GHz repetition-rate femtosecond sources with desired repetition-rate and wavelength

In this talk, we will review our recent works about the GHz-repetition-rate (GRR) femtosecond lasers. These works make GRR femtosecond lasers more flexible in the manipulation of pulse repetition-rate and the operating wavelength. We first demonstrate a phase insensitive way to multiply the repetition-rate of a passive mode-locked laser in femtosecond regime. By inserting an intracavity flat surface with low reflectivity, we multiplied the repetition-rate of a femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser by ten times. It provides a simple and stable way to modify MHz-repetition-rate femtosecond lasers into GRR lasers. To achieve desired wavelength, which can't be directly generated by a gain medium, nonlinear conversion is required. But for GRR femtosecond lasers, the efficiency of single-pass conversion is low due to its low pulse energy. In order to increase the yield, we adopt the method of resonant-enhanced external cavity. With a resonant cavity matched to a 2-GHz repetition-rate Ti:sapphire laser, we demonstrated a high power femtosecond blue source at 2-GHz repetition-rate.