Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (WS_2 and MoS_2) Saturable Absorbers for Mode-Locked Erbium-Doped Fiber Lasers

We demonstrate an ultrafast fiber laser based on transition metal dichalcogenide materials which are tungsten disulfide(WS2) and molybdenum disulfide(MoS_2) as saturable absorber(SA). These materials are fabricated via a simple drop-casting method. By employing WS_2, we obtain a stable harmonic mode-locking at the threshold pump power of 184 mW, and the generated soliton pulse has 3.48 MHz of repetition rate. At the maximum pump power of 250 mW, we also obtain a small value of pulse duration, 2.43 ps with signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) of 57 dB.For MoS_2 SA, the pulse is generated at 105 mW pump power with repetition rate of 1.16 MHz. However, the pulse duration cannot be detected by the autocorrelator device as the pulse duration recorded is 468 ns, with the SNR value of 35 dB.     

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.     

Stable new bound soliton pairs in a 10 GHz hybrid frequency modulation mode-locked Er-fiber laser

We report what is, to our knowledge, the first experimental observation of stable new bound soliton pairs at the 10 GHz repetition rate in a hybrid FM harmonic mode-locked Er-fiber laser (1177 soliton pairs simultaneously in the laser cavity). The two solitons in the soliton pair have the identical pulse shape and are with the antiphase (pi phase difference). Their time separation is about three times the FWHM soliton width and varies with the phase modulation strength. The corresponding mechanism for explaining the formation as well as the superior stability of these closely bound soliton pairs is also given.     

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     

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。     

Passive harmonic mode locking of soliton bunches in a fiber ring laser

We report on the experimental observation of passive harmonic mode locking of bunches of single-pulse solitons or twin-pulse solitons in an Erbium-doped fiber ring laser. Experimental investigations on the phenomenon revealed that, although the soliton interaction between the adjacent single-/twin-pulse solitons in a bunch is weaker than that of the pulse interaction in the twin-pulse solitons, a soliton bunch could also function as a unit and form the state of passively harmonic mode-locking. Harmonic mode-locking is one of the intrinsic characteristics of soliton emission in passively mode-locked fiber ring lasers. It can be formed based on the single-pulse soliton, twin-pulse soliton, or bunch of solitons.     

Asymmetrical surface soliton trains

We elucidate the existence, stability and propagation dynamics of multi-spot soliton packets in focusing saturable media. Such solitons are supported by an interface beside which two harmonically photonic lattices with different modulation depths are imprinted. We show that the surface model can support stable higher-order structures in the form of asymmetrical surface soliton trains, which is in sharp contrast to homogeneous media or uniform harmonic lattice modulations where stable asymmetrical multi-peaked solitons do not exist. Surface trains can be viewed as higher-order soliton states bound together by several different lowest order solitons with appropriate relative phases. Their existence as stable objects enriches the concept of compact manipulation of several different solitons as a single entity and offers additional freedom to control the shape of solitons by adjusting the modulation depths beside the interface.     

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.     

Generation of picosecond soliton pulses with tunable repetition rate by modulational instability

Picosecond soliton pulse train has been obtained from a passively mode locked erbium-doped ring fiber laser. The passive mode-locking mechanism that is at play in this laser relies on the modulational instability (MI) theory. By accurately adjusting the polarization setting of the circulating cavity light, the repetition rate can be tuned from 58 to 114 GHz. Theoretical explanations has also been given.     

Passive mode locking at harmonics of the free spectral range of the intracavity filter in a fiber ring laser

We report the passive mode-locking at harmonics of the free spectral range (FSR) of the intracavity multi-channel filter in a fiber ring laser. The laser uses a sampled fiber Bragg grating (SFBG) with a free spectral range (FSR) of 0.8 nm, or 99 GHz at 1555 nm, and a length of highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber with low and flat dispersion. Stable picosecond soliton pulse trains with twofold to sevenfold enhancement in the repetition rate, relative to the FSR of the SFBG, have been achieved. The passive mode-locking mechanism that is at play in this laser relies on a dissipative four-wave mixing process and switching of repetition rate is realized simply by adjustment of the intracavity polarization controllers.     

