Supercontinuum generation in a standard fiber pumped by noise-like pulses from a figure-eight fiber laser

We report the experimental study of broadband spectrum generation in a piece of standard fiber (SMF-28) using as the pump a train of noise-like pulses, or sub-nanosecond packets of sub-ps pulses with randomly varying amplitudes. The pulses are generated by an erbium-doped figure-eight fiber laser, and present a wide (∼50 nm) optical spectrum, which represents a significant advantage to seed the generation of new frequencies. Another advantage of the pulses is their relatively large energy, as they are made up of a large number of ultrashort pulses. After amplification with an Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA), the pulses were injected in a 0.75 km length of SMF-28 fiber. We obtained experimentally at the end of the fiber an output signal spectrum extending from 1530 nm to at least 1750 nm (the upper limit of the spectrum analyzer) for pump pulses with an average power of 20.4 mW, corresponding to a few kilowatts peak power. The spectral broadening is due to Raman self-frequency shift (SFS). It is noteworthy that the spectrum of the newly created frequencies was extremely uniform over the range of measurement. Considering that the Raman shift is directly related to the pump pulse duration, spectral flatness is a direct consequence of the random distribution of amplitudes and durations of the pulses in the packet. Finally, the results show the capabilities of noise-like pulses from a fiber laser for applications in supercontinuum generation based on nonlinear phenomena such as Raman SFS.     

Dual-wavelength operation of a figure-eight fiber laser

We study numerically an erbium-doped figure-eight fiber laser including a double-band-pass optical filter for dual-wavelength pulse generation. Simulations are performed for several values of the filter band-width and wavelength separation between the transmission windows. The results show that dual-wavelength mode-locking is obtained in most cases, with a balanced energy distribution between wavelengths. Due to cavity dispersion, the pulses at each wavelength are asynchronous for a large wavelength separation, whereas they are synchronous for closely spaced wavelengths, as in this case cross-phase modulation is able to compensate for the dispersion-induced walkoff. In the asynchronous case, dual-wavelength operation is favored by the filter loss, whereas in the synchronous case it is favored by the saturable absorber action of the nonlinear optical loop mirror. Simulations also show that, thanks to those stabilization mechanisms, dual-wave-length pulsed operation does not require precise cavity loss equalization between the two oscillating wave-lengths.     

Noiselike pulses with a broadband spectrum generated from an erbium-doped fiber laser

An erbium-doped fiber laser that produces a train of intense noiselike pulses with a broadband spectrum and a short coherence length is reported. The noiselike behavior was observed in the amplitude as well as in the phase of the pulses. The maximum spectral width obtained was 44 nm. The high intensity and the short coherence length of the light were maintained even after propagation through a long dispersive fiber. A theoretical model indicates that this mode of operation can be explained by the internal birefringence of the laser cavity combined with a nonlinear transmission element and the gain response of the fiber amplifier.     

Multiple pulses with broadband spectrum generation in passively mode-locked fiber ring laser incorporating a highly nonlinear fiber

Multiple pulses with broadband spectrum generation are experimentally obtained in passively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber ring lasers based on nonlinear polarization rotation, which is achieved by incorporating a length of highly nonlinear dispersion-shifted fiber in the laser cavity. The temporal and spectral dynamic behaviors of multipulse bunching states are demonstrated. The maximum spectral width and flatness are attained when the continuous-wave component is suppressed under appropriate polarization states and pump powers.     

Generation of 2-nJ pulses from a femtosecond ytterbium fiber laser

We report a mode-locked ytterbium fiber laser that generates femtosecond pulses with energies as large as 2.2 nJ. This represents a 20-fold improvement in pulse energy compared with that of previously reported femtosecond Yb fiber lasers. The laser produces pulses as short as 52 fs, which are to our knowledge the shortest pulses to date from a Yb fiber laser. The laser is diode pumped by a wavelength-division multiplexing coupler, which leads to excellent stability.     

Experimental observation of stable bound solitons in a figure-eight fiber laser

Temporal bound solitons are observed experimentally in a passively mode-locked figure-eight fiber laser with a dispersion-imbalanced nonlinear optical loop mirror (DI-NOLM). Soliton interactions are suppressed by use of a spectral bandpass filter, and Gordon-Haus timing jitter is eliminated with a DI-NOLM, which removes the cw light component in the laser cavity. The bound solitons are found to be stable for several hours in the laser cavity when no external perturbation is applied.     

