LASER PULSES – THEORY, TECHNOLOGY, AND APPLICATIONS Edited by Igor Peshko Laser Pulses – Theory, Technology, and Applications http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/2624 Edited by Igor Peshko Contributors Igor Peshko, E. Nava-Palomares, F. Acosta-Barbosa, S. Camacho-López, M. Fernández-Guasti, Zhiyi Wei, Binbin Zhou, Yongdong Zhang, Yuwan Zou, Xin Zhong, Changwen Xu, Zhiguo Zhang, Kazuyuki Uno, Ricardo Elgul Samad, Leandro Matiolli Machado, Nilson Dias Vieira Junior, Wagner de Rossi, A. Yu. Ivanov, S. V. Vasiliev, Roman V. Dyukin, George A. Martsinovskiy, Olga N. Sergaeva, Galina D. Shandybina, Vera V. Svirina, Eugeny B. Yakovlev, V.I. Mazhukin, Kallepalli Lakshmi Narayana Deepak, Venugopal Rao Soma, Narayana Rao Desai, Zhongyi Guo, Lingling Ran, Yanhua Han, Shiliang Qu, Shutian Liu, Emmanuel d’Humières, Akira Endo, Evgenii Gorokhov, Kseniya Astankova, Alexander Komonov, V. V. Apollonov, Guofeng Zhang, Ruiyun Chen, Yan Gao, Liantuan Xiao, Suotang Jia, Kun Huang, E Wu, Xiaorong Gu, Haifeng Pan, Heping Zeng, J. Degert, S. Vidal, M. Tondusson, C. D’Amico, J. Oberlé, É. Freysz Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2012 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. Notice Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published chapters. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Oliver Kurelic Typesetting InTech Prepress, Novi Sad Cover InTech Design Team First published October, 2012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from orders@intechopen.com Laser Pulses – Theory, Technology, and Applications, Edited by Igor Peshko p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0796-5 Contents Preface IX Section 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Time and Light 1 Igor Peshko Section 2 Pulsed World 33 Chapter 2 Femtosecond Laser Cavity Characterization 35 E. Nava-Palomares, F. Acosta-Barbosa, S. Camacho-López and M. Fernández-Guasti Chapter 3 All Solid-State Passively Mode-Locked Ultrafast Lasers Based on Nd, Yb, and Cr Doped Media 73 Zhiyi Wei, Binbin Zhou, Yongdong Zhang, Yuwan Zou, Xin Zhong, Changwen Xu and Zhiguo Zhang Chapter 4 Longitudinally Excited CO 2 Laser 115 Kazuyuki Uno Section 3 Cutting and Shooting 141 Chapter 5 Ultrashort Laser Pulses Machining 143 Ricardo Elgul Samad, Leandro Matiolli Machado, Nilson Dias Vieira Junior and Wagner de Rossi Chapter 6 Diagnostics of a Crater Growth and Plasma Jet Evolution on Laser Pulse Materials Processing 175 A. Yu. Ivanov and S. V. Vasiliev Chapter 7 Interaction of Femtosecond Laser Pulses with Solids: Electron/Phonon/Plasmon Dynamics 197 Roman V. Dyukin, George A. Martsinovskiy, Olga N. Sergaeva, Galina D. Shandybina, Vera V. Svirina and Eugeny B. Yakovlev VI Contents Chapter 8 Kinetics and Dynamics of Phase Transformations in Metals Under Action of Ultra-Short High-Power Laser Pulses 219 V.I. Mazhukin Chapter 9 Direct Writing in Polymers with Femtosecond Laser Pulses: Physics and Applications 277 Kallepalli Lakshmi Narayana Deepak, Venugopal Rao Soma and Narayana Rao Desai Chapter 10 Holographic Fabrication of Periodic Microstructures by Interfered Femtosecond Laser Pulses 295 Zhongyi Guo, Lingling Ran, Yanhua Han, Shiliang Qu and Shutian Liu Section 4 Unusual Applications 317 Chapter 11 Ion Acceleration by High Intensity Short Pulse Lasers 319 Emmanuel d’Humières Chapter 12 Progress in High Average Power, Short Pulse Solid State Laser Technology for Compton X-Ray Sources 365 Akira Endo Chapter 13 GeO 2 Films with Ge-Nanoclusters in Layered Compositions: Structural Modifications with Laser Pulses 383 Evgenii Gorokhov, Kseniya Astankova and Alexander Komonov Chapter 14 Jet Engine Based Mobile Gas Dynamic CO 2 Laser for Water Surface Cleaning 435 V. V. Apollonov Section 5 Seeing Invisible 475 Chapter 15 Single-Molecule Recognition and Dynamics with Pulsed Laser Excitation 477 Guofeng Zhang, Ruiyun Chen, Yan Gao, Liantuan Xiao and Suotang Jia Chapter 16 Ultrashort Laser Pulses for Frequency Upconversion 501 Kun Huang, E Wu, Xiaorong Gu, Haifeng Pan and Heping Zeng Chapter 17 Generation of Tunable THz Pulses 519 J. Degert, S. Vidal, M. Tondusson, C. D’Amico, J. Oberlé and É. Freysz Preface This book is devoted to some aspects of ultrashort laser pulses generation, characterization, and applications. As of today, hundreds of books discussing these subjects have been published. More and more techniques go to practical use every year. Shorter and shorter pulses are routinely achievable. New spectral ranges, like X- rays, deep UV, middle and far IR, including TeraHertz bands, became a reality. In modern laser world, the word “Pulse” typically covers pulse durations from microseconds to femtoseconds. In principle, it is possible to generate attosecond pulses (10 -18 s) by using