Prospects for High-Pressure CO<sub>2</sub> Lasers for Amplification of Long-Wave Infrared Lasers with Pulse Width of Hundreds of Femtoseconds (Invited)

Zhenzhen Xie; Yishen Hou; Mengmeng Yan; Liemao Hu; Mingkun Liu; Ziming Wang; Sicheng Li; Guochang Wang; Zhiyong Li; Donglei Wang; Rongqing Tan

doi:10.3788/LOP250972

Laser & Optoelectronics Progress, Volume. 62, Issue 15, 1500004(2025)

Prospects for High-Pressure CO₂ Lasers for Amplification of Long-Wave Infrared Lasers with Pulse Width of Hundreds of Femtoseconds (Invited)

Zhenzhen Xie^1,2, Yishen Hou^1,2, Mengmeng Yan³, Liemao Hu¹, Mingkun Liu^1,2, Ziming Wang^1,2, Sicheng Li^1,2, Guochang Wang^1,2, Zhiyong Li^1,2、*, Donglei Wang^1,2, and Rongqing Tan^1,2、**

Author Affiliations

¹Laser Engineering Center, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China

²School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

³National Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Space Security, Tianjin 300308, China

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Figures & Tables(8)

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of Brookhaven National Laboratory femtosecond CO₂ laser device^[5,12]

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Fig. 2. Laser transitions of six CO₂ isotopes at bands 00⁰1-10⁰0 and 00⁰1-02⁰0^[22]

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Fig. 3. Gain spectrum of six CO₂ isotopes (regular band) at 15 atm^[27]

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Fig. 4. Absorption spectrum of CO₂ (original data from Hitran 2020^[51])

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Fig. 5. All-solid-state optically pumped high-pressure CO₂ amplifier ^[45]

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Fig. 6. Absorption spectra of CO₂ isotopes in the 2.6‒2.9 μm range (original data from Hitran2020^[51])

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Table 1. Progress on typical femtosecond LWIR lasers

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Table 1. Progress on typical femtosecond LWIR lasers

Year	Institution	Method	Crystal cross-section	Pulse width@ center wavelength	Repetition rate	Peak power	Reference
2019	Nanyang Technological University	GaSe OPA	‒	19 fs@8.8 μm	1 kHz	179 MW	［13］
2019	Nanyang Technological University	GaSe DFG	‒	60 fs@10.3 μm	10 kHz	176 MW	［14］
2022	Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy	CdxHg_1-xGa₂S₄	‒	101 fs@10.6 μm	100 kHz	3.0 MW	［15］
2022	Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy	GaSe OPCPA	7 mm （diameter）	185 fs	1 kHz	351.4 MW	［16］
2023	The Ohio State University	GaSe OPA	38.5 mm²×1.2 mm	55 fs	1 kHz	1.6 GW	［6］
2022	University of Michigan	AGS DFG	5 mm×5 mm×0.4 mm	73 fs@10.5 μm	480 Hz	1.5 MW	［17］
2019	Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München	LGS OPA	‒	32 fs@7.5 μm	50 kHz	6.9 MW	［18］
2019	Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology	LGS OPCPA	‒	142 fs@9 μm	10 kHz	98.6 MW	［19］
2024	Sichuan University	BGSe OPA	‒	241 fs@11.6 μm	50 kHz	~190 kW	［20］
2024	Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics， Chinese Academy of Sciences	BGSe-DFG&GaAs-OPA	GaAs 7 mm×7 mm×0.1 mm	72 fs	‒	300 MW	［21］
2024	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	ZGP-DFG	15 mm×15 mm×1 mm	91 fs@9 µm	1 kHz	2.3 GW	［7］

Table 2. Research progress in optically pumped CO₂ lasers/amplifiers

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Table 2. Research progress in optically pumped CO₂ lasers/amplifiers

Year	Institution	Pump source	Repetition rate	Gain region	Gas pressure	Gain coefficient	Reference
1972	Bell Telephone Laboratories	4.23 μm pulsed HBr laser	‒	41 cm （length）	1 atm	‒	［38］
1973	Bell Telephone Laboratories	4.2 μm pulsed HBr laser	‒	1 mm （length）	33 atm	‒	［36］
1981	Norwegian Defence Research Establishment	3.5‒4 μm tunable pulsed DF laser	1 Hz	6.2 mm²×100 mm	19 atm	‒	［39］
1986	Norwegian Defence Research Establishment	2.7 μm pulsed HF laser	‒	1.6 mm²×100 mm	10 atm	‒	［40］
1988	McMaster University	4.3 μm TEA CO₂ laser	0.3 Hz	1.3 mm²×11 mm	0.4 atm	17 %/cm	［41］
2002	Russian Scientific Center	2.78 μm pulsed HF laser	‒	40 mm×60 mm×23 mm	11 atm	11 %/cm	［32］
2019	Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics， Chinese Academic of Sciences	532 nm Nd∶YAG laser	1‒10 Hz	1.8 m	0.5 atm	‒	［42］
2019	National University of Defense Technology	Tunable 2 μm semiconductor laser	Continuous	5 m （fiber）	0.5 kPa	‒	［43］
2021	University of California at Los Angeles	3.8‒5.0 μm tunable Fe∶ZnSe laser	3 Hz	10.7 mm²×60 mm	10 atm	30 %/cm	［44］
2024	Aerospace Information Research Institute， Chinese Academy of Sciences	2.76 μm ZGP OPO laser	100 Hz	1.5 mm²×100 mm	3 atm	1.1 %/cm	［45］

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Zhenzhen Xie, Yishen Hou, Mengmeng Yan, Liemao Hu, Mingkun Liu, Ziming Wang, Sicheng Li, Guochang Wang, Zhiyong Li, Donglei Wang, Rongqing Tan. Prospects for High-Pressure CO₂ Lasers for Amplification of Long-Wave Infrared Lasers with Pulse Width of Hundreds of Femtoseconds (Invited)[J]. Laser & Optoelectronics Progress, 2025, 62(15): 1500004

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Paper Information

Category: Reviews

Received: Apr. 9, 2025

Accepted: May. 29, 2025

Published Online: Aug. 4, 2025

The Author Email: Zhiyong Li (zhiyongli@aircas.ac.cn), Rongqing Tan (rqtan@mail.ie.ac.cn)

DOI:10.3788/LOP250972

CSTR:32186.14.LOP250972

Topics

laser devices and laser physics

Lasers and Laser Optics

Laser physics

laser manufacturing

Instrumentation, Measurement and Metrology