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Cross-saturation of the gain media in intra-cavity pumped lasers leads to complex dynamics of the laser power. We present experimental results and a detailed theoretical analysis of this nonlinear dynamics for an intra-cavity pumped Yb:YAG thin-disk laser in the framework of a rate-equation model. The gain medium of this laser is residing in the resonator of a conventional, diode-pumped Yb:YAG thin-disk laser. Continuous-wave operation, periodic pulse trains, and chaotic fluctuations of the optical power of both lasers were observed. The dynamics is not driven by external perturbations but arises naturally in this laser system. Further examination revealed that these modes of operation can be controlled by the resonator length of the diode-pumped laser but that the system can also show hysteresis and multi-stability.
From a thin film model for passive suspensions towards the description of osmotic biofilm spreading
(2016)
Continuous versus arrested spreading of biofilms at solid-gas interfaces: The role of surface forces
(2017)
Single-shot all-digital approach for measuring the orbital angular momentum spectrum of light
(2022)
Light fields carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) offer a broad variety of applications in which especially an accurate determination of the respective OAM spectrum, i.e., unraveling the content of OAM by its topological charge ℓ, has become a main subject. Even though various techniques have been proposed to measure the OAM spectrum of such modes, many of them fail if optical vortices have to be considered in perturbed or dynamically changing experimental systems. Here, we put forward a novel technique capable of determining the OAM spectrum of light by a single measurement shot, which specifically applies to those fields that have been distorted. Experimentally, our technique only requires to interfere the perturbed light field with a reference field. From the resulting intensity pattern, the accurate OAM spectrum is determined in an all-digital way. We demonstrate our novel approach by numerical simulations and a proof-of-concept experiment employing a model ball lens as an exemplary disturbing object.