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SUMMARY:Graphene for ultrafast lasers - Giancarlo Soavi (Cambridge Graphen
 e Centre)
DTSTART:20171012T121000Z
DTEND:20171012T130000Z
UID:TALK84081@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Lorena Escudero
DESCRIPTION:Laser sources producing nanosecond (10-9 s) to sub-picosecond 
 (10-12 s) pulses (i.e. ultrafast lasers) are deployed in a variety of appl
 ications ranging from scientific research\, laser surgery\, material proce
 ssing and telecommunications. Regardless of the output wavelength\, the ma
 jority of ultrafast laser systems employ a mode-locking technique\, whereb
 y a nonlinear optical element - called Saturable Absorber (SA) - turns the
  laser continuous wave output into a train of ultrashort optical pulses. T
 he SA absorption (or optical loss) decreases as the incident light intensi
 ty increases. Thus\, the SA works as an intensity-dependent optical switch
 . \nThe key requirements for SAs are fast response time\, high modulation 
 depth\, broad wavelength range\, low optical loss\, low-cost and ease of i
 ntegration into an optical system. Graphene\, a one atom thick layer of ca
 rbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice\, can simultaneously meet all t
 hese needs with better performances and lower cost compared to current tec
 hnologies. \nIn this seminar I will introduce the basic concepts of ultraf
 ast lasers and mode-locking and their importance for technological applica
 tions. I will then review the fundamental physical properties that make gr
 aphene the ideal candidate as saturable absorber for ultrafast lasers on a
 n extremely broad energy range from visible to THz.
LOCATION:The Richard King Room\, Darwin College
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