Optimization control of modulation-instability gain in photonic crystal fibres with two-zero dispersion wavelengths

We design three kinds of photonic crystal fibres (PCF) with two zero-dispersion wavelengths (ZDWs) using the improved full vector index method (FVIM) and finite-difference frequency domain (FDFD) techniques. Based on these designed fibres, the effect of fibre structure, pump power and wavelength on the modulation instability (MI) gain in the anomalous dispersion region close to the second ZDW of the PCFs is comprehensively analysed in this paper. The analytical results show that an optimal MI gain can be obtained when the optimal pump wavelength (1530~nm) is slightly shorter than the second ZDW (1538~nm) and the optimal pump power is 250~W. Importantly, the total MI gain bandwidth has been increased to 260~nm for the first time, so far as we know, for an optimally-designed fibre with Λ = 1.4~nm and d/Λ = 0.676, and the gain profile became much smoother. The optimal pump wavelength relies on the second ZDW of the PCF whereas the optimal pump power depends on the corporate operation of the optimal fibre structure and optimal pump wavelength, which is important in designing the most appropriate PCF to attain higher broadband and gain amplification.     

Efficient collinear frequency tripling of femtosecond laser with compensation of group velocity delay

This paper demonstrates an approach that negative uniaxial crystal has a relative anomalous dispersion effect which can compensate group velocity delay, and applies this approach to nonlinear frequency conversion of an ultrafast laser field. High efficiency of the third harmonic generation is experimentally fulfilled by adopting a collinear configuration of doubing-compensation-tripling system. Through finely adjusting the incident angle and optical axis direction of the compensation plate, it obtains ultraviolet (UV) output energy of 0.32~mJ centered at 270~nm with spectral bandwidth of 2~nm when input beam at 800~nm was 70~fs pulse duration and 6~mJ pulse energy which was extracted from Ti:sapphire laser system by a diaphragm, corresponding to an 800-to-270~nm conversion efficiency of 5.3% and a factor-of-1.6 improvement in the third harmonic generation of UV band in comparison with a general conventional configuration. Furthermore, when the full energy of 18~mJ from a Ti:sapphire laser system was used and optimized, the UV emission could reach 0.83~mJ.     

High efficiency and broad bandwidth grating coupler between nanophotonic waveguide and fibre

A high efficiency and broad bandwidth grating coupler between a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) nanophotonic waveguide and fibre is designed and fabricated. Coupling efficiencies of 46\% and 25\% at a wavelength of 1.55~μ m are achieved by simulation and experiment, respectively. An optical 3~dB bandwidth of 45~nm from 1530~nm to 1575~nm is also obtained in experiment. Numerical calculation shows that a tolerance to fabrication error of 10~nm in etch depth is achievable. The measurement results indicate that the alignment error of ±2~μ m results in less than 1~dB additional coupling loss.     

Spacing-adjustable and wavelength-tunable multiwavelength fibre laser with nonlinear Brillouin gain and birefringence fibre loop mirror

This paper demonstrates a room-temperature multiwavelength fibre laser with spacing-adjustability and wavelength-tunability. The nonlinear gain of self-excited stimulated Brillouin scattering can suppress mode competition induced by homogeneous broadening of Erbium-doped fibre. With the use of a birefringence fibre loop filter, the wavelength spacing can be adjusted by changing the length of the used birefringence fibre, and the lasing wavelengths can be finely tuned through modifying the filtering profile of the birefringence filter. Multiwavelength output with spectral spacing as small as 0.076~nm and a wavelength number of more than 80 has been successfully produced.     

High energy and long pulse generation with high-birefringence photonic crystal fibre and laser-diode pumped regenerative amplifier

We report on the generation of a high energy and long pulse for pumping optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) by a high-birefringence photonic crystal fibre (HB-PCF) and a laser-diode-pumped regenerative chirped pulse amplifier. Using the femtosecond pump pulse centred at 815~nm, a 1064~nm soliton pulse is produced in the HB-PCF. After injecting it into an Nd:YAG regenerative amplifier with the glass etalons, a narrow-band amplified pulse with an energy of $\sim $4~mJ and a duration of 235 ps is achieved at a repetition rate of 10~Hz, which is suitable for being used as a pump source in the 800~nm OPCPA system.     