Generation of long laser pulses in the scheme of a double-pass amplifier with SBS mirror

The influence of the SBS return on the gain of a Nd:YAP double-pass amplifier is investigated. The temporal behaviour of the output is studied for the case of long laser pulses.     

Rational harmonic figure-eight actively-passively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser

The nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) is used as a saturable absorbed to reshape pulses. Experimentally, an actively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber ring laser with figure-eight structure is set up. 2 - 4 order harmonic pulse train with stable amplitude has been obtained when the RF modulation frequency is about 2.5 GHz.     

Numerical analysis of a broadband spectrum generated in a standard fiber by noise-like pulses from a passively mode-locked fiber laser

This paper covers a numerical analysis of supercontinuum spectrum generation in a piece of standard fiber by using as the pump noise-like pulses produced by a passively mode-locked fiber laser. An experimental study was also carried out, yielding results that support the numerical results. In the numerical study we estimated that the spectral extension of the generated supercontinuum reaches ~ 1000 nm, and that it presents a high flatness over a region of ~ 220 nm (1630 nm-1850 nm) when we use as the pump noise-like pulses with a wide optical bandwidth (~ 50 nm) and a peak power of ~ 2 kW. Experimentally, the output signal spectrum extends from ~ 1530 nm to at least 1750 nm and presents a high flatness over a region of 1640 nm to 1750 nm for the same value of numerical input power, 1750 nm being the upper limit of the optical spectrum analyzer. The numerical analysis presented here is thus an essential part to overcome the severe limitation in measuring capabilities and to understand the phenomena of supercontinuum generation, which is mainly related to Raman self-frequency shift. Finally, this work demonstrates the potential of noise-like pulses from a passively mode-locked fiber laser for broadband spectrum generation.     

Stimulated Raman hyperspectral imaging based on spectral filtering of broadband fiber laser pulses

We demonstrate a technique of hyperspectral imaging in stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy using a tunable optical filter, whose transmission wavelength can be varied quickly by a galvanometer mirror. Experimentally, broadband Yb fiber laser pulses are synchronized with picosecond Ti:sapphire pulses, and then spectrally filtered out by the filter. After amplification by fiber amplifiers, we obtain narrowband pulses with a spectral width of <3.3 cm(-1) and a wavelength tunability of >225 cm(-1). By using these pulses, we accomplish SRS imaging of polymer beads with spectral information.     

Generation of ten-cycle pulses from an ytterbium fiber laser with cubic phase compensation

We demonstrate the use of a prism-grating sequence to reduce third-order dispersion inside a mode-locked Yb fiber laser. This laser generates pulses as short as 33 fs with extremely clean temporal and spectral profiles. Nanojoule pulse energies are possible.     

Generation of 47-fs pulses directly from an erbium-doped fiber laser

We show both numerically and experimentally that through appropriately selecting the output coupling position and strength in a mode-locked fiber laser, one can effectively manage the nonlinearity of the cavity. By implementing the technique together with cavity dispersion management in an erbium-doped fiber laser, we have achieved stable mode-locked pulses with a single-pulse energy of 2.08 nJ and pulse width of 46.2 fs directly from the laser.     

Generation of dual-wavelength domain-wall rectangular-shape pulses in HNLF-based fiber ring laser

The generation of dual-wavelength domain-wall rectangular-shape pulses in a highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF)-based fiber ring laser is experimentally demonstrated. The dual-wavelength lasing operation is realized by employing the intracavity birefringence-induced spectral filtering effect. An 85 m long HNLF is introduced into the fiber ring laser to enhance the nonlinear effect, which is favorable for the cross coupling between the two lasing beams. Experimentally, it was found that the interval of two domain walls in the time domain could be adjusted by simply tuning the linear cavity phase delay, which results in the achievement of different output pulse shapes. By properly rotating the polarization controller (PC), the dual-wavelength rectangular-shape pulses could be efficiently obtained. The proposed fiber laser provides a simple and efficient way to generate rectangular-shape pulse.     

