Ultrabroadband double-chirped mirror pairs for generation of octave spectra

The problem of matching double-chirped mirrors to the ambient medium, which currently limits the design of ultrabroadband dispersion-compensating mirrors is reconsidered. A design of double-chirped mirror pairs that exhibit high reflectivity and a controlled group-delay dispersion in combination over 1 octave is presented. These mirrors permit the generation of octave-spanning spectra directly from a Ti:sapphire laser oscillator. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America.