Numerical and experimental study on coherent beam combining of fibre amplifiers using simulated annealing algorithm

We present the numerical and experimental study on the coherent beam combining of fibre amplifiers by means of simulated annealing (SA) algorithm. The feasibility is validated by the Monte Carlo simulation of correcting static phase distortion using SA algorithm. The performance of SA algorithm under time-varying phase noise is numerically studied by dynamic simulation. It is revealed that the influence of phase noise on the performance of SA algorithm gets stronger with an increase in amplitude or frequency of phase noise; and the laser array that contains more lasers will be more affected from phase noise. The performance of SA algorithm for coherent beam combining is also compared with a widely used stochastic optimization algorithm, i.e., the stochastic parallel gradient descent (SPGD) algorithm. In a proof-of-concept experiment we demonstrate the coherent beam combining of two 1083~nm fibre amplifiers with a total output power of 12~W and 93% combining efficiency. The contrast of the far-field coherently combined beam profiles is calculated to be as high as 95%.     

连续调谐多波长主动锁模光纤激光器

利用色散补偿法纤增加腔内色散和改变调制频率,在主动锁模光纤环形激光器实验中,得到了可连续调谐的双波长激光脉冲,冷却掺铒光纤,实现了17波长的激光。     

High efficiency continuous-wave tunable signal output of an intracavity singly resonant optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled lithium niobate

In this paper we report on a continuous-wave (CW) intracavity singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (ICSRO) based on periodically poled LiNbO₃ (PPLN) pumped by a diode-end-pumped CW Nd:YVO₄ laser. Considering the thermal lens effects and diffraction loss, an optical ballast lens and a near-concentric cavity are adopted for better operation. Through varying the grating period and the temperature, the tunable signal output from 1406~nm to 1513~nm is obtained. At a PPLN grating period of 29~μ m and a temperature of 413~K, a maximum signal output power of 820~mW at 1500~nm is achieved when the 808~nm pump power is 10.9~W, leading to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 7.51%.     

Spectral-domain intermodal interference and the effect of a low-resolution spectrometer

Spectral-domain intermodal interference is analysed theoretically at the output of a few-mode optical fibre alone and at the output of the optical fibre in a tandem configuration with a Michelson interferometer. The theoretical analysis is performed under general measurement conditions when a broadband source and a low-resolution spectrometer of a Gaussian response function are considered and when the first- and second-order intermodal dispersion effects in the optical fibre are taken into account. The theoretical analysis is performed for two different examples of dispersion curves of a two-mode optical fibre and the effect of the limiting factors is specified.     

An all-solid-state high power quasi-continuous-wave tunable dual-wavelength Ti：sapphire laser system using birefringence filter

This paper describes a tunable dual-wavelength Ti:sapphire laser system with quasi-continuous-wave and high-power outputs. In the design of the laser, it adopts a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser as the pumping source, and the birefringence filter as the tuning element. Tunable dual-wavelength outputs with one wavelength range from 700~nm to 756.5~nm, another from 830~nm to 900mn have been demonstrated. With a pump power of 23~W at 532~nm, a repetition rate of 7~kHz and a pulse width of 47.6~ns, an output power of 5.1~W at 744.8~nm and 860.9~nm with a pulse width of 13.2~ns and a line width of 3~nm has been obtained, it indicates an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 22.2{\%}.     

Spectral-domain intermodal interference under general measurement conditions

Spectral-domain intermodal interference is analysed theoretically at the output of a few-mode optical fibre alone and at the output of the optical fibre in a tandem configuration with a Michelson interferometer. The theoretical analysis is performed under general measurement conditions when a light source of a given spectral bandwidth and a spectrometer of a given spectral bandpass are considered and when first- and second-order intermodal dispersion effects in the optical fibre are taken into account. Thus, the effect of a variable spectral bandpass of a low-resolution spectrometer on the spectral fringe visibility functions for a two-mode optical fibre of known intermodal dispersion is specified.     

A dual-loop Sagnac interferometer

A new type of all-fibre Sagnac interferometer composed of two loops is proposed and analysed in detail. It can be used with a very long transmission line while maintaining excellent performance characteristics due to the automatic compensation of any birefringence effects in the trunk fibre. Preliminary experiments at 1310~nm wavelength with a 70~km long trunk fibre demonstrated an interference visibility as high as 98%, indicating that this scheme has promising potential applications.     

Efficient corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab laser

A corner-pumped type is a new pumping type in the diode-pumped all-solid-state lasers, which has the advantages of high pump efficiency and favourable pump uniformity. A highly efficient corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab laser is demonstrated in this paper. The maximal continuous-wave output power of the 1064~nm laser is up to 18.57~W with a slope efficiency and an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 44.9{\%} and 39.8{\%}, respectively. Inserting an acousto-optic $Q$-switch in the cavity, the highest average output power of the quasi-continuous wave 1064~nm laser of 6.73~W is obtained at a repetition rate of 9.26~kHz. The experimental results show that a corner-pumped type is a kind of feasible schedules in the design of diode-pumped all-solid-state lasers with low or medium output powers.     

