Output power improvement in an Yb-doped fiber laser with an additional unpumped Yb-doped fiber

Master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) technology has been widely used in high-power or ultrashort-pulse fiber laser systems because the shape of the laser pulse can be easily adjusted. Usually, the first amplification stage of a 1064 nm fiber laser uses the core-pumped Yb-doped fiber amplifier (YDFA); however, the gain or output power is limited owing to the strong amplifier spontaneous emission (ASE) in the 1030 nm band. This paper presents the improved output power in an YDFA by inserting an additional unpumped Yb-doped fiber, which absorbs the lost backward ASE emitted from the pump end. We achieved an output power increase of more than 10% in a low-power signal, and the increase in output power decreased as the signal power increased. Moreover, the insertion of an additional unpumped Yb-doped fiber restricted the unwanted 1030 nm lasing in a low-power signal.     

Picosecond bismuth-doped fiber MOPFA for frequency conversion

We report the development of a bismuth-doped fiber master oscillator power fiber amplifier system. The system operates at 1177 nm, producing 28 ps pulses at 9.11 MHz repetition rate, with an output power of 150 mW and a peak pulse power of 580 W. We subsequently frequency double the output, resulting in a picosecond pulsed visible source operating at 588.5 nm, with a maximum average output power of 13.7 mW.     

220 μJ monolithic single-frequency Q-switched fiber laser at 2 μm by using highly Tm-doped germanate fibers

We report a unique all fiber-based single-frequency Q-switched laser in a monolithic master oscillator power amplifier configuration at ~1920 nm by using highly Tm-doped germanate fibers for the first time. The actively Q-switched fiber laser seed was achieved by using a piezo to press the fiber in the fiber Bragg grating cavity and modulate the fiber birefringence, enabling Q-switching with pulse width and repetition rate tunability. A single-mode polarization maintaining large core 25 μm highly Tm-doped germanate fiber was used in the power amplifier stage. For 80 ns pulses with 20 kHz repetition rate, we achieved 220 μJ pulse energy, which corresponds to a peak power of 2.75 kW with transform-limited linewidth.     

Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Generation and Non-Linear Conversion of Picosecond Bursts from an Amplified Ytterbium-Doped Fiber Laser System

Abstract

This article presents an experimental and theoretical study of the generation of picosecond bursts by a non-polarization-maintaining ytterbium-doped fiber master oscillator fiber amplifier system. The peak power and pulse energy of the burst are higher than 45 kW and 350 nJ at 700 kHz, respectively. The master oscillator fiber amplifier was used to generate 3 W of green and 200 mW of UV light with conversion efficiencies of 16% and 8%, respectively. The enhancement of conversion efficiency by the pulse burst compared with regular pulses was analyzed and attributed to dynamically saturated gain of the pump-power-limited fiber amplifier.     

Generation of 520 mW pulsed blue light by frequency doubling of an all-fiberized 978 nm Yb-doped fiber laser source

Pulsed blue light at 489 nm has been generated by second-harmonic-generation of a nanosecond pulsed master-oscillator power amplifier system based on a short Yb(3+) doped single-mode fiber amplifier at 978 nm and an external-cavity diode laser as seed source. The Yb(3+)-doped fiber was core-pumped by a W type Nd(3+) doped double-clad fiber laser operating on the transition near 930 nm ((4)F(3/2)→(4)I(9/2)). 520 mW of average power was generated at 489 nm using a periodically poled MgO:LiNbO(3), corresponding to a conversion efficiency of 34%.     

