Characteristics of pulse evolution in mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser

We have numerically investigated the characteristics of the pulse evolution in a passively mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser with net anomalous cavity dispersion. For the fixed resonator configuration, single-, dual-, triple-, and quadruple-pulses are generated successively by enhancing the pump power or reducing the output ratio. The characteristics of the single or multiple pulses are investigated with various cavity lengths. The separation between the two coexisting pulses changes with the pump power due to the interaction between the soliton and the dispersive waves, and then the two randomly distributed pulses could finally evolve into a soliton pair with fixed separation. According to the results of the numerical simulation, the multiple pulses are found to be generated via pulse splitting and the pulse splitting threshold decreases with the increase of the cavity length.     

Stable multigigahertz pulse-train formation in a short-cavity passively harmonic mode-locked erbium/ytterbium fiber laser

We demonstrate a short-cavity erbium-ytterbium fiber laser that is passively mode locked by a saturable Bragg reflector with a fundamental repetition rate of 235 MHz . The laser operates in the soliton regime and under passive harmonic mode locking with 11 pulses in the cavity and produces output pulse trains at 2.6 GHz with transform-limited 270-fs pulses and 1.6 mW of average power. Within the cavity the multiple pulses form a stable pattern with fixed, nearly equal pulse-to-pulse temporal spacings, causing the output pulse train to have timing offsets of less than 15 ps. A slow gain-recovery model is proposed to explain the pulse-train self-organization.     

Family of multi-hump solitons propagating in dispersion-managed optical fiber transmission system and their existent parameter ranges

Multi-hump soliton which consists of plural pulses can propagate in a dispersion-managed optical fiber transmission system with maintaining the pulse-to-pulse spacings. In this paper, the family members of multi-hump soliton are systematically introduced using a family tree. The system parameter ranges in which multi-hump soliton can exist are studied by a numerical averaging scheme. The dependency of pulse energy and pulse-to-pulse spacing on the system parameter is also investigated to show the robustness of anti-phase bi-soliton against imposed perturbations.     

孤子分子/类噪声脉冲可切换的混合锁模光纤激光器

不同类型脉冲之间的演化是被动锁模光纤激光器丰富动力学的体现。报道了一种可实现多种脉冲切换的混合锁模光纤激光器,当泵浦功率为400 mW时实现了孤子分子、谐波锁模、孤子簇之间的相互切换。增加泵浦功率至600 mW时获得了类噪声脉冲输出,对应的输出功率和单脉冲能量分别为15.2 mW和0.86 nJ。通过调节偏振控制器实现了类噪声脉冲中心波长从1 895 nm到1 930 nm可调谐。所搭建的激光器具有锁模脉冲可切换,波长可调谐,能自启动等优点。     

Bound soliton pulses in passively mode-locked fiber laser

A passively mode-locked soliton fiber ring laser was successfully demonstrated, and bound soliton pulses with an FWHM pulsewidth of 326 fs and fixed separation of 938 fs were first observed. The number of bound soliton pairs in the cavity can be controlled under lower pump power. The transmission effects were investigated by injecting bound soliton pulses into a single mode fiber.     

Evolution of dissipative-soliton laser from molecule to multipulse

We report on the evolution of dissipative-soliton laser from single pulse to soliton molecule, lastly to multiple pulses. The experimental observations show that the pulse separation of soliton molecules is oscillating stochastically. It is found that the proposed fiber laser delivers pulses from a soliton to a soliton molecule, two solitons, a soliton molecule together with a soliton, and three solitons, respectively, when, the pump strength is enhanced gradually.     

低阈值锁模状态可转换的全保偏光纤激光器

报道了一种可实现低阈值自启动的全保偏九字腔光纤激光器。谐振腔结构中使用相移器降低锁模阈值,当泵浦功率达到120 mW时,便可实现自启动的传统孤子锁模,中心波长为1530 nm,脉冲宽度为614.6 fs。随后泵浦功率逐渐增大到470 mW,实现了从孤子脉冲到类噪声脉冲的转换,在该锁模状态下的激光器输出功率为63.2 mW,对应的类噪声脉冲能量为5.69 nJ。所搭建的激光器具有低锁模阈值、自启动的优势,并且仅通过调节泵浦功率就能够实现超快脉冲和高能量脉冲间的转换,具有广泛的应用价值。     

