Lasing characteristics of strongly pumped Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber laser

A strongly pumped Yb-doped large-mode-area photonic crystal fiber(LMA-PCF)laser is analyzed.The lasing characteristics of an improved Fabry-Perot(F-P)cavity fiber laser using LMA-PCF are studied theoretically based on a rate equation model and the exact numerical solution of the rate equations is in excellent agreement with the experimental result.     

Dispersion flattened photonic crystal fiber with high nonlinearity for supercontinuum generation at 1.55 μm

A robust design for a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) based on pure silica with small normal dispersion and high nonlinear coefficient for its dual concentric core structure is presented.This design is suitable for flat broadband supercontinuum (SC) generation in the 1.55-μm region.The numerical results show that the nonlinear coefficient of the proposed eight-ring PCF is 33.8 W -1 ·km -1 at 1550 nm.Ultraflat dispersion with a value between -1.65 and -0.335 ps/(nm·km) is obtained ranging from 1375 to 1625 nm.The 3-dB bandwidth of the SC is 125 nm (1496–1621 nm),with a fiber length of 80 m and a corresponding input peak power of 43.8 W.The amplitude noise is considered to be related to SC generation.For practical fabrication,the influence of the random imperfections of airhole diameters on dispersion and nonlinearity is discussed to verify the robustness of our design.     

Design and fabrication of Gires�CTournois interferometers for?Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber laser system

A Gires?CTournois interferometer (GTI) with large dispersion compensation was designed and fabricated according to the requirement of the Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber laser system. The designed GTI can provide an average group delay dispersion (GDD) of ?1500 fs² and a high reflectance (>99.7%) from 1030 to 1050 nm. The Ion-assisted Deposition (IAD) technique was utilized to manufacture the mirror. Good agreement between the measured and designed results both for reflectance and GDD was achieved. The reflectance during 1030?C1050 nm was above 99.5% and the GDD ripple was less than ±300 fs². The GTI was used both in the intracavity dispersion compensation and extracavity pulse compression for the Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber laser system. A mode-locked soliton pulse with a 506-fs duration was recorded. An extracavity pulse compression test showed that the GTI had identical pulse compression capability as the conventional grating pairs while the energy loss was obviously reduced. Our results demonstrated that the HDM, which was able to provide quite a large amount of negative dispersion (???8×10⁴ fs²), could be an ideal alternative to replace the dispersive compensating grating pairs for the dispersion compensation of the Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber laser system.     

100 μm core diameter monolithic fiber side-pumping coupler for 10 mJ 10 ns all-fiber laser

In this paper, we report a monolithic fiber side-pumping coupler that allows for very large mode area double clad fiber designs. This coupler is constituted of a multi-mode pump fiber and a double clad fiber (DCF). The pump power is coupled to the DCF through the side of DCF. The pump coupling peak power of 163.7 W @ 560 ??s with the coupling efficiency of 98.0% is achieved, and the signal coupling energy of 10 mJ @ 10 ns (??1 MW @ 10 ns) with the coupling efficiency of 96.3% is obtained, when the core diameter of the DCF is 100 ??m. Furthermore, this side-pumping coupler is successfully applied to a high peak power pulse all-fiber laser with the output energy of over 10 mJ @ 10 ns.     

Large-effective-area ten-core fiber with cladding diameter of about 200 μm

A multicore fiber with two-pitch layout is proposed to overcome the trade-off between core number and a cladding diameter of a standard hexagonal layout with a single-core pitch. A fabricated ten-core fiber simultaneously realizes effective area of about 120 μm(2) at 1550 nm, small crosstalk, and cladding diameter of 204 μm. The crosstalk between the center core and outer cores is about 30 dB smaller than that between outer cores. The small crosstalk of the center core would help to keep the transmission quality of the center core at the same level as that of the outer cores.     

Yb3+-doped 200 μm diameter core, gain guided index-antiguided fiber

The lasing in an end-pumped gain guided index-antiguided (GG-IAG) Yb³⁺-doped silicate glass fiber with a 200 μm diameter core is demonstrated. Laser beams with similar beam propagation factors M ² and mode field diameters W ₀ (>160 μm) were observed at the output end of the GG-IAG fibers under different pump powers, which indicated that single mode behavior and excellent beam quality were achieved during propagation. Furthermore, the laser amplifier characteristics in the present Yb³⁺-doped GG-IAG fiber were also evaluated.     

Diode-pumped 200 μm diameter core, gain-guided, index-antiguided single mode fiber laser

Single mode laser action in a diode-pumped gain-guided, index- antiguided Nd³⁺-doped phosphate glass fiber having a 200-μm-diameter core is demonstrated. Near-Gaussian beam quality was maintained, even when pumped up to four times the threshold pump power, indicating robust lowest order mode oscillation. Subtle differences associated with the effectiveness of diode pumping gain-guided, index-antiguided fibers are discussed. PACS 42.55.Wd; 42.55.Xi     

Highly birefringent photonic crystal fiber with low confinement loss at wavelength 1.55 μm

High birefringent and low confinement loss of photonic crystal fiber is reported at wavelength 1.55 μm via Full-Vectorial Finite Element Method (FV-FEM). By suitable designing of three ring hexagonal solid core fiber and also by introducing a pair of large holes along x-axis near the core region, high modal birefringence 3 × 10⁻³ and low confinement loss 0.019 dB/km are found at wavelength 1.55 μm.     

