Ultrashort pulse generation from an integrated single-chip dye laser

In distributed-feedback (DFB) dye lasers pumped by a nanosecond-pulse laser, a train of picosecond spikes is generated by the relaxation oscillation. A single spike with a pulse duration of 50 ps is extracted in a plastic-waveguide DFB dye laser using a quenching technique. To compress this to femtosecond pulse, a new type of integrated pulse compressor is proposed, and its performances are analyzed. The compressor is composed of a plastic waveguide in which amplifier dye and saturable dye are alternatively doped. Computer simulation shows that the 50-ps pulse is compressed to 120 fs by passing through four stages of amplifier and saturable absorber pair. Using this scheme, we expect to construct a very compact and simple ultrashort pulse generator in which the whole system is integrated on a chip of a plastic waveguide.