皮秒光纤激光脉冲两个关键问题的研究

窄带耗散孤子锁模光纤激光器可以产生接近变换限制的皮秒脉冲,但受非线性相移的限制,输出脉冲重复频率不能通过增加腔长来降低,脉冲能量仅在0.1 nJ以下,严重制约着这类皮秒脉冲的实际应用。提出一种通过耦合器抽取腔内脉冲能量、抑制腔内非线性相移积累,进而允许增加腔长来降低窄带耗散孤子皮秒光纤激光脉冲重复频率的方法。运用该方法,成功地将激光器重复频率由35.2 MHz降低到了1.77 MHz,且脉冲时频特性保持不变。提出了一种基于级间FBG陷波滤波的抑制皮秒脉冲光纤放大中光谱展宽的方法。通过简单地使用级间陷波滤波器,既可窄化第一级光纤放大器后的输出脉冲谱宽,允许采用第二级光纤放大器进一步提升脉冲能量,而且,还可将脉冲重塑为近高斯形,利用高斯脉冲光谱展宽斜率小的特点,允许第二级光纤放大器将脉冲能量提升得更高。利用该方法,在RMS（均方值）谱宽保持0.4 nm以内的前提下,10 ps脉冲经标准单模光纤放大器后,能量可由0.2 nJ可提升到10 nJ以上。     

基于光纤中超短脉冲非线性传输机理与特定光谱选择技术的多波长飞秒激光的产生

高集成、高可靠性宽调谐飞秒激光源在超快光谱学、量子光学及生物成像等研究与应用领域具有重要价值.如在生物多光子显微成像中,具有适中能量的宽调谐飞秒激光源不仅可满足多种生物组织荧光激发所需的峰值功率与激发波长,而且也可以显著提升非线性荧光产生效率、成像分辨率以及增大成像穿透深度.采用自主研发的高可靠性全保偏光纤飞秒激光器作为抽运源,基于低色散光纤中高峰值功率飞秒激光脉冲非线性传输引起的光谱加宽机制,本文开展了多波长全光纤飞秒激光产生技术研究.通过采用中心波长在980, 1000,1050, 1070与1100 nm的带通滤波片选择性地对单模光纤输出光谱中最左边与最右边光谱旁瓣进行滤波,在上述中心波长处分别可获得203, 195, 196, 187与194 fs的激光输出.本文提出的基于全光纤飞秒激光脉冲在单模光纤中非线性传输引起的光谱加宽机制与特定光谱选择技术的实验方案为高集成、高可靠性宽调谐飞秒激光源的实现提供了新的研究途径.     

Kilowatt-peak-power, single-frequency, pulsed fiber laser near 2 μm

We generated single-frequency pulses at kilowatt peak power from an all-fiber Tm-doped master oscillator power amplifier system, which is the first report of this kind (to the best of our knowledge) of a laser in the 2 μm region. Compared with the laser linewidth of seed pulses, spectral broadening by a factor of 3 was observed with the amplified pulses. This was attributed to self-phase modulation in passive pigtail fibers of the components (isolator and wavelength division multiplexing) that were placed after the fiber amplifier. The short pulse width (~7 ns) of the kilowatt-level pulses prevents an onset of stimulated Brillouin scattering in the long fiber. When launching the pulses into several-meter single-mode fiber, significant nonlinear spectral broadening occurs due to modulation instability in the fiber. This reaction is beneficial for generation of a mid- and long-wavelength IR supercontinuum in nonlinear IR fibers.     

All-fiber passively mode-locked laser oscillator at 1.5 microm with watts-level average output power and high repetition rate

We report on a passively mode-locked all-fiber laser oscillator at 1.5 microm based on heavily doped phosphate-glass active fiber. An active fiber only 20 cm long is sufficient to produce as much as 2.4 W of average output power directly from the oscillator. The width of the mode-locked pulses varies from 8 ps at the lowest output power in the mode-locked state to 44 ps at the highest power. Our picosecond laser oscillator features a high repetition rate of 95 MHz and high peak pulse power of approximately 540 W. The oscillator combines the convenience of all-fiber construction with power performance that was previously achievable only with mode-locked bulk-optic laser oscillators or more complex systems involving fiber amplifiers.     