non-linear processes. Recently, new time ranges were discussed in publications: zeptosecond (10 -21 s) and yoctoseconds (10 -24 s). To generate pulses from milliseconds to femtoseconds, hundreds of different laser systems have been developed. They can typically generate pulses of specific durations, which are due to laser principles of operation, specific construction, parameters of gain medium, type of modulator, and so on. Smooth tuning of laser pulse duration continues to be a big problem. The shorter the achieved pulse durations are, the more difficult the problem is to determine how to measure such pulses. The solution is inside the laser pulses. Light itself contains information about Time. Generating “light in time”, the pulsed lasers combine these two categories as light is a periodical, cyclic process and can be a measure of time, of length, and of frequency. During the 50 years of their history, the pulsed lasers passed from seconds to zeptoseconds or about 20 orders of magnitude into the short duration’s side. This road was difficult. Every time, starting from huge, complex, ineffective, and very expensive machines, the lasers became elegant and economical; they are being transformed to powerful and smart instruments in science, technology, medicine, and everyday life. Very popular picosecond and femtosecond pulses typically are achieved by mode- locking technology. The theoretical concept of this is based on the light wave- approximation. However, in many cases the description of the pulse formation and its evolution is better understandable and easily describable in terms of corpuscular approximation. In introductive chapter “Time and Light”, the theory of optical noise is applied for explanation of ultrashort pulses phenomena. This approximation can estimate statistical parameters of generation: probability of single-pulse formation (on the round-trip cavity period), depending on active media gain spectrum width, rate of X Preface gain increase, cavity length, output mirror reflectance, and other laser practical parameters. In total, the book consists of five sections housing seventeen chapters. In such complicated and multidisciplinary area as laser pulse generation and optical pulse- matter interaction it is sometimes difficult to specify, which domain of research the chapter belongs to. Conditionally, the chapters have been separated into five interconnected sections: Introduction: Time and Light – Historical/philosophical/technical overview, optical noise theory of mode-locked lasing, and exotic self-mode-locking technologies; 1. Pulsed World – Characterization of ultrashort pulses, pulsed laser gain media and technologies; 2. Cutting and Shooting – Material processing, refractive index modulation, special structure recordings, interaction of laser radiation with solids; 3. Unusual Applications – Water purification, accelerators, modification of the solids structures; 4. Seeing invisible – Non-linear and single-molecule spectroscopy, THz- technologies. The scientific editor of this book does not always agree with some concepts, models, and explanations demonstrated in this book. However, the principle of open access publishing is to give possibility for each author to freely demonstrate his/her understanding of phenomena. We know a lot of examples where future Nobel Prize Winners were rejected by solid journals because of negative and non-discussable opinion of the reviewers – the best specialists in specific area. The judge cannot be judged and it is only history that can judge and corrects everyone and everything. In any case, this book is not a milestone in physics and/or technologies; rather it is like a running train with coaches that will be changed at each new station. The book does not want to go to specific destinations but allows you to sit and think of where your destination could take you. We hope this book will be useful for a wide spectrum of specialists, for professors and students, and for those who are interested in history and in future of the laser technologies. Igor Peshko Department of Physics and Computer Science, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada . LASER PULSES – THEORY, TECHNOLOGY, AND APPLICATIONS Edited by Igor Peshko Laser Pulses – Theory, Technology, and Applications http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/2624. Laser Pulses – Theory, Technology, and Applications, Edited by Igor Peshko p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0796-5 Contents Preface IX Section 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Time and. light is an electromagnetic wave repeatable in space and time, a single wave period with minimal Laser Pulses – Theory, Technology, and Applications 4 length (among all present in the wave