Ultrafast Lasers: Chirped Pulse Amplification for the 21st Century
Classification: Unclassified, Public Release
Instructor: Sterling Backus, KMLabs
Duration: Half-day course
CEUs awarded: 0.35
Topics to be Covered:
- Principles of ultrafast pulses of light
- Ultrafast laser oscillators
- Intro to Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA); Why is it needed?
- Solid state gain material types needed for CPA, 4 level, and 3 level systems
- What types of devices are used for CPA
- ASE (Amplified Spontaneous Emission); death of a CPA system
- Thermal effects
- Distortions from CPA, spatio-temporal
- Design considerations, engineering
- OPCPA (Optical Parametric CPA) intro
- Discussion
Intended Audience: Students should have an understanding of basic laser physics including
laser oscillators and amplifiers. Students should be familiar with gain physics in solid state laser
materials and saturation effects, and familiar with modelocking of laser oscillators, and some quantum mechanics.
While the student does not need to be proficient in these areas, it will provide a better class experience.
Instructor Biography: Dr. Sterling Backus is well known as a pioneering developer of new ultrafast
laser technologies. He has been full-time with KMLabs since 2002, as well as an Research Professor in the ECE
Department at Colorado State University. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Physics and a PhD in
Engineering Science from Washington State University in 1996. His work in the development of high
peak-and-average power ultrafast Ti:sapphire lasers, and the use of cryogenic cooling for ultrafast
laser systems, forms the basis for many of KMLabs' products. Currently, he is working on advanced
ultrafast mid-IR laser systems, for use in high harmonic generation. Sterling is a Fellow of the Optical
Society of America, and U.S. Army veteran.