孤子光脉冲的产生及其应用研究

利用非线性偏振旋转技术实现自起振被动锁模.在掺铒光纤环形腔激光器中产生了中心波长为1563.3 nm、重复频率为12.5 MHz、脉冲宽度为352.0 fs、3 dB光谱宽度为7.8 nm的孤子光脉冲.采用该孤子光脉冲作为抽运光源，经掺铒光纤放大器放大后，输入到101 m长的高非线性光子晶体光纤中，获得了20 dB带宽约为240 nm的超连续激光光谱.实验详细观测了光脉冲随抽运功率的变化及超连续激光光谱的形成过程，分析了其形成机理.研究表明：当抽运功率较低时，光谱加宽主要由高阶孤子的分裂引起；随着抽运功率的增加，高阶孤子分裂成基本孤子的数目逐渐增大，光谱进一步加宽；当抽运功率增加到受激拉曼散射的阈值时，受激拉曼散射成为光谱展宽的主要原因；抽运功率进一步增加时，受激拉曼散射、参量四波混频等非线性的共同作用将使光谱进一步加宽且变得光滑. 关键词： 孤子光纤激光器 超连续 光子晶体光纤     

光脉冲在标准单模光纤中演化形成孤子的实验研究

利用二次谐波频率分辨光学门脉冲分析仪从实验上分析研究了具有啁啾的10 GHz光脉冲在不同输入功率下演化形成孤子的规律和特点。实验发现:输入脉冲在光纤中传输3.5个色散长度时,其时间宽度、频率啁啾和时间带宽积都随着输入功率的增加而减小。当输入功率大于一阶孤子功率的理论值时,光脉冲能够演化形成孤子;脉冲在随后传输过程中其宽度基本保持不变,波形、频率啁啾和时间带宽积仍随着传输距离的变化而变化;输入功率越高,形成的一阶孤子脉冲的宽度越窄。当输入功率小于一阶孤子功率的理论值时,输出脉冲的时间宽度随着传输距离的增加而增加,频率啁啾随着传输距离的增加而减小,光脉冲不能演化形成孤子。     

光纤中基于拉曼放大与脉冲压缩的超短光孤子产生

提出一种在单模光纤负群速色散枢由弱脉冲产生高强度超短光孤子的新方法。     

Passive harmonic mode-locking of a soliton Yb fiber laser at repetition rates to 1.5 GHz

We report passive harmonic mode locking of a soliton Yb fiber laser at repetition rates continuously scalable up to 1.5 GHz. The laser generates transform-limited 500 fs pulses, with pulse energies of 30-100 pJ. At the 31st harmonic (1.3 GHz), the cavity supermodes are suppressed by 35 dB, and the pulse-to-pulse timing jitter is 6 ps.     

Femtosecond diode-pumped Nd:glass laser with more than 1 W of average output power

We have demonstrated 175-fs pulses with 1 W and 300-fs pulses with 1.2 W of average output power at a pulse repetition rate of 117 MHz from a Nd:phosphate (Schott LG 760) glass laser pumped by a 1-cm-wide, 20-W diode laser bar. Stable soliton mode locking was achieved by use of an intracavity semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. We obtained more than 2 W of average power without mode locking. Using cylindrical cavity mirrors, we adapted the laser mode inside the Nd:glass to the highly elliptical pump beam in both dimensions (tangential and sagittal axes) while maintaining a nearly ideal circular TEM(00) output beam with M(2) approximately 1.2 . Overpumping the laser mode in the tangential plane and efficient unidirectional heat removal in the sagittal plane using a 0.8-mm thin Nd:glass also contributed to the good output-beam quality.     

Toward higher-order passive harmonic mode-locking of a soliton fiber laser

We report >13 MHz/mW pump power efficiency in increasing the repetition rate of passive harmonic mode-locking by engineering the soliton pulse energy in Er fiber lasers incorporating carbon nanotube saturable absorber. Stable pulses with a ～5 GHz repetition rate and 40 dB of super-mode suppression are demonstrated with only ～400 mW pump power in a single-clad fiber laser.     

10-GHz dispersion-managed soliton fiber-optical parametric oscillator using regenerative mode locking

We demonstrate a regeneratively mode-locked fiber-optical parametric oscillator that utilizes intracavity dispersion compensation to generate pulses at a 10-GHz repetition rate in both soliton and nonsoliton regimes. At the threshold pump power the generated pulses are close to fundamental solitons. At higher pump powers we found a significant deviation of the pulses from the sech2 shape. In addition, the use of an ultralow-jitter self-starting pump-pulse source in a regenerative feedback loop allows for a significant reduction of the signal's timing jitter and amplitude noise.     