Yb(3+)-ring-doped fiber for high-energy pulse amplification

We report what is to our knowledge the first demonstration of pulse amplification in a cw-pumped fiber in which the doped gain medium has a ring shape surrounding a single-mode core. For a given pump power, ring doping reduces the gain and hence the power lost to amplified spontaneous emission. Thereby, a significantly larger amount of energy can be stored in the amplifier. Using an Yb(3+)-doped fiber pumped by 540 mW of power at 1000 nm, we measured 69 microJ of extracted pulse energy at 1047 nm, the highest value reported to date from a single-mode Yb(3+)-doped fiber. We predict that a fiber cladding pumped by a diode bar can produce pulse energies in excess of 1 mJ.     

100W高光束质量光子晶体光纤棒皮秒脉冲放大器

使用光子晶体光纤棒作为增益介质,设计了皮秒脉冲放大器的实验光路。通过实验研究分析了光子晶体光纤棒皮秒脉冲放大器的输出功率、斜率效率与光光转换效率、光束质量、重复频率、脉宽、光谱。获得了最大平均功率为101.7 W,重复频率为30 MHz,脉宽为6.4 ps,横向和纵向光束质量分别为1.111,1.017的近衍射极限输出,放大器的斜率效率达到了65%,光光转换效率达到了58.9%。     

高稳定性、高质量脉冲压缩飞秒光纤激光系统研究

报道了一款用于眼科手术的高稳定性、高质量脉冲压缩飞秒光纤主振荡功率放大系统. 振荡器采用混合腔方式增加了光纤双折射, 改善了非线性偏振旋转锁模在低重复频率下无法自启动的缺点, 提高了飞秒光纤激光器自启动锁模的稳定性. 研究了脉冲预啁啾与飞秒脉冲压缩质量的关系, 通过实验证明了光纤放大器的入射脉冲保持负的预啁啾状态可以得到最好的脉冲压缩结果. 实验最终实现了满足自启动锁模条件的重复频率19.4 MHz、平均功率1.2 W、脉冲宽度183 fs的激光脉冲, 目前这台激光器是国内首台具有自主知识产权并应用于动物角膜实验的飞秒光纤激光器.     

Femtosecond mode-locked Yb fiber laser for single-mode fiber chirped pulse amplification system

High-peak-power laser systems are based on the chirped pulse amplification (CPA) technique. CPA laser system needs a mode-locked laser oscillator for stable ultrashort pulse laser generation. We report a single-mode fiber CPA system which consists of stable mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser oscillator with a wide tuning range, chirped fiber Bragg grating stretcher, and two Yb-doped fiber amplifiers. The single-mode fibers can generate high-quality and single-mode beams which are stable for long time.     

High power tunable picosecond green laser pulse generation by frequency doubling of an Yb-doped fiber power amplifier seeded by a gain switch laser diode

A compact tunable high power picosecond green laser pulse source based on frequency doubling of an Yb-doped fiber amplifier seeded by a gain switch laser diode has been developed. The fiber amplifier generates the picosecond infrared pulses with average power of 10.3 W, repetition rate of 1 MHz, pulse duration of 150 ps, and tunable range of 20 nm around 1064 nm. For underwater use, the tunable output infrared pulses are frequency doubled into picosecond green laser pulses, which can be tuned from 527 to 537 nm with average power of more than 1.1 W, corresponding to an overall conversion efficiency of 10.7% by a BBO nonlinear crystal. This kind of laser source will have potential application for underwater optical communication.     

High-energy femtosecond Yb-doped all-fiber monolithic chirped-pulse amplifier at repetition rate of 1 MHz

A high-energy femtosecond all ytterbium fiber amplifier based on a chirped-pulse amplification(CPA) technique at a repetition rate of 1 MHz seeded by a dispersion-management mode-locked picosecond broadband oscillator is studied.We find that the compressed pulse duration is dependent on the amplified energy,the pulse duration of 804 fs corresponds to the maximum amplified energy of 10.5 μJ,while the shortest pulse duration of 424 fs corresponds to the amplified energy of 6.75 μJ.The measured energy fluctuation is approximately 0.46% root mean square(RMS) over 2 h.The low-cost femtosecond fiber laser source with super-stability will be widely used in industrial micromachines,medical therapy,and scientific studies.     

