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.     

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.     

掺Yb3+光纤F-P腔被动锁模激光器的实验研究

 掺镱(Yb³⁺光纤被动锁模激光器谐振腔采用线性腔结构，腔内插入二分之一波片和偏振分束器引入偏振旋转，结合半导体可饱和吸收镜的自起动，实现稳定的被动锁模运转。腔内插入光栅对，提供负的群速度色散，以补偿光纤所带来的正色散，达到压缩脉宽的目的。当泵浦功率为300 mW、光栅对的距离为10 cm时，获得稳定的锁模运转，锁模输出功率28 mW，脉冲重复频率20 MHz，输出光谱宽度达15 nm，按脉冲变换极限公式，其脉冲时间宽度与频带宽度的乘积为0.315计算，脉宽可达100 fs以下。     

拉曼效应对低双折射光纤偏振特性的影响

在低双折射光纤中,利用线偏振光满足的包含拉曼效应的非线性耦合模传输方程,通过引入斯托克斯参量,导出了斯托克斯参量所满足的耦合模传输方程.利用庞加莱球图示法,描述了拉曼增益效应作用下光波偏振态的演化,研究分析了拉曼效应对低双折射光纤中光波偏振态演化规律的影响.结果表明,当输入功率与运动常量满足一定关系时,拉曼增益效应改变了光波传输时其偏振态演化周期和偏振态的椭圆率.     

高功率全光纤啁啾脉冲放大激光系统

采用基于非线性偏振旋转原理的光纤被动锁模激光器作为主振荡器。输出信号脉冲的重复频率为30MHz,脉冲半高全宽为265fs。信号脉冲通过全光纤啁啾脉冲激光放大系统展宽至100ps后,经过1级芯径10μm的光纤预放大器和1级芯径50μm的光纤功率放大器将脉冲平均功率放大至10W,斜率效率41.5%。输出脉冲经光栅压缩器将脉宽压缩至594fs。     

Impacts of operational parameters on nonlinear polarization rotation-based passively mode-locked fiber laser

The operational parameters including the polarization controlling and the pump power in a nonlinear polarization rotation-based passively mode-locked fiber laser are studied in this paper.The carrier rate equations of the activated erbium-doped fiber are first employed together with the nonlinear Shro¨dinger equations to reveal the relation between the operational parameters and the output state of the passively mode-locked fiber laser.The numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the output state of the mode-locked laser varies with the polarization controlling and the pump power.The periodicity of the polarization controlling is observed.With given pump power,there exists a set of polarization controlling under which the ultra-short pulse can be generated.With given polarization controlling,the mode-locked state can be maintained generally except for some particular values of pump power.Three shapes of the output optical spectra from the fiber cavity can be identified when the pump power changes.The results in this paper provide a comprehensive insight into the operation of the nonlinear polarization rotation-based passively mode-locked fiber laser.     

Low-repetition-rate,all-polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber laser mode-locked by a semiconductor saturable absorber

A low-repetition-rate, all-polarization-maintaining(PM)-fiber sub-nanosecond oscillator is presented, which is simple and low-cost, composed of standard components. The ring cavity is elongated by 114-m-long standard PM fiber, and passively mode-locked by a fiber pigtailed semiconductor saturable absorber. Linearly polarized pulses with 1.66 MHz repetition rate and 22 dB polarization extinction ratio are generated at a wavelength of 1030 nm, which is determined by an intracavity filter. In addition, to demonstrate that the oscillator is a good seed for high energy pulse generation, an all-fiber master oscillator power amplifier is built and amplified pulses with energy about 2 μJ are obtained.     

