Definition : lasers which are used for generating some seed light into an amplifier or another laser
More general term: lasers
Opposite term: slave lasers
Categories : laser devices and laser physics , optical amplifiers
Author: Dr. Rüdiger Paschotta
Cite the article using its DOI : https://doi.org/10.61835/fr7
Get citation code: Endnote (RIS) BibTex plain text HTML
Copy to Clipboard
Download file
A seed laser is a laser the output which is injected into some optical amplifier or another laser. This is done in, e.g., the following situations:
Typical types of seed lasers are small laser diodes (single-frequency or gain-switched ), short-cavity fiber lasers , and miniature solid-state lasers such as nonplanar ring oscillators (NPROs).
Suppliers
The RP Photonics Buyer's Guide 25 suppliers for seed lasers . Among them:
Thorlabs manufactures an extensive selection of ultrafast lasers and related products for control and characterization. Applications from nonlinear excitation and amplifier seeding to THz and supercontinuum generation are served by a family of products covering a spectral range from 700 – 4500 nm. Our femtosecond laser offerings include fiber lasers and Ti:Sapphire oscillators, and our picosecond lasers include gain-switched and microchip lasers. Complimenting these laser systems is a suite of ultrafast optics , including nonlinear crystals, chirped mirrors, low-GDD optics, and related products for pulse measurement, pre-compensation, and dispersion measurement.
TOPTICA’s ultrafast fiber lasers family “FemtoFiber smart ” is available as picosecond or femtosecond version. The lasers are based either on ytterbium-doped or erbium-doped fiber laser architecture. These systems are dedicated to applications ranging from seed laser purposes, biophotonics to terahertz generation and two-photon polymerization.
RPMC Lasers offers one of the widest selections of single-frequency lasers for injection seeding as well as pulsed DPSS ultrafast lasers and microchip lasers. These offerings are available with either open beam or fiber-coupling and can be paired with laser diode drivers to provide transform-limited picosecond seed sources for Q-switched fiber lasers.
Single-frequency microchip, NPRO and DFB diode CW lasers are available for seeding bulk amplifier chains or fiber amplifiers for generating high power laser radiation at 1030, 1047, 1053, 1064 and 1342 nm wavelengths. Another application is seeding of high-power single-frequency pulsed Q-switched lasers for holographic and interferometric applications.
Picosecond pulse diode lasers from ALPHALAS can be applied for seeding of fiber and regenerative amplifiers.
The VALO Series of ultrafast fiber lasers are unique in their design offering amoungst the shortest femtosecond pulses and highest peak powers which can be obtained from a compact turn-key solution. They can be used as seed lasers for various amplifier systems. Pulse durations of <50 fs are achieved using novel fiber laser based technology. The ultrashort pulse durations combined with computer controlled group velocity dispersion pre-compensation, allow users of the VALO lasers to achieve the highest peak power exactly where its needed, which makes the lasers ideal for use in multiphoton imaging, advanced spectroscopy and many other applications.
<50 fs pulse duration up to 2 W output power very low noise integrated pre-compensation dispersion module Menlo Systems' femtosecond fiber lasers based on Menlo figure 9® patented laser technology are unique in regard to user-friendliness and robustness. We offer solutions for scientific research as well as laser models engineered for OEM integration.
The Lithium Six seed laser emits femtosecond pulses with the central wavelength of 1050 nm and average powers up to 7 W. The Lithium Six generates pedestal-free low-noise pulses that are ideal to reach an effective amplification. Moreover, this laser provides high pulse energies up to 87 nJ, allowing to simplify the amplification chain and reduce the number of amplifiers.
The flexible Amphos1000 1030-nm seed laser (a fiber laser) can be used as the basis for powerful amplified sources. The basic version products 10-nJ pulses with 20–100 MHz repetition rate and pulse durations tunable from 1 ps to 500 ps. Amplified versions reach up to 2 μJ pulse energy at lower pulse repetition rates or in single shot operation.
See also: optical amplifiers , master oscillator power amplifier , slave laser , single-frequency operation , single-frequency lasers , injection locking , injection seeding
Questions and Comments from Users
Here you can submit questions and comments . As far as they get accepted by the author, they will appear above this paragraph together with the author’s answer. The author will decide on acceptance based on certain criteria . Essentially, the issue must be of sufficiently broad interest.
Please do not enter personal data here; we would otherwise delete it soon. (See also our privacy declaration .) If you wish to receive personal feedback or consultancy from the author, please contact him, e.g. via e-mail .
By submitting the information, you give your consent to the potential publication of your inputs on our website according to our rules . (If you later retract your consent, we will delete those inputs.) As your inputs are first reviewed by the author, they may be published with some delay.
Share this with your friends and colleagues, e.g. via social media:
These sharing buttons are implemented in a privacy-friendly way!