Generation of high-energy pulses from an all-normal-dispersion figure-8 fiber laser

We propose and study numerically an all-normal-dispersion Ytterbium-doped figure-eight fiber laser scheme for generation of high-energy pulses. The monotonous pulse stretching that takes place in the fiber under the combined actions of normal dispersion and nonlinear Kerr effect is compensated by the amplitude modulation effect of a bandpass filter inserted in the ring section of the laser. The Nonlinear Optical Loop Mirror (NOLM) also contributes to shorten the pulses. An output coupler with a large output coupling ratio is inserted at the amplifier output in order to extract the maximal energy from the laser. A short segment of Ytterbium-doped fiber compensates for the losses. Stable single-pulse operation is predicted over a wide range of values of the laser parameters. If the laser parameters (ring and NOLM length, dispersion, filter bandwidth, output coupling ratio) are optimized, pulses with several tens of nanojoules energy are readily obtained, with picosecond duration and a large positive chirp which is linear near the peak. If small-signal gain is large enough, the use of very large output coupling ratios opens the way to pulse energies close to 100 nJ and, after dechirping outside the laser, to durations of ˜50 fs and peak powers of 1 MW.     

Generation of few-cycle laser pulses by coherent synthesis based on a femtosecond Yb-doped fiber laser amplification system

We demonstrate a coherent synthesis system based on femtosecond Yb-doped fiber laser technology. The output pulse of the amplification system is divided into two replicas and seeded into photonic crystal fibers of two parallel branches for nonlinear pulse compression. Because of the different nonlinear dynamics in the photonic crystal fibers, the compressed pulses show different spectra, which can be spliced to form a broad coherent spectrum. The integrated timing jitter between the pulses of two branches is less than one tenth of an optical cycle.By coherently synthesizing pulses from these two branches, 8 fs few-cycle pulses are produced.     

Generation of ultraviolet broadband light in a single-mode fiber

Ultraviolet broadband light spanning 337–405 nm was produced in a single-mode optical fiber primarily by stimulated Raman scattering. Pulses of 4 ns duration at 337 nm were coupled into a 50 m long ultraviolet-grade fiber featuring single-mode operation in the 320–450 nm range. Significant spectral broadening was achieved with pulses of only ∼10 W peak power. Our experiments demonstrate the potential for a source with ∼10⁴ times the spectral radiance of a quartz tungsten halogen lamp, which is currently used for many applications in this wavelength range. PACS 42.65.Ky; 42.81.Wg     

Generation of long plasma channels in air by focusing ultrashort laser pulses with an axicon

We show that by focusing ultrashort-pulsed laser beams in air with an axicon, relatively long plasma channels can be generated. The axicon generates Bessel-like beams, where the on-axis intensity stays high over distances much longer compared to focusing with conventional lenses. We developed a scheme to detect the presence of the plasma, based on its screening property. Using this scheme, we detected plasma channels longer than 1 m and 3.5 m generated by 8 mJ and 90 mJ input pulse energies, respectively. Our simulations show that axicon focusing can yield self-guided propagation with or without contribution of plasma, depending on the input pulse power.     

Generation of a broadband single-mode supercontinuum in a conventional dispersion-shifted fiber by use of a subnanosecond microchip laser

We report the experimental generation, simply by use of a subnanosecond microchip laser at 532 nm and a conventional dispersion-shifted fiber, of a supercontinuum that spans more than 1100 nm. We show by detailed spectral analysis that this supercontinuum originates from a preliminary four-wave mixing process with multimode phase matching and subsequent double-cascade stimulated Raman scattering and is transversely single mode as a result of Raman-induced mode competition. This technique is believed to be the simplest configuration that allows one to generate a stable supercontinuum.     

Generation of excellent self-similar pulses in a dispersion-decreasing fiber

Pulses compression has been widely studied for a long time. In order to generate excellent self-similar pulses in a dispersion-decreasing optical fiber with normal group-velocity dispersion, the influence of initial pulse parameters on the properties of the self-similar parabolic pulses interaction are firstly investigated in the paper. We find that the phase of sinusoidal fit and asymptotic dark soliton change according to the changing of initial phase difference. Meanwhile, increasing the full-width at half-maximum and input energy or decreasing time-delay properly, the interaction between self-similar pulses enhances accordingly, which makes the interaction length shorter and reduce the lose of energy, resulting in high energy output. The results are beneficial in experimental studies by adjusting the initial parameters of pulses to generate high-quality self-similar pulse. It is important for Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) transmission system which is in heavy demands of light source in wide-range wavelength.