Abstract

Femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopy in the near-infrared (NIR) spectral range has recently become increasingly important in areas such as studies of the dynamics of semiconductors. Femtosecond continuum sources are useful as light sources in these experiments, because they allow one to perform pump-probe experiments with differing wavelengths. Several years ago an interesting color-center laser/color-center- amplifier system was developed for this purpose by Sucha and co-workers.¹ Their system was based on an additive-pulse mode-locked (APM) femtosecond NaCl color-center laser that was amplified by using thick NaCl crystals in a multiple-pass (bow-tie) configuration. With this system impressively broad spectral continua could be generated in the NIR.

© 1995 Optical Society of America