High-energy mode-locked all-fiber laser with ultralong resonator

The first experimental results on an all-fiber mode-locked ytterbium laser whose ultralong cavity has a length of 8 km are presented. An increase in the length of the laser cavity at a constant mean power of radiation makes it possible to increase the pulse energy by more than two orders of magnitude to a level of 4 μJ, which is record-high for the pulses generated by a fiber mode-locked master oscillator in the absence of Q-switching. A pulse repetition rate of 37 kHz is the record-low repetition rate for the mode-locked lasers. The numerical simulation of the lasing in the absence of extension fiber yields a possibility of a wide-range variation in the pulse duration due to the tuning of the intracavity polarization controllers. The simulation results are in qualitative agreement with the experimental data.     

Reduced graphene oxide as saturable absorbers for erbium-doped passively mode-locked fiber laser

We demonstrate a nanosecond mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser(EDFL)based on a reduced graphene oxide(RGO)saturable absorber(SA).The RGO SA is prepared by depositing the graphene oxide(GO)on fluorine mica through thermal reduction of GO.A scanning electron microscope(SEM),Raman spectrometer,and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)are adopted to analyze the RGO characteristics.The results show that the reduction degree of graphene oxide is very high.By embedding the RGO SA into the EDFL cavity,a stable mode-locked fiber laser is achieved with a central wavelength of 1567.29 nm and repetition rate of 12.66 MHz.The maximum output power and the minimum pulse duration are measured to be 18.22 mW and 1.38 ns respectively.As far as we know,the maximum output power of18.22 mW is higher than those of other nanosecond mode-locked oscillators reported.Such a nanosecond pulse duration and megahertz repetition rate make this mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser a suitable seed oscillator for high-power applications and chirped pulse amplifications.     

Raman Suppression in a Kilowatt Narrow-Band Fiber Amplifier

A novel technique to suppress stimulated Raman scattering in a high power narrow-band fiber amplifier is reported.By seeding with a combination of a broadband amplified spontaneous emission seed and a narrowband master oscillator seed,the Raman Stokes components can be reduced about 16 dB at a total output power of1 kW.Raman suppression results are depicted in a different wavelengths seeding case and the same wavelength seeding case,respectively,with different seed power ratios.     

被动谐波锁模Er3+/Yb3+共掺双包层光纤环形腔激光器

 为了实现高重复频率和高功率的光脉冲,实验采用Er³⁺/Yb³⁺共掺双包层光纤作为增益介质,稳定的中心波长为976 nm的高功率半导体激光器作为泵浦源,利用非线性偏振旋转锁模技术,得到稳定的自起振锁模光脉冲。当泵浦功率为2.4 W时,激光器输出重复频率为8.829 MHz的连续锁模光脉冲,平均输出功率为52.5 mW,自起振锁模泵浦阈值功率为0.6 W,并观测到了稳定的高阶谐波锁模、调Q和调Q-锁模光脉冲输出。     

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.     

Fiber Raman laser pumped by a Nd:YAG laser

We have pumped a fiber Raman laser with a cw mode-locked Nd:YAG laser operating at 1319 nm and generated pulses as short as 160 fsec using soliton pulse shaping in the fiber. We have also constructed a completely integrated oscillator loop using a fiber optic coupler and fusion splicing.     

Fiber parametric oscillator for the 2 μm wavelength range based on narrowband optical parametric amplification

We describe a widely tunable synchronously pumped coherent source based on the process of narrowband parametric amplification in a dispersion-shifted fiber. Using an experimental fiber with a zero-dispersion wavelength of 1590 nm and pump wavelengths of 1530 to 1570 nm yields oscillations at 1970 to 2140 nm-the longest reported wavelength for a fiber parametric oscillator. The long-wavelength oscillations are accompanied by simultaneous short-wavelength oscillations at 1200 to 1290 nm. The parametric gain is coupled to stimulated Raman scattering. For parametric oscillations close to the Raman gain peak, the two gain processes must be discriminated from each other. We devised two configurations that achieve this discrimination: one is based on the exploitation of the difference in group delay between the wavelengths where Raman and parametric gain peak, and the other uses intracavity polarization tuning.     

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.     

