Features

• Octave-Spanning Spectral Bandwidth
• Temperature and Environmentally Stabilized Housing
• Robust Design with Compact Footprint
• Numeric Readout of Key Optic Positions
• Utilizes Unique Octave-Spanning Mirror Pair

The Octavius series of ultrafast lasers is manufactured by Thorlabs' strategic partner Idesta Quantum Electronics. These lasers provide an octave-spanning spectrum at a repetition rate of 1 GHz (Item # OCTAVIUS-1G) or 85 MHz (Item # OCTAVIUS-85M). The octave-spanning spectrum allows for carrier offset frequency stabilization without external spectral broadening. The high repetition rate is useful for high cycling pump-probe experiments and frequency comb applications. Additional applications include biological probing and imaging. The 85 MHz version is most suited for amplifier seeding, particularly in optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers (OPCPA) and attosecond pulse generation.

Technology

Output Spectrum for Octavius-1G

These laser cavities incorporate Dispersive Octave-Spanning Mirror Pairs, which are required for group delay control with high precision over an octave-wide bandwidth. The design of these unique mirror pairs features more than 100 individual layers, which guarantees smooth and well-behaved dispersion management. The spectral bandwidth required to provide such short pulses is greater than the gain spectrum of the Ti:Sapphire laser medium. The high intensity of these short pulses induces a strong nonlinear Self-Phase Modulation (SPM), which creates additional intracavity broadening beyond the gain bandwidth of Ti:Sapphire. The uniquely engineered cavities exploit the interplay between strong SPM in the Ti:Sapphire crystal and the dispersion generated by the dispersive mirror pairs to provide stable ultra-short pulses not possible with standard cavity designs. The spectral content, at one octave of bandwidth, enables a robust, long-term stable, f/2f carrier envelope offset frequency beat detection with more than 30 dB signal-to-noise ratio in a 100 kHz bandwidth.

Mechanical Design
The systems are engineered to incorporate ease-of-use and mechanical robustness in order to maintain performance specifications and stability. Unlike typical designs, which use traditional translation stages for tuning and alignment, our systems use a unique flex stage design. By using a monolithic design, which eliminates the multiple materials typically used for springs, bearings, and frame, unprecedented accuracy and repeatability are achieved. The crystal and pump lens positions as well as the curved mirror separation are all tracked by optical linear position encoders with ~10 μm resolution. This allows for easy recovery of modelocked operation or switching between multiple working configurations. A rigid, thermally stabilized platform provides, along with a dust-tight housing, a solid base for robust environmental operation.

Output Spectrum for Octavius-85M*