Broadly wavelength- and pulse width-tunable high-repetition rate light pulses from soliton self-frequency shifting photonic crystal fiber integrated with a frequency doubling crystal

Soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) in a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) pumped by a long-cavity mode-locked Cr:forsterite laser is integrated with second harmonic generation (SHG) in a nonlinear crystal to generate ultrashort light pulses tunable within the range of wavelengths from 680 to 1800?nm at a repetition rate of 20?MHz. The pulse width of the second harmonic output is tuned from 70 to 600?fs by varying the thickness of the nonlinear crystal, beam-focusing geometry, and the wavelength of the soliton PCF output. Wavelength-tunable pulses generated through a combination of SSFS and SHG are ideally suited for coherent Raman microspectroscopy at high repetition rates, as verified by experiments on synthetic diamond and polystyrene films.     

A new soliton communication band for optical networking redundancy using a Gaussian soliton generation

We present a novel communication band of the tunable multi-Gaussian soliton system, whereas the large bandwidth signals of the spatial soliton pulses can be generated after propagating within the nonlinear ring resonator system. A Gaussian pulse input with 20 ns pulse width, 2 W peak power, the center wavelength at 1300 nm is propagated into the nonlinear ring resonator system. Using the appropriate parameters relating to the practical device such as micro-ring radii, coupling coefficients, linear and nonlinear refractive index, we found that the multi-soliton pulse obtained have shown the potential of application for a new dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) band. The soliton pulse width and free spectrum range of 400 and 7 fm are obtained, respectively, which can be used to increase the channel capacity in soliton communication. Furthermore, the soliton power obtained is available for system and link redundancy, where the output soliton power of 12 W is achieved.     

基于多通单元的高能量耗散孤子锁模光纤振荡器

为了在有限抽运功率条件下探索基于大模场面积光 子晶体光纤的耗散孤子锁模振荡器的能量提升潜力, 本文利用多通单元将基于掺镱大模场面积光子晶体光纤锁模振荡器的腔长延展, 消除了有限抽运功率的限制, 使得该系统能够在较低平均功率水平下获得更高的单脉冲能量. 实验上构建了重复频率低至15.58 MHz的高能量光子晶体光纤锁模脉冲振荡器, 并通过分别使用6 nm带宽和12 nm带宽的两种不同带宽的光谱滤光片, 能够直接输出平均功率分别为3.73 W和4.9 W的啁啾脉冲, 对应单脉冲能量分别为239 nJ和314 nJ. 经过光栅对去啁啾后, 最窄脉冲宽度分别为56 fs和75 fs, 对应峰值功率均超过3 MW. 关键词： 多通单元 耗散孤子 飞秒 光纤激光器     

基于10 m光子晶体光纤的放大自相似锁模振荡器研究

基于单根10 m大模场面积保偏光子晶体光纤, 搭建了带有色散图的放大自相似振荡器; 通过仔细调节腔内色散量的大小以及位于色散补偿端的端镜前的狭缝位置和大小, 实现了稳定的锁模运转, 获得了抛物线形脉冲输出. 输出脉冲的重复频率为8.6 MHz, 脉冲宽度为6.2 ps, 光谱宽度为3.84 nm, 平均功率820 mW, 对应单脉冲能量95 nJ. 这是第一次在自相似振荡器中直接获得重复频率在10 MHz 以下的脉冲输出, 95 nJ也是目前自相似振荡器直接输出的最高脉冲能量. 通过数值模拟证实了在第一个光栅的零级反射处和狭缝滤波后可以分别实现抛物线型脉冲和高斯脉冲的两种锁模脉冲输出.     

Effect of gain media characteristics on the formation of soliton molecules in fiber laser

Erbium doped fiber and Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ codoped phosphate glass fiber are used as the laser media, respectively, to achieve self-started mode-locking based on nonlinear polarization rotation. It is found that the formation of the soliton molecule is the popular phenomenon in fiber laser. The laser media with high gain coefficient and short length is benefit of the formation of the soliton molecule at fundamental repetition rate and will generate evident soliton molecule pulse profile with strong accompanied structures. The achievement of soliton molecule owes to the partial operation of polarization filter effect in laser cavity due to the weak nonlinear polarization rotation in gain media with high gain coefficient and short length.     