Efficient delivery of 60 J pulse energy of long pulse Nd:YAG laser through 200 μm core diameter optical fibre

Most of today’s industrial Nd:YAG lasers use fibre-optic beam delivery. In such lasers, fibre core diameter is an important consideration in deploying a beam delivery system. Using a smaller core diameter fibre allows higher irradiances at focus position, less degradation of beam quality, and a larger stand-off distance. In this work, we have put efforts to efficiently deliver the laser output of ‘ceramic reflector’-based long pulse Nd:YAG laser through a 200 μm core diameter optical fibre and successfully delivered up to 60 J of pulse energy with 90% transmission efficiency, using a GRADIUM (axial gradient) plano-convex lens to sharply focus down the beam on the end face of the optical fibre and fibre end faces have been cleaved to achieve higher surface damage thresholds.     

Improvement of the output beam polarization of a monomode CW 119 μm H2O vapor laser1

This paper reports on a technique developed to fix the polarization of the output beam of a CW 119 μm H₂O laser, oscillating in its fundamental mode. A few parallel thin metallic wires stretched inside the cavity, normal to its axis, cause the electric field to align itself perpendicular to the wires. Testing of various configurations leads to an optimum device corresponding to 94% polarization, with a laser power reduction of only 12% due to the presence of the wires.     

亚百飞秒高功率掺镱大模面积光子晶体光纤飞秒激光放大器的实验研究

实验研究了掺镱双包层保偏大模面积光子晶体光纤飞秒激光放大器. 获得了平均功率达16W的飞秒激光放大输出,在50MHz重复频率下,对应的单脉冲能量达到320nJ. 增益光纤长3.5m,由于自相位调制效应,种子光脉冲光谱在放大过程中同时展宽,从而支持更窄的脉冲宽度. 经过光栅后,脉冲宽度压缩到了85fs. 系统中的振荡器和放大器基于同一种具有偏振结构的大模面积光子晶体光纤,具有很好的环境稳定性和进一步集成的可能. 关键词： 光子晶体光纤 大模场面积光纤 飞秒激光 光纤放大器     

自由耦合输出的大模场面积光子晶体光纤锁模激光器

对一种基于高增益掺Yb³⁺大模场面积光子晶体光纤（PCF）的锁模激光器进行了简化线型腔结构的实验和理论研究.实验中直接使用塌陷打磨为0°角的光纤端面作为一端腔镜,利用其端面反馈获得了激光振荡,并进一步利用半导体可饱和吸收镜（SESAM）和光栅对的滤波作用实现了稳定的锁模运转.通过调节滤波程度,使激光器实现了从宽带滤波锁模到窄带滤波锁模的连续可调谐.在宽带滤波锁模的条件下,得到了最大平均输出功率2.2 W,单脉冲能量29.3 nJ,脉冲宽度367 fs的锁模脉冲输出;在窄带滤波锁模的条 关键词： 飞秒激光 光纤激光器 光子晶体光纤 大模场面积光纤     

光子晶体光纤中高效的反斯托克斯信号产生

基于四波混频的反斯托克斯变换, 被广泛应用于短波辐射高分辨率成像以及直接激发分子的电子跃迁等方面. 为了实现更加高效的反斯托克斯变换, 利用中心波长为810 nm脉冲宽度为120 fs的钛蓝宝石(Ti: sapphire)飞秒激光器作为抽运光源, 在长度为0.5 m和3 m的光子晶体光纤中分别实现了高阶模和基膜的简并四波混频. 实验中, 采用的光子晶体光纤的零色散波长在820 nm附近. 在基模相位匹配条件下, 在560 nm附近实现了高效地反斯托克斯信号的产生, 反斯托克斯信号与残余抽运信号的最大功率比为33:1; 反斯托克斯信号和斯托克斯信号的最大功率比25:1; 反斯托克斯信号最大功率转换效率P_a/P_p0为34%. 抽运波长从790 nm逐渐增加到810 nm过程中, 在长为3 m的光子晶体光纤中相位从不匹配状态转化为高阶模匹配状态后, 再转化为基模匹配状态. 通过实验研究得出了相位匹配程度随抽运功率、波长和光纤长度的变化规律, 同时分析了造成理论计算与实验结果存在差异的主要因素. 本文为研究在光子晶体光纤基模中实现相位匹配和产生高效反斯托克斯信号提供了理论和实验依据.     

