Picosecond flat-top pulse generation by low-bandwidth electro-optic sinusoidal phase modulation

We report the first experimental demonstration to our knowledge of a microwave frequency upshifting system based on phase modulation. A sequence of flat-top optical and RF pulses at a repetition rate of 18.22 GHz, each with a FWHM time width of approximately 25 ps, is generated from a sinusoidal RF tone of only 3.680 GHz, in good agreement with our analytical and numerical calculations. A simple explanation of this technique based on Talbot effect theory is provided. The practical limitations and capabilities of the phase-modulation-based frequency upshifting approach for ultrabroadband RF waveform generation are also discussed.     

Single S-tapered fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometers

A fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) sensor, novel to our knowledge, based on a single "S"-like fiber taper has been fabricated via applying nonaxial pull in fiber tapering by a fusion splicer. The typical feature size of the structure has a length of 660 μm and the axial offset of 96 μm. This S fiber taper MZI has a refractive index (RI) sensitivity of 1590 nm/refractive index unit in the RI range of 1.409-1.425 and a strain sensitivity of about -60 pm/microstrain, which is 30 times higher than that of the normal two-taper-based MZI sensors.     

Enhancing the sensitivity of fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometers using slow and fast light

We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that the sensitivity of a fiber Mach-Zehnder (M-Z) interferometer can be enhanced by coupling fiber ring resonators with it. The experimental results agree well with theoretical predications that combining slow light with fast light will further increase the sensitivity of a fiber M-Z interferometer.     

Optical ultra-wideband pulse generation and distribution using a dual-electrode Mach-Zehnder modulator

<正>A novel approach to generate and distribute ultra-wideband(UWB) pulses in optical domain is investigated. In this proposed scheme,a dual-electrode Mach-Zehnder modulator(DE-MZM) is biased at its quadrature point so as to realize the linear response.Then the intensity of output optical field can be assumed to the subtraction of two input Gaussian pulses.If the input Gaussian pulses are with the same sharp parameters but different time delays,a quasi-monocycle-waveform UWB signal can be generated.If the input Gaussian pulses are with different amplitudes and full-width at half-maximum(FWHM),a quasi-doublet-waveform UWB signal can be generated.A transmission of the UWB signals through a 25-km single mode fiber is carried out successfully.The results in both temporal and frequency domains are also presented.     

Ultrashort pulse generation using fiber FM laser

Ultrashort optical pulse generation using a fiber FM laser is presented and analyzed in detail. Fiber FM laser operation is realized using a fiber ring with an internal phase modulator and an erbium-doped fiber amplifier. To compress FM laser pulses, an external dispersive single-mode fiber is employed. Furthermore, by external intensity modulation, the pulse background is removed. The background ratio of the generated ultrashort pulse is calculated and compared with the experimental results. The experimental results show an output optical pulse width of 1.77 ps and a spectral bandwidth of 0.5 THz.     

利用受激布里渊散射获得皮秒激光脉冲

 采用两级布里渊结构压缩8ns的Nd：YAG激光，研究了基频光和倍频光的受激布里渊散射（SBS）压缩过程。实验中采用四氯化碳作为SBS介质，经第一级双池SBS压缩后，获得了1.5ns左右的Stokes 脉冲；第二级采用单池SBS压缩，分别使用基频光和倍频光作为泵浦光，获得了最短为60ps 的Stokes脉冲。实验证明，在一定条件下，利用SBS压缩脉宽可以获得比介质的声子寿命更短的脉冲。     

Picosecond pulse shaping in a semiconductor-coated D-shaped fiber

Amorphous films of alpha-SiC:H and alpha-Si:H were deposited upon the flat surfaces of D-shaped fibers. Interaction of light with the semiconductor films occurred through evanescent coupling. Pulse shaping on a picosecond time scale was observed in 3.5-cm-long fibers with optical powers of <10 W, enhancing the effective nonlinearity by a factor of 10(3) .     

10 GHz, 2.4 ps pulse generation using a single-stage dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulator

This Letter reports on picosecond pulse generation at a repetition of 10 GHz by using a single-stage electro-optic LiNbO(3) Mach-Zehnder modulator, stressing the simplicity of its setup. It is analytically and experimentally proved that dual-arm modulation with in-phase sinusoidal signals having slightly different amplitudes generated a highly coherent optical comb with a great spectral flatness and a parabolic phase relationship in its spectrum. The generated comb was Fourier synthesized and shaped into an ultrashort pulse train with an optical bandpass filter and a dispersive fiber. The pulse source was highly stable, exhibiting an ultralow timing jitter of less than 130 fs.     

Millimeter-wave pulse generation based on pulse reshaping using superstructure fiber Bragg grating

A novel optical approach is proposed to generate millimeter wave (MMW) pulse signal based on the pulse reshaping of superstructure fiber Bragg grating (SSFBG). In our scheme, one input pico-second Gaussian pulse is transformed into n Gaussian pulses by the SSFBG reshaping firstly, and then the pulse train is replicated to form a required frequency modulation MMW optical pulse envelope by the linear chirped fiber Bragg grating (LCFBG) or other highly dispersive element. The high-speed photodetector (PD) and band-pass filter can transform the MMW optical pulse into an MMW pulse signal ultimately. Depending on this scheme, MMW signals with frequency up to 10 GHz can be easily generated by the completed fiber components.     