被动锁模Yb3+光纤环形腔激光器的研究

 采用974 nm半导体激光器作为泵浦源，超高掺杂Yb³⁺光纤作为增益介质，利用光纤的非线性偏振旋转效应，得到稳定的ps量级锁模光脉冲。泵浦功率220 mW时，激光器锁模阈值功率150 mW，输出功率26 mW，锁模光脉冲中心波长1 046 nm，3 dB带宽6.01 nm，20 dB带宽16 nm，脉宽22 ps，重复频率20 MHz。与同类光纤激光器相比，该激光器输出功率高，具有更好的稳定性。     

90.4-W all-fiber single-frequency polarization-maintained 1083-nm MOPA laser employing ring-cavity single-frequency seed oscillator

A high-power all-fiber single-frequency polarization-maintained（PM）laser operating at 1 083 nm is demonstrated using a master oscillator power amplifier（MOPA）structure.The seed source of this MOPA laser system is an in-house-built ring-cavity fiber oscillator.Four-stage amplification configuration is employed, in which the maximal output power of the main amplifier is 90.4 W,corresponding to a conversion efficiency of 72.5%.The polarization extinction ratio of the output light is 13 dB.The amplified spontaneous emission is suppressed by a factor of over 25 dB,and no stimulated Brillouin scattering effect is observed when a large-mode-area and high absorption coefficient PM gain fiber is employed.     

拉曼效应和参量放大共同作用下增益谱特性

根据激光脉冲在双折射光纤中传输时, 拉曼效应和参量放大共同作用下所所遵循的耦合模方程, 基于平行拉曼增益的洛伦兹模型, 给出了输入抽运波偏振方向沿相互正交的双折射轴时, 拉曼效应和参量放大共同作用所导致的增益. 讨论并分析了在不同色散区相关参量对增益谱特性的影响. 结果表明, 拉曼效应改变了非线性和色散的相互平衡, 使得参量放大斯托克斯波与反斯托克斯波增益谱彼此不对称; 当输入功率一定时, 其增益谱结构确定, 非线性系数和色散系数两者之间相对变化时, 增益谱的强度和展宽有所改变.     

Self-referencable frequency comb from a 170-fs, 1.5-μm solid-state laser oscillator

We report measurement of the first carrier-envelope offset (CEO) frequency signal from a spectrally broadened ultrafast solid-state laser oscillator operating in the 1.5 μm spectral region. The f-to-2f CEO frequency beat signal is 49 dB above the noise floor (100-kHz resolution bandwidth) and the free-running linewidth of 3.6 kHz is significantly better than typically obtained by ultrafast fiber laser systems. We used a SESAM mode-locked Er:Yb:glass laser generating 170-fs pulses at a 75 MHz pulse repetition rate with 110-mW average power. It is pumped by one standard telecom-grade 980-nm diode consuming less than 1.5 W of electrical power. Without any further pulse compression and amplification, a coherent octave-spanning frequency comb is generated in a polarization-maintaining highly-nonlinear fiber (PM-HNLF). The fiber length was optimized to yield a strong CEO frequency beat signal between the outer Raman soliton and the spectral peak of the dispersive wave within the supercontinuum. The polarization-maintaining property of the supercontinuum fiber was crucial; comparable octave-spanning supercontinua from two non-PM fibers showed higher intensity noise and poor coherence. A stable CEO-beat was observed even with pulse durations above 200 fs. Achieving a strong CEO frequency signal from relatively long pulses with moderate power levels substantially relaxes the demands on the driving laser, which is particularly important for novel gigahertz diode-pumped solid-state and semiconductor lasers.     

All-fiber passively mode-locked thulium-doped fiber ring oscillator operated at solitary and noiselike modes

This Letter presents an all-fiber mode-locked thulium-doped fiber ring oscillator based on nonlinear polarization evolution (NPE). Pumped by an erbium-doped fiber amplified spontaneous emission source, the construction of the laser cavity consisting of only fiber optic components can operate under two different regimes of solitary and noiselike (NL) pulses. Autocorrelation measurements are performed to extract features of these two regimes.