All-fiber acousto-optic tunable notch filter with a fiber winding driven by a cuneal acoustic transducer

We report a type of all-fiber acousto-optic tunable notch filter consisting of a cuneal acoustic transducer and a fiber winding of four unjacketed single-mode fibers. With -32 dB peak rejection efficiency and 178 nm tunable range of the central wavelength, all of the tunable characteristics of the all-fiber acousto-optic tunable filter are kept. In addition, the structure is versatile and convenient for use in building other complicated filters. As an example, a coarse comblike filter has been built by adjusting the axial strains of the unjacketed 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.     

2 W/nm peak-power all-fiber supercontinuum source and its application to the characterization of periodically poled non-linear crystals

We demonstrate a uniform high spectral brightness and peak power density all-fiber supercontinuum source. The source consists of a nanosecond Ytterbium fiber laser and an optimal length PCF producing a continuum with a peak power density of 2 W/nm and less than 5 dB of spectral variation between 590 and 1500 nm. The Watt level per nm peak power density enables the use of such sources for the characterization of non-linear materials. Application of the source is demonstrated with the characterization of several periodically poled crystals.     

Single mode MOPA structured all-fiber Yb pulse fiber amplifier at low repetition

We describe a mopa structured all-fiber 15 μm fiber amplifier cascade. A single-mode diode laser generating 1064 nm wavelength, several nanosecond pulses at 100 Hz repetition was adopted to seed a corepumping amplifier featuring a 6 μm core Yb-doped fiber. Multi-stage pulse-pumping technology was applied to eliminate ASE as much as possible and ease the heat load of the system that leads to the freedom of temperature control of the laser diode. The master oscillator-power amplifier (MOPA) generated 1064 nm, 18 ns pulse-width, 100 Hz repetition of 220 μJ single pulse energy, peak power >12 kW with single transverse output. The pulse energy of 220 μJ is the largest to date in the all-fiber MOPA amplifier with core diameter around 15 μm to our knowledge.     

Compact, single-frequency all-fiber Q-switched laser at 1 microm

We demonstrate a unique, all-fiber, actively Q-switched laser operating in the 1 microm region. The laser is compact, single mode, single frequency, highly polarized, and exhibits high peak power. The laser cavity is constructed without external coupling, utilizing fiber Bragg gratings that permit feedback at only a single polarization. By using a piezoelectric to press the fiber and modulate the fiber birefringence, the cavity is switched between high and low loss states, permitting Q-switching. We demonstrate this Q-switching at repetition rates up to 700 KHz.     

Stable 10 ns, kilowatt peak-power pulse generation from a gain-switched Tm-doped fiber laser

We report what we believe to be the first demonstration of stable short pulse (10 ns) generation from a gain-switched Tm-doped fiber laser in the 2 microm spectral region. A modulated 1.55 microm pump laser was used for fast gain switching to regulate the conventionally chaotic spiking in the gain-switched fiber laser. From a 6.3 microm core all-fiber oscillator, over a kilowatt of peak power was obtained at the slope efficiency of 50% and freely varying repetition rate up to 500 kHz.     

Brillouin lasing in a single-mode tellurite fiber

We demonstrate Brillouin lasing in a single-mode TeO(2)-Bi(2)O(3)-ZnO-Na(2)O tellurite fiber. A peak value of Brillouin gain coefficients of 1.6989 x 10(-10) m/W is measured on the basis of gain characteristics. An all-fiber Brillouin laser with a maximum unsaturated power of 54.6 mW at 1550 nm and a slope efficiency of 38.2% are achieved from a 200 m tellurite fiber by employing a ring cavity. In addition, a tunable Brillouin comb tellurite fiber laser is demonstrated.     