The analysis of excite and probe measurements of relaxation times with fluctuating pulse duration

The effect of fluctuations in the pulse duration of synchronously pumped modelocked pulse trains on excite and probe measurements is discussed. Relaxation times comparable with the pulse durations can be measured even when large pulse-to-pulse fluctuations in duration exist. The pump and probe pulse durations are assumed to be correlated. When the probe pulses are the second harmonic of the pump, or vice versa, the third harmonic must also be generated to permit deconvolution of experimental excite and probe data. When the pump and probe pulses have the same time dependence, the excite and probe curves consist of the desired response function convolved with the time-averaged second harmonic autocorrelation function which is easily measured. Deconvolution yields the relaxation time but fluctuations in pulse duration increase the root-mean-square voltage fluctuation at the output of the detector system and limit the accuracy with which the relaxation time can be calculated.     

Mode-locked fiber laser with a manganese-doped cadmium selenide saturable absorber

We demonstrate the generation of mode-locked pulses in an erbium-doped fiber laser(EDFL) by using a new manganese-doped cadmium selenide quantum-dots-based saturable absorber. The laser produces a soliton pulse train operating at 1561.1 nm with a repetition rate of 1 MHz, as the pump power is varied from 113 to 250 m W.At the maximum pump power, we obtain the pulse duration of 459 ns with a signal-to-noise ratio of 50 dB.     

Experimental observation of superradiance in the stimulated scattering of an intense microwave pump wave by a counterpropagating subnanosecond high-current relativistic electron bunch

The generation of ultrashort superradiant pulses in the stimulated scattering of an intense microwave (38 GHz) pump wave by a counterpropagating high-current relativistic electron bunch has been observed. Scattered radiation is a single ～200-ps pulse with a peak power of about 1 MW. Owing to the Doppler shift of the radiation frequency, frequencies up to 150 GHz are present in the spectrum of the scattered pulse.     

Supercontinuum generation employing the high-energy wave-breaking-free pulse in a compact all-fiber laser system

Supercontinuum (SC) generation is experimentally achieved in a compact all-fiber laser system by using high-energy wave-breaking-free dissipative soliton (DS) pulses. The pulses exhibit Gaussian (rectangular) shape profiles in spectral (temporal) domain, which is even reversed of the typical rectangular-spectrum DSs. With the increase of pump power the pulse duration enlarges dramatically whereas the bandwidth and peak power of the pulse keep almost constant, which enables the pulse to accumulate much higher energy during the pulse-shaping process. When inputting the amplified pulse into the single-mode fiber, SC with excellent flatness is generated with the spectral range from about 1550 to 1700 nm. Broader SC with the bandwidth of even larger than 1000 nm can also be generated by this kind of pulse in the near-zero-dispersion-flattened photonic-crystal fiber through strong nonlinear effects.     

Different operation states of soliton pulses in an erbium-doped fibre ring laser

We report on the experimental observation of soliton pulses in an erbium doped fibre ring laser. The passive mode-locking is achieved using the nonlinear polarization rotation technique. By adjusting the pump power and the intracavity polarization controllers, a normal soliton, a stable 8th harmonic mode-locked pulse and a noise-like pulse have been observed in our laser. The experimental results revealed that the noise-like pulse is not suitable for the optical telecommunication, and in order to obtain the stable harmonic mode-locked soliton, a strong unstable CW laser field is necessary to mediate global soliton interaction. The formation mechanism of the harmonic mode-locked pulse has also been analysed.     

Efficient and tunable diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:glass lasers

Diode-pumped Yb:phosphate and Yb:silicate glass lasers have been passively mode locked for the first time to the authors' knowledge. Reliable self-starting mode locking without critical cavity alignment has been achieved with intracavity semiconductor saturable-absorber mirrors and soliton mode locking. We generated pulses as short as 58 fs with the Yb:phosphate laser and 61 fs with the Yb:silicate laser at average output powers of 65 and 53 mW, respectively. The pulse repetition rate was 112 MHz. Additionally, we demonstrated tunability of femtosecond pulses from 1025 to 1065 nm for the Yb:phosphate and from 1030 to 1082 nm for the Yb:silicate glasses. The highest mode-locked output power was 405 mW, with 183-fs pulses from the phosphate glass. The diode pump power was 1.68 W, corresponding to 24% optical-to-optical efficiency. The highest cw output power was 510 mW at the same incident pump power.