Tunable megawatt-scale sub-20 fs visible pulses from a fiber laser source

Abstract

Ultrafast laser pulses that are both tunable in wavelength and very short in duration are essential tools in fields ranging from biomedical imaging to ultrafast spectroscopy. While resonant dispersive-wave emission in gas-filled hollow-core fibers is a powerful technique for generating such pulses, it has traditionally required complex and expensive pump laser systems. In this work, we present a more compact and accessible alternative that combines gain-managed nonlinear amplification with resonant dispersive-wave emission. Our system produces sub-20 fs pulses tunable from 400 to beyond 700 nm, with energies up to 39 nJ and peak powers exceeding 2 MW, operating at a 4.8 MHz repetition rate. This compact and efficient laser source opens new avenues for deploying resonant dispersive-wave-based technologies for broader scientific and industrial applications.