Self-Q-switched Er-Brillouin fiber source with extra-cavity generation of a Raman supercontinuum in a dispersion-shifted fiber

Brillouin mirrors based on a single-mode optical fiber provide the simplest, completely passive, and most universal way to produce nanosecond pulses with extensive wavelength tunability. We propose an all-fiber solution, where a passively Q-switched Er-doped Briilouin fiber laser pumped by a low-power laser diode produces pulses with a peak/average power contrast of 500 W/25 mW and, in association with a conventional dispersion-shifted fiber employed as an extracavity nonlinear medium, causes the generation of a nanosecond supercontinuum extending from 900 to over 1800 nm. Expanding evolution of the spectrum kicked off by the multicascade Brillouin process is reported.     

Thermally switchable and discretely tunable comb filter with a linearly chirped fiber Bragg grating

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel switchable and discretely tunable comb filter based on a thermally induced linearly chirped fiber Bragg grating. Experimentally we achieved a thermally induced optical bandpass filter that has eight switchable passband peaks with peak separations of 1.6 and 3.2 nm, a very narrow bandwidth (as small as 10 pm) of each peak, a tunable range of 16.5 nm, and a greater than 25 dB rejection ratio. Two spectral peaks separated by only 0.8 nm were also obtained with this comb filter. This filter provides the unique advantages of an all-fiber structure, switchable spectral peaks, independent tuning of the center wavelength and wavelength spacing of the spectral peaks, low polarization sensitivity, simple structure, ease of fabrication, and low cost.     

Experimental study of an all-fiber laser actively mode-locked by standing-wave acousto-optic modulation

We report an experimental study of an actively mode-locked erbium-doped all-fiber laser, based on a standing-wave acoustically-induced superlattice modulation. Our experiments involve the characterization of the laser as a function of the active fiber length, and with different types of delay line fibers. The effect of the modulation on the laser performance was also investigated. Narrower pulses were obtained at higher modulation depths, normal dispersion, and shorter lengths of active fiber. Optical pulses of 160 mW peak power and 630 ps temporal width were obtained at 9 MHz repetition rate.     

All-fiber passively Q-switched low-threshold erbium laser

A novel all-fiber passively Q-switched erbium laser with a Co(2+):ZnSe crystal as a saturable absorber is demonstrated experimentally. A pump power threshold of 20.5 mW, which the authors believe is the lowest to date, has been measured. Giant pulses with energy of 3.6 nJ and peak power of 0.7 mW have been obtained.     

All-fiber actively Q-switched fiber laser tuned by a pair of temperature controlled fiber Bragg gratings

We report an all-fiber actively Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser, where the linear laser cavity mirrors are composed of two fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). The laser oscillation wavelength could be tuned by this pair of temperature controlled FBGs. The Q-switching is achieved by an all-fiber phase modulation device. Using this system, we could obtain stable Q-switched laser pulses output, which could be optimized by tuning the reflection wavelengths of the two FBGs to be adjacent to each other. Instead of being modulated by the FBG filter in high-speed oscillation, this fiber laser system is operating in the Q-switched regime using an all-fiber phase modulator, producing a more stable laser output spectrum.     

Q-switched fiber laser by all-fiber piezoelectric modulation and pulsed pump

We have demonstrated a Q-switched fiber laser based on a mechanical all-fiber Q-switching module and pulsed-pump configuration. A piezoelectric actuator was utilized in the module to change the round-trip loss of the fiber laser cavity, and exploited the pulsed pump to prevent the multiple pulsing phenomena. Q-switching pulses were successfully achieved at the repetition rates from 1 Hz to 2 kHz, and the average output power was 11 mW. The peak power in excess of 114 W with associated pulse width of 193 ns was obtained at the repetition rate of 500 Hz. Besides preventing multiple pulsing phenomena, pulsed-pump configuration can also suppress amplified spontaneous emission and increase pulse stability and peak power simultaneously.     

Soliton squeezing at the gigahertz rate in a Sagnac loop

We demonstrate what is to our knowledge the first all-fiber squeezing experiment. A balanced Sagnac loop is used, and a record 6.1+/-0.2dB of noise reduction below shot noise has been obtained without stabilization. A gigahertz Er-doped fiber laser and a high-power double-clad Er-Yb amplifier have been developed to suppress guided acoustic-wave Brillouin scattering and to make possible the all-fiber configuration.     

