Effects of cavity-dispersion noncoaxiality on the generation of ultrabroadband femtosecond pulses

The effects of cavity-dispersion noncoaxiality (CDN) on the generation of ultrabroadband femtosecond pulses in KLM Ti:sapphire laser were investigated theoretically and experimentally. It was predicted that when the laser sub-cavity works near the coaxial operation point, the limitation of CDN on the bandwidth broadening is minimum, which is favorable for ultrabroadband pulse generation. On the basis of this prediction, femtosecond pulses with bandwidth of 650 to 1000 nm were directly generated from a home built KLM Ti:sapphire laser. To our knowledge, they are the broadest bandwidth pulses produced from KLM Ti:sapphire laser with similar oscillator configuration and gain crystal length of 3 mm.