loss behavior. Rate of water loss and total amount lost are both reduced. Hence, resin-modified glass-ionomers are less sensitive to water loss than conventional glass-ionomers.

A passively-modelocked, Yb-doped, figure-eight, fiber laser utilizing anomalous-dispersion higher-order-mode fiber.

Modelocking in an Yb-doped figure-eight fiber laser is demonstrated utilizing anomalous dispersion from an LP(02) higher-order-mode fiber for dispersion management. Outside the laser cavity, the pulses were re-compressed to 95 fs using a second HOM module, the shortest demonstrated pulses to date from an Yb-doped figure-eight fiber laser. Operation of the laser with HOM fiber in the cavity is compared to an Yb figure-eight laser that utilizes all-normal dispersion fibers.

Optically driven deposition of single-walled carbon-nanotube saturable absorbers on optical fiber end-faces.

Optical radiation propagating in a fiber is used to deposit commercially available, single-walled carbon nanotubes on cleaved optical fiber end faces and fiber connectors. Thermophoresis caused by heating due to optical absorption is considered to be a likely candidate responsible for the deposition process. Single-walled carbon nanotubes have a fast saturable absorption over a broad wavelength range, and the demonstrated technique is an extremely simple and inexpensive method for making fiber-integrated, saturable absorbers for passive modelocking of fiber lasers. Pulse widths of 247 fs are demonstrated from an erbium-doped fiber laser operating at 1560 nm, and 137 fs pulses are demonstrated from an amplified Yb-doped fiber laser at 1070 nm.

Simultaneous direct amplification and compression of picosecond pulses to 65-kW peak power without pulse break-up in erbium fiber.

Picosecond pulses at 1.56 micro mm wavelength are directly amplified with a diffraction limited beam quality in a core-pumped Er fiber with an 875 micro m(2) effective area. The interplay between nonlinear spectral broadening and anomalous fiber dispersion compresses the input pulse duration during amplification so that 42 nJ energy pulses with approximately 65 kW peak power are achieved without pulse break-up.

Characterization of frequency noise on a broadband infrared frequency comb using optical heterodyne techniques.

We measure the frequency noise across a Cr:forsterite infrared frequency comb through the optical heterodyne beat of different comb teeth against stable continuous wave (CW) lasers. This sensitive measurement shows strong correlations of the frequency noise between spectral components of the comb, relative to a fixed optical frequency near the 1.3 micron carrier of the Cr:forsterite laser. The correlated frequency fluctuations are shown to arise from amplitude noise on the pump laser. We also report a preliminary comparison of excess noise that occurs during supercontinuum generation in both highly nonlinear fiber and an extruded glass microstructured fiber.

Perturbative approach to continuum generation in a fiber Bragg grating.

We derive a perturbative solution to the nonlinear Schrödinger equation to include the effect of a fiber Bragg grating whose bandgap is much smaller than the pulse bandwidth. The grating generates a slow dispersive wave which may be computed from an integral over the unperturbed solution if nonlinear interaction between the grating and unperturbed waves is negligible. Our approach allows rapid estimation of large grating continuum enhancement peaks from a single nonlinear simulation of the waveguide without grating. We apply our method to uniform and sampled gratings, finding good agreement with full nonlinear simulations, and qualitatively reproducing experimental results.

A polarization maintaining, dispersion managed, femtosecond figure-eight fiber laser.

We demonstrate a polarization maintaining, figure-eight erbium-doped fiber laser with a dispersion managed cavity. The laser was passively modelocked and produced pulses that were de-chirped to 427 fs pulses outside the laser cavity. An intra-cavity amplitude modulator was used to initiate the pulses, but the modulator was turned off during femtosecond pulse operation.