BROADLY TUNABLE FEMTOSECOND SOLID-STATE LASER SOURCES

The techniques of coupled-cavity modelocking and self-modelocking in w hich intensity-induced nonlinear effects are exploited have been revie wed for broad-band gain media. Particular emphases have been placed up on the archetypical colour-centre and titanium-sapphire laser configur ations in which these techniques were first demonstrated and subsequen t refinements are set in context. A femtosecond optical parametric osc illator pumped by a self-mode-locked titanium-sapphire laser has also been described as an exemplar of a practical means of extending the so urce tunability into the mid-infrared spectral region.