Observation of stable bound soliton with dual-wavelength in a passively mode-locked Er-doped fiber laser

A phase-locked bound state soliton with dual-wavelength is observed experimentally in a passively mode-locked Erdoped fiber(EDF) laser with a fiber loop mirror(FLM). The pulse duration of the soliton is 15 ps and the peak-to-peak separation is 125 ps. The repetition rate of the pulse sequence is 3.47 MHz. The output power is 11.8 mW at the pump power of 128 mW, corresponding to the pulse energy of 1.52 nJ. The FLM with a polarization controller can produce a comb spectrum, which acts as a filter. By adjusting the polarization controller or varying the pump power, the central wavelength of the comb spectrum can be tuned. When it combines with the reflective spectrum of the fiber Bragg grating, the total spectrum of the cavity can be cleaved into two parts, then the bound state soliton with dual-wavelength at 1549.7 nm and 1550.4 nm is obtained.     

Mode-locked performance of hybrid soliton pulse source utilizing fiber grating external cavity lasers

Mode-locking characteristic of hybrid soliton pulse source (HSPS) utilizing linearly chirped raised-cosine flat top apodized fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is investigated by using coupled-mode equations. It is found that the fundamental repetition frequency range of HSPS is significantly extended by using linearly chirped raised-cosine flat top apodized FBG instead of linearly chirped Gaussian apodized FBG. The range of repetition frequencies over which proper mode-locking is obtained is 2-3.3 GHz with linearly chirped raised-cosine flat top apodized grating whereas this range is 2.1-2.95 GHz with linearly chirped Gaussian apodized grating.     

Harmonic Mode-Locked Er-Doped Fiber Laser Based on a Microfiber-Based PbS Nanoparticle Saturable Absorber

Lead sulfide (PbS) is a nanomaterial with excellent optical and chemical properties, such as a narrow bandgap (0.37 eV), high thermal damage threshold, and high stability. Obviously, it is appropriate as a saturable absorber (SA) device for ultrafast photonics. However, PbS nanoparticles (NPs) as the SA of ultrashort harmonic mode-locked pulse still haven't been demonstrated at present. In this paper, the PbS NPs are made into an SA-device-based microfiber by optical deposition method and connected in an integrated Erbium-doped fiber laser. And both characteristics and nonlinear optical properties of PbS NPs have been systemically investigated. A fundamental frequency mode-locked pulsed laser is proposed, whose central wavelength is 1560 nm, and the pulse width is 1 ps. In addition, high repetition rate operations are achieved, with a maximum repetition rate of 833 MHz. This is the first time that PbS NPs are used to generate 96th-order harmonic mode-locking, and the corresponding pulse duration is 987 fs. It is demonstrated that PbS NPs are a kind of SA photonic material with excellent performance. It can improve the communication capacity by applying fiber communication, and it has potential application value even in material processing and optical comb.     

Gigahertz Harmonic Mode-Locked Fiber Laser Based on Tunable SMS Ultrafast Optical Switch

A novel passively gigahertz harmonic mode-locked all-fiber laser based on hybrid fiber structure (single-mode fiber–graded-index multimode fiber–single-mode fiber (SMS)) is proposed SMS, which coils on the paddles of polarization controller (PC), is demonstrated to modulate the temporal intensity for mode-locking. The nonlinear absorption properties of the optical switch are controllable by adjusting the paddles of PC; such an ultrafast optical switch enables the wavelength switchable harmonic mode-locking operation. Ultrafast pulses with 1.9 ps at 1558.41 nm and 0.95 ps at 1563.08 nm are generated. The maximum repetition rate of the laser up to 1.127 GHz harmonic of fundamental repetition mode-locking at 1563.08 nm, corresponding to 880 order, and the output power is 4.2 mW. Considering its superiority in terms of low cost, easy integration, and high reliability, the findings validate that SMS can be used in harmonic mode-locking.     

A 40-GHz Colliding Pulse Mode-Locked Semiconductor Laser

A monolithically active-passive integrated colliding pulse mode-locked semiconductor laser is demonstrated in the InGaAsP/InP material system.The device is mode locked at the second harmonic passive mode-locking regime with a wide mode-locking range.Pulse trains with the repetition rate of 40 GHz,3-dB rf line width of 25 kHz,the pulse width of 2.5ps,and a nearly transform-limited time-bandwidth product of 0.53 are obtained.