Self-phase modulation compensation in a regenerative amplifier using cascaded second-order nonlinearities.

ABSTRACT

Self-phase modulation limits the amplification of short optical pulses because of spatial self-focusing and spectral broadening. Cascaded nonlinearities are theoretically and experimentally investigated for intracavity nonlinearity compensation in a neodymium-doped yttrium-lithium-fluoride (NdYLF) regenerative amplifier. Experimental results are in good agreement with simulations. Spectral broadening is significantly reduced, allowing for efficient amplification in a NdYLF power amplifier.