CUBIC-PHASE-FREE DISPERSION COMPENSATION IN SOLID-STATE ULTRASHORT-PULSE LASERS

We show that intracavity group-velocity dispersion compensation with the use of prisms composed of conventional optical materials can be accomplished while simultaneously eliminating the round-trip cavity cubic phase. The ability to compensate perfectly both second- and third-order dispersion exists for pulses whose central wavelengths he within a range that depends on the prism and laser rod materials as well as on the prism angles. In the case of Ti:sapphire and Cr:LiSrAlF6 lasers, Brewster prisms composed of readily available materials can be used to compensate for both group-velocity dispersion and cubic phase over much of the respective tuning ranges.