Practical all-fiber source of high-power, 120-fs pulses at 1 micrometre

Amplification of femtosecond pulses at 1.03 micrometre in a standard Yb-doped single-mode fiber is reported. A pulse energy of 8 nJ and an average power of 400 mW are obtained, limited by available pump power. To our knowledge these are the highest pulse energy and average power obtained from an integrated, single-mode fiber amplifier. After dechirping, 120-fs, 6-nJ pulses are obtained. A practical fiber-based source with performance comparable with that of a bulk solid-state laser is thus demonstrated, and scaling to substantially higher powers will be possible.     

Effective pulse recompression after nonlinear spectral broadening in picosecond Yb-doped fiber amplifier

We report the performance of a picosecond master-oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system based on a diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) seed laser and Yb-doped fiber amplifier. An average power of 28 W at ∼200 MHz repetition rate is achieved by using only one amplification stage. We found that positive nonlinear phase shift induced by nonlinear effect in the active fiber can be effectively compensated by a grating pair. A pulse duration of ∼1.6 ps is shown after recompression.     

1.8 mJ高倍率Nd:YAG板条皮秒激光放大器

设计了一种高倍率的固体皮秒脉冲激光放大器,采用Nd:YAG板条作为激光增益介质。借助板条结构的角度选通结构,搭建了板条五通放大系统,实现了对注入皮秒脉冲激光的高倍率放大。种子源工作在脉冲模式,放大器泵浦源在连续模式工作。皮秒光纤激光器可以在不同的重复频率下工作,脉冲宽度为13.4 ps。种子光经过隔离和耦合系统之后,注入板条的单脉冲能量为25 nJ。当种子源工作重复频率为24.46 MHz时,板条放大器输出平均功率377 W,单脉冲能量15.5 μJ;当种子源工作重复频率为49.8 kHz时,板条放大器输出平均功率89 W,单脉冲能量1.8 mJ,峰值功率为134 MW,放大倍率达到7.2×104。     

High efficiency, high repetition rate, all-fiber picoseconds pulse MOPA source with 125?W output in 15?μm fiber core

A passive mode-locked fiber laser-delivered 13?ps pulse is saturatedly amplified with a four-stage amplifier chain. 125?W high power all-fiber picoseconds pulse laser is demonstrated in a 15-??m fiber core, and the optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of the main amplifier is up to 86.12?%. A home-made (6?+?1)?×?1 fiber combiner is used to couple the pump light and signal light into the gain double cladding fiber. In order to suppress the nonlinear effects in high-power picosecond fiber amplifiers, the repetition rate of the seed pulse is increased from 60?MHz to?~1?GHz; also the gain fibers are advisably selected. The amplified output spectrum is symmetrically broadened to several nanometers due to self-phase modulation (SPM). No stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and residual pump light are observed and the optical signal-to-noise ratio is more than 30?dB. The all-fiber picoseconds MOPA laser in this report can be easily performed with the conventional fiber handing equipments, and it has great potential to be applied as pump source in the fields of optical parametric oscillator, laser frequency-doubling and supercontinuum generation.     

100 W全光纤声光调Q光纤激光器实验研究

 报道了一台全光纤结构主振荡功率放大(MOPA)型掺镱脉冲光纤激光器,以光纤光栅为腔镜,光纤型声光调Q的光纤激光器为种子源,通过两级掺镱双包层光纤放大器实现功率放大。对声光调Q的光纤激光器输出特性进行了研究,比较了不同泵浦波长、不同重复频率对激光输出功率和脉冲宽度的影响,并实现了最短脉冲宽度25 ns、单脉冲能量45 μJ的脉冲激光输出。在重复频率50 kHz时,对脉冲宽度130 ns、平均功率0.6 W的种子光进行放大,得到了平均功率102.5 W、脉冲宽度约240 ns的激光输出。