We report a test operation of an Er-doped fibre femtosecond laser which was conducted for the first time in outer space. The fibre-based ultrashort pulse laser payload was designed to meet space-use requirements, undergone through ground qualification tests and finally launched into a low-earth orbit early in 2013. Test results obtained during a one-year mission lifetime confirmed stable mode-locking all the way through although the radiation induced attenuation (RIA) in the Er-doped gain fibre caused an 8.6% reduction in the output power. This successful test operation would help facilitate diverse scientific and technological applications of femtosecond lasers in space and earth atmosphere in the near future.

Fast, precise 3-D measurement of discontinuous step-structures fabricated on microelectronic products is essential for quality assurance of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, and photovoltaic cells. Optical surface profilers of low-coherence interferometry have long been used for the purpose, but the vertical scanning range and speed are limited by the micro-actuators available today. Besides, the lateral field-of-view extendable for a single measurement is restricted by the low spatial coherence of broadband light sources. Here, we cope with the limitations of the conventional low-coherence interferometer by exploiting unique characteristics of femtosecond laser pulses, i.e., low temporal but high spatial coherence. By scanning the pulse repetition rate with direct reference to the Rb atomic clock, step heights of ~69.6 μm are determined with a repeatability of 10.3 nm. The spatial coherence of femtosecond pulses provides a large field-of-view with superior visibility, allowing for a high volume measurement rate of ~24,000 mm³/s.

We revisit the method of synthetic wavelength interferometry (SWI) for absolute measurement of long distances using the radio-frequency harmonics of the pulse repetition rate of a mode-locked femtosecond laser. Our intention here is to extend the nonambiguity range (NAR) of the SWI method using a coarse virtual wavelength synthesized by shifting the pulse repetition rate. The proposed concept of NAR extension is experimentally verified by measuring a $∼13-m$ distance with repeatability of 9.5 μm (root-mean-square). The measurement precision is estimated to be 31.2 μm in comparison with an incremental He–Ne laser interferometer. This extended SWI method is found to be well suited for long-distance measurements demanded in the fields of large-scale precision engineering, geodetic survey, and future space missions.