Picosecond pulse amplification in a core-pumped large-mode-area erbium fiber

Amplification in a single-clad, large-mode-area erbium fiber as an alternative to double-clad Er-Yb amplifiers is presented. Both signal and pump are coupled through a mode-matched splice into the fundamental mode, which ensures preferential gain in the fundamental mode while minimizing the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). The 875 microm(2) effective area of the Er fiber enables amplification of 6 ps pulses at 1.55 microm wavelength by approximately 33 dB in a single stage to >25 kW peak power with low nonlinear pulse distortion and a diffraction-limited output beam with M(2)<1.1.     

Demonstration of displacement- and frequency-noise-free laser interferometry using bidirectional Mach-Zehnder interferometers

We have demonstrated displacement- and frequency-noise-free laser interferometry (DFI) by partially implementing a recently proposed optical configuration using bidirectional Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs). This partial implementation, the minimum necessary to be called DFI, has confirmed the essential feature of DFI: the combination of two MZI signals can be carried out in a way that cancels displacement noise of the mirrors while maintaining gravitational-wave signals. The attained maximum displacement-noise suppression was 45 dB.     

Picosecond pulse generation in a benzene raman generator amplifier system

Picosecond ruby laser pulses generate simultaneously Stokes pulses of the 992 cm^–1 ring breathing mode and of the 3063 cm^–1 CH-stretching mode of benzene in a Raman generator cell by stimulated Raman scattering under self-focusing conditions. The Raman generator light is spectrally filtered, collimated, and amplified in three Raman amplifier cells pumped by ruby laser pulses. Both first Stokes lines have been selectively amplified to short, low divergence, intense light pulses.     

Mach-Zehnder interferometers assembled with optical microfibers or nanofibers

We demonstrate Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI) assembled using optical microfibers or nanofibers (MNFs) drawn from silica fibers and tellurite glasses. As-assembled MZIs, with dimensions of tens to hundreds of micrometers, show good interference fringes with extinction ratios of approximately 10 dB. The path-length difference of the MZI can be tuned by micromanipulation under an optical microscope. The MNF-assembled MZIs demonstrated here show advantages of easy fabrication, in situ tunability, and compact size.     

Optical bistability in tunable fiber laser using fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer

In this letter, a novel mechanism of hybrid optical bistability is proposed by using nonlinear mechanism in the frequency domain. This device is based on electro-optical feedback through the fiber Bragg grating on piezoelectric transducer (PZT) to tune continuous wave (CW) fiber laser. The optical bistable characteristics for two manners of separately alternating input power and bias voltage are discussed. The smallest wavelength shift of the order of 0.001 nm needed to realize a switching process in this optical bistability device is estimated. The potential applications of this device in the optical fiber sensor technique are also discussed.     

Fringe contrast in three grating Mach-Zehnder atomic interferometers

Several three-grating Mach-Zehnder atomic interferometers have been built and operated in recent years but no general theory of the contrast of the fringes produced by these apparatus is available. The purpose of this paper is to develop this theory, based on the Fresnel-Kirchoff approximate treatment of diffraction. Such a theory has been developed by Turchette et al. [JOSA B 9, 1601 (1992)] but because the necessary multiple integrals were evaluated in a purely numerical way, this treatment was not fully general. We show here how to reduce the computation by analytic means and we are thus able to calculate the contrast with a modest numerical effort. Moreover, we get a simple insight of the contrast reduction related to several defects of a real apparatus. We apply our calculations to existing interferometers as well as to an apparatus working with lithium which is under construction in our laboratory. Received: 24 April 1998 / Revised: 25 October 1998 / Accepted: 11 December 1998     

Picosecond pulse generation by intracavity nonlinear compression in self-injected Nd-YAG laser

A new type of laser which generates pulses with amplification band-limited picosecond duration is presented. 15 ps, 0.9 GW, 3 pps, λ = 1.06 μm in a single pulse are obtained with good stability. Accurate timing of the pulses can be achieved and no external pulse selection is required.     

Picosecond laser pulse correlation by using a molecular dye

Summary We present a new, simple and cost effective scheme for the measure of the second-order correlation function of Nd-YAG laser second-harmonic (532 nm) pulses. We measure the transmission of a probe beam in a cell containing 6G-Rhodamine solution bleached by a counterpropagating pump beam. Under a convenient choice of experimental parameters, we can measure also the contribution of third-order correlation function.     

Multiwavelength pulse generation in semiconductor-fiber ring laser using a sampled fiber grating

A novel multiwavelength scheme has been demonstrated using a sampled fiber grating in semiconductor-fiber ring laser. By using semiconductor optical amplifier as an inhomogeneously broadened gain medium, three wavelength channels of 10 GHz are simultaneously generated. The number of the lasing channels can be changed through the polarization state adjustment in the cavity.     

7-GHz high-repetition-rate mode-locked pulse generation using short-cavity phosphate glass fiber laser

A compact short-cavity high-repetition-frequency mode-locked fiber laser configured with Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ highly co-doped phosphate glass fiber and a graphene optical deposited film as saturable absorber is proposed and analyzed experimentally. The laser operates in stable mode-locked regime with fundamental repetition rate of 7.02 GHz. The output power is measured to be 1.2 mW with pump power around 80 mW, and the optical spectrum is centered about 1533.768 nm with mode spacing of 0.056 nm. As the pump power increases, the laser operates in multi-wavelength mode-locking emission state with the same longitude mode spacing. Moreover, the measure results show that different wavelength emission operates in different polarization states.