高能量掺Yb偏振型大模场面积光子晶体光纤孤子锁模飞秒激光器

实验研究了基于掺Yb偏振型大模场面积光子晶体光纤的孤子锁模激光器,获得了高脉冲能量的飞秒激光输出. 激光器基于线形腔结构,利用光栅对补偿腔内色散,并通过半导体可饱和吸收镜实现锁模的自启动. 实验中从振荡级直接获得了平均功率为700mW, 重复频率为47.3MHz(对应于14.8 nJ的单脉冲能量),脉冲宽度为518 fs的稳定锁模脉冲输出. 与普通孤子锁模飞秒光纤激光器相比,输出的单脉冲能量提高了两个数量级. 关键词： 光子晶体光纤 飞秒 光纤激光器 孤子锁模     

高功率光纤激光器全内反射型大模场光子晶体光纤设计

在高功率密度下产生的非线性效应和材料损伤等问题限制了光纤激光器输出功率的进一步提高。利用大模场光纤降低光纤能量密度,提高非线性阈值是一种最为直接和有效的手段。以空气孔尺寸为光波长量级的全内反射型光子晶体光纤为对象,采用等效折射率模型分析了光子晶体光纤的单模特性,利用有限元法分析了结构参数对光子晶体光纤的模场面积和色散等光束质量参数的影响。设计了一种工作波长为0.40~1.55 m,模场面积为112.74~258.87 m2,且在1.27 m附近可补偿色散的大模场光子晶体光纤。该研究可为高功率光纤激光器大模场光纤的进一步参数优化设计及元件加工提供重要参考。     

高温光子晶体光纤温度传感器

针对大于500℃的高温环境,提出了一种可用于高温温度测量的高温光子晶体光纤(PCF)温度传感器。在光子晶体光纤末端熔接一段纯石英无芯光纤构成外腔式光纤法珀腔(EFPI)结构。纯石英无芯光纤在高温下的热膨胀和热光效应使得EFPI的光学腔长发生变化。结合光纤白光干涉测量技术,通过测量EFPI的腔长得到被测温度。在不同温度环境下,对腔长为175μm的EFPI光纤温度传感器进行连续测量。测量结果显示,设计的高温光纤温度传感器在27~1100℃范围内,腔长-温度三阶拟合精度达到99.95%,腔长-温度灵敏度为(0.851+0.0023T-0.000000957T2)nm/℃,其中在1100℃时,温度测量分辨率为0.225℃。     

Ultra-violet and mid-infrared continuum generation by cross-phase modulation between red-shifted solitons and blue-shifted dispersive waves in a photonic crystal fiber

Using a photonic crystal fiber with a zero dispersion wavelength of the fundamental mode at 780 nm designed and fabricated in our lab, the ultraviolet and mid-infrared continua are generated by cross-phase modulation between red-shift solitons and blue-shift dispersive waves. The dependences of continuum on the pump power and wavelength are investigated. With the pump working at 820 nm, when the pump power increases from 300 to 500 mW, the bandwidths of ultraviolet and mid-infrared continua change from 80 to 140 nm and 100 to 200 nm, respectively. The wavelength of ultraviolet continuum is below 246 nm, and the wavelength of mid-infrared continuum exceeds 2500 nm. Moreover, the influences of pump power on wavelength and conversion efficiency of different parts of continua are also demonstrated.     

微小空气孔传光的光子晶体光纤研究

利用有限元方法对纤芯中心带有一个微小空气孔的光子晶体光纤进行了分析,得到了其模场分布、损耗及色散特性随光纤结构参数及波长的变化规律.根据光的衍射原理及光子晶体光纤的传输特性,对空气孔传光的物理本质进行了解释.得到了微小空气孔低损耗、高强度、单模传输时,光子晶体光纤结构参数及波长的取值范围.设计出了一种优化的光子晶体光纤结构,其模场很好地集中在纤芯微小空气孔中,限制损耗α=5.9×10^-5dB/km,为微小空气孔传光的光子晶体光纤设计及制备提供了理论指导.光在空气孔中高强度、长距离传输,为光与物质相互作用及非线性光纤光学提供了新的条件.     

高功率光子晶体光纤激光器实验研究

利用F-P谐振腔实验研究了高功率掺Yb3+光子晶体光纤激光器。使用915 nm和976 nm两种波长的泵浦源进行双端泵浦,在23 m长的双包层光子晶体光纤中获得了552 W的连续单模激光输出。该激光器的斜率效率约为76%,光-光转换效率为56%,光谱中心波长为1 078 nm,光束质量平方因子为1.2。     

Gain and gain-flatness improved photonic crystal fiber Raman amplifier based on a dual-pass amplification configuration with single pump laser

A gain and gain-flatness improved L-band dual-pass Raman fiber amplifier (RFA) utilizing a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) as gain medium is demonstrated. By introducing complementary gain spectra of typical forward and backward pumping single-pass RFA using the same PCF, we finally achieve average net gain level of 22.5 dB with a ±0.8 dB flattening gain in 20-nm bandwidth from 1595 nm to 1615 nm, which is rare in RFAs with only one single pump and no flattening filter. Compared with the single-pass pump configurations, gain level, flatness and bandwidth are greatly improved by using the dual-pass amplification configuration. The limitation of this configuration caused by multi-path interference (MPI) noise and stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) is also discussed.