All-fiber actively Q-switched Yb-doped laser

An all-fiber actively Q-switched Yb-doped laser is presented. Q-switching is performed by modulating a fiber Bragg grating via a magnetostrictive rod which is fixed to the fiber at the position of the grating. By exposing the rod to a changing magnetic field, the rod is stretched and relaxed causing the Bragg wavelength of the grating to shift and thereby changes the Q-factor of the cavity. Using Yb-doped fiber, pulses at 1052 nm are obtained at repetition rates from 1 to 200 kHz. At 75 kHz, 0.5 μJ pulses with peak powers of 3 W can be produced when 180 mW of pump power is applied. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first all-fiber actively Q-switched Yb-doped laser presented to date.     

Raman continuum generation at 1.0–1.3 μm in passively mode-locked fiber laser based on nonlinear polarization rotation

We experimentally demonstrate cascaded Raman scattering continuum generation at 1.0–1.3 μm with pulse energy of 47 nJ by utilizing a commercially available all-normal-dispersion single-mode fiber (SMF) with a low threshold pump power. We achieve passively mode-locked all-fiber lasing by nonlinear polarization rotation technique. Continuous Raman gain is obtained by the same SMF in every roundtrip because of the ring-cavity configuration, which makes it possible to achieve high-order Raman Stokes waves by a short fiber length. Limited by the pump power, the maximum output average power and peak power are 87.4 and 339 mW, but it has great potential to be improved. These make it an ideal continuum source for many applications, such as optical coherence tomography.     

Single-frequency high-energy Yb-doped pulsed all-fiber laser

A single-frequency pulsed all-fiber laser with a master oscillator power amplifier configuration is presented. While maintaining the properties of single mode, linear polarization, and narrow linewidth, a single-pulse energy of 260 μJ and over 500-W peak power is experimentally demonstrated at 1 kHz by employing tensile strain gradient and pulse-shape control methods. In addition, approximately 55 dB of optical signal to noise ratio is also achieved.     

Transmission characteristics of Mach–Zehnder interferometer comb filter based on thermal operation

We propose and experimentally demonstrate switchable and tunable transmission characteristics of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer comb filter based on thermal operation. Its temperature characteristics are investigated to reveal a shift in the peak wavelength position from 0.003 to 0.004 nm/°C and a tunable range of wavelength spacing of 0.76–0.90 nm for maximum and minimum effective lengths, respectively. This configuration provides the unique advantages of an all-fiber structure, tunable wavelength spacing, switchable spectral peaks, independent tuning of the center wavelength and wavelength spacing of the spectral peaks, and low polarization sensitivity. It is relatively simple to fabricate and expected to have applications in temperature fiber optic sensors and multiwavelength fiber laser sources.     

Yb-doped strictly all-fiber laser actively Q-switched by intermodal acousto-optic modulation

We show an actively Q-switched ytterbium-doped strictly all-fiber laser. Cavity loss modulation is achieved in a tapered optical fiber by core-to-cladding mode-coupling induced by travelling flexural acoustic waves. When the acoustical signal is switched-off, the optical power losses within the cavity are reduced, and then a laser pulse is emitted. Trains of Q-switched pulses were successfully obtained at repetition rates in the range 1–10 kHz, with pump powers between 59 and 88 mW, at the optical wavelength of 1064.1 nm. Best results were for laser pulses of 118 mW peak power, 1.8 μs of time width, with a pump power of 79 mW, at 7 kHz repetition rate.     

All-fiber polarization switch

We report an all-fiber polarization switch made out of silica-based microstructured fiber suitable for Q-switching all-fiber lasers. Nanosecond high-voltage pulses are used to heat and expand an internal electrode to cause lambda/2-polarization rotation in less than 10 ns for 1.5 microm light. The 10 cm long component has an experimentally measured optical insertion loss of 0.2 dB and a 0-10 kHz repetition frequency capacity and has been durability tested for more than 10(9) pulses.