Fundamental studies on laser radiation therapy: dispersion of a laser beam passing through optical fibres

For laser internal therapy in medical applications, optical fibres are required to propagate the laser beam. The far-field pattern of the laser beam at the exit face of the optical fibre is studied using a multimode step-index fibre and a graded index Selfoc fibre. The degree of dispersion, or the output angular distribution, of the beam passing through the Selfoc fibre is much smaller than that passing through the multimode step-index fibre. Consequently, the energy density in the far-field pattern of the beam passing through the Selfoc fibre is very much larger than that for the beam passing through the multimode step-index fibre. It is concluded that the Selfoc fibre is more effective in laser internal therapy.     

86-km optical link with a resolution of 2 × 10<Superscript>-18</Superscript> for RF frequency transfer

RF frequency transfer over an urban 86 km fibre has been demonstrated with a resolution of 2×10^-18 at one day measuring time using an optical compensator. This result is obtained with a reference carrier frequency of 1 GHz, and a rapid scrambling of the polarisation state of the input light in order to reduce the sensitivity to the polarisation mode dispersion in the fibre. The limitation due to the fibre chromatic dispersion associated with the laser frequency fluctuations is highlighted and analyzed. A preliminary test of an extended compensated link over 186 km using optical amplifiers gives a resolution below 10^-17 at 1 day.     

2～18GHz超宽带行波管慢波结构及互作用研究

为满足现代信息化战争对超宽带行波管的需求,对2～18 GHz超宽带行波管的高频慢波结构进行了研究分析。在传统宽带行波管的基础上引入非翼片加载段的正常色散特性,首次实现2～18 GHz 超宽带高频慢波结构设计,最大带宽达到9∶1。同时输出端螺旋线螺距调整为正渐变分布,能够进一步优化低频段二次谐波抑制比,提高高频段饱和输出功率。结果表明,全频带的基波输出功率达到100 W,二次谐波抑制比优于?3 dBc,2 GHz频点二次谐波抑制比优于?5 dBc,为超宽带大功率器件的设计提供了理论基础。     

Interferometric studies on the influence of temperature on the optical and dispersion parameters of GRIN optical fibre

Opto-thermal device attached to automate Fizeau interferometer is used to investigate the influence of temperature on opto-thermal properties of multimode graded-index (GRIN) optical fibre in the range from 27 to 54 °C. The effect of temperature on the refractive index profile of fibre is studied. The optical parameters and the opto-thermal coefficient of this fibre are determined. Also the variation of oscillation and dispersion energies, zero dispersion wavelengths, coupling efficiency, normalised frequency, number of propagation modes with the temperature and the material dispersion with the wavelength at different temperatures are calculated. Microinterferograms are given for illustration.     

High birefringence, low loss terahertz photonic crystal fibres with zero dispersion at 0.3 THz

A terahertz photonic crystal fibre (THz-PCF) is designed for terahertz wave propagation. The dispersion property and model birefringence are studied by employing the finite element method. The simulation result reveals the changing patten of dispersion parameter versus the geometry. The influence of the large frequency band of terahertz on birefringence is also discussed. The design of low loss, high birefringence THz-PCFs with zero dispersion frequency at 0.3 THz is presented.     

Backward Wave Oscillators With Coaxial Structures: Dispersion Relation and PIC Simulation

The dispersion relation of a corrugated—wall resonator with an inner coaxial structure has been analyzed as well as the effects of the corrugation period, amplitude and the radius of the coaxial structure on it. Furthermore, we got an output power of 2.1GW at frequency 11.09GHz in a non-uniform slow wave structure by using the PIC simulation software—MAGIC.     

Linearly polarised three-colour lasing emission from an evanescent wave pumped and gain coupled fibre laser

A novel Whispering--Gallery--Mode (WGM) fibre laser, emitting linearly polarised three-colour light, is demonstrated by pumping and gain coupling with evanescent waves. The pump light is longitudinally coupled into a bare optical fibre immersed in a dye solution of lower refractive index. The dye molecules around the bare fibre are excited by the evanescent waves of pump light when they propagate along the fibre in a total internal reflection. When the pump beam within the fibre is a meridian beam, the WGM lasing emission from the fibre laser is a linearly polarised transverse electric wave, while it is a mixed wave of the linearly polarised transverse electric and magnetic waves if the pump beam is a skew beam within the fibre. Because the excited molecules are located within the evanescent field of WGM, a good spatial overlap between the dye gain and the evanescent field leads to a high pumping efficiency and a longer gain distance along the fibre. Once the bare fibre is inserted into three glass capillaries filled with Rhodamine 6G, 610 and 640 dye solutions, respectively, WGM laser oscillations at the wavelengths of 567--575, 605--614 and 656--666~nm occur simultaneously, and a linearly polarised three-colour lasing emission is achieved in a single optical fibre.