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.     

Er3+-Yb3+共掺杂光纤环型腔被动谐波锁模激光器

 报道了Er³⁺-Yb³⁺共掺杂光纤作为增益介质的环型腔光纤激光器。利用光纤的非线性偏振旋转效应产生可饱和吸收体的锁模机制,通过调整泵浦功率,调节偏振控制器的状态,实现了连续基波锁模和高阶谐波锁模两种稳定的锁模运转状态。其中连续基波锁模重复频率15.89 MHz,中心波长为1.557 nm,光谱宽度为9.9 nm。二阶谐波锁模重复率为31.79 MHz,三阶谐波锁模脉冲重复率为46.99 MHz。观察到了调Q锁模和调Q脉冲序列,给出了各种运转状态的实验结果并对多种锁模机理作了简要的分析。     

Switchable different operation states in an erbium-doped fiber laser cavity with normal dispersion

We demonstrate different operation states which can be switched by the polarization control in an erbium-doped fiber laser cavity with normal dispersion, including passive single-pulse and multiple-pulse mode-locking, coherent pulse pattern, and passive Q-switching. The mode-locked single pulse has a smooth and broad rectangular-shaped spectrum. With increasing pump power, multiple pulses appear and finally six pulses are observed, where the pulses have no interaction with each other. Keeping the pump power at 407 mW and adjusting the polarization state, we observe the coherent pulse pattern with the pulse numbers from 2 to 5. It is the first time five coherent pulses in the 1.55 μm normal dispersion cavity have been observed, to our knowledge. The mode-locked spectra are highly modulated and the largest pulse separation of 31.9 ps is observed for the two-pulse case. When the pump power exceeds 180 mW, the mode-locked operation can be switched to the passively Q-switched operation by controlling the polarization state. The repetition rate and pulse width can be changed by pump power variation, and the spectrum is tunable in the range of 8.45 nm.     

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。     

8字形腔波长可调谐锁模脉冲光纤激光器

采用非线性光纤环形镜加脉冲锁模技术及可调谐光纤光栅滤波器,对8字形腔被动锁模掺铒光纤激光器进行了波长可调谐输出的实验研究.在EDFA抽运光功率一定的情况下,通过调节偏振控制器和可调谐光纤光栅滤波器,获得了光谱稳定、重复频率1.1 MHz、输出功率起伏小于0.8 dBm、中心波长在1 548~1 570 nm内连续可调的短脉冲输出.该激光器可实现自启动锁模,且长时间稳定工作无需任何调整.     

多模式输出掺镱光纤激光器的实验研究

实验研究了环行腔掺镱光纤激光器的运行特性.发现在由未完全泵浦的掺镱光纤充当的慢可饱和吸收体与偏振控制器和偏振敏感型隔离器所组成的等效快可饱和吸收体的共同作用下,仔细调节偏振控制器的角度与泵浦功率的大小,掺镱光纤激光器可分别稳定地工作在连续、调Q、调Q锁模和连续锁模多种运转方式.对于不同的运转方式,从原理上给予了一定的解释,并对各种运转方式的工作条件进行了详细研究.由于其具有全光纤结构,且腔内不含任何主动器件,同时有良好的稳定性.     

Switchable mode-locking states in an all-fiber all-normal-dispersion ytterbium-doped laser

Multi-operation state in an all-normal-dispersion ytterbium-doped fiber laser is obtained by introducing nonlinear polarization or hybrid mode-locking mechanism in the laser cavity. In addition to operating the laser at continuous-wave mode-locking, various operation states including continuous-wave, Q-switched mode-locking, pulse-splitting, and harmonic mode-locking can be achieved by tuning the laser pump power or an intracavity polarization controller. Insertion of a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror in the cavity helps to shorten the output pulsewidth of the hybrid mode-locked laser. When the pump power is rapidly adjusted, a strong asymmetric hysteresis behavior can be observed during the manipulation between different orders of harmonic mode-locking.     

Transition state to mode locking in a passively mode-locked erbium-doped fibre ring laser

The transition state between the continuous wave region and the mode-locked region in a passively mode-locked erbium-doped fibre ring laser has been experimentally observed by utilizing the nonlinear polarization rotation technique.When the pump power reaches the mode-locked threshold,the metastable pulse train with a tunable repetition rate is obtained in the transition from the continuous wave state to the passive mode-locked state via proper adjustment of the polarization controller.A simple model has been established to explain the experimental observation.     

电光腔倒空激光二极管抽运Nd∶YAG锁模激光器

设计了一个简单的直腔,将电光腔倒空与激光二极管端面抽运Nd∶YAG半导体可饱和吸收镜锁模激光器结合,实现了锁模脉冲的产生、放大和输出。在连续抽运功率5 W的条件下,获得了脉冲宽度为11 ps的锁模单脉冲输出和脉冲宽度为200 ns的调Q脉冲输出,腔倒空单脉冲能量为30 nJ,重复频率为10 Hz。连续锁模运转时单个锁模脉冲的能量约为2 nJ,利用腔倒空将单脉冲的能量提高了15 倍左右。文章详细讨论了腔倒空脉冲及调Q脉冲的产生机理,并分析了加在电光晶体上的高压电脉冲以及偏振片的偏振度对腔倒空脉冲及调Q脉冲的影响。     

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。     

宽光谱全正色散锁模掺镱光纤激光器

介绍了一种全正色散宽光谱被动锁模掺镱光纤激光器,利用非线性偏振旋转技术实现全正色散掺镱光纤激光器的被动锁模.当泵浦功率输出为500mW时,激光脉冲输出功率大于139mW,重复频率约为28.1MHz,脉冲宽度为3.8ps.为了进一步研究全正色散光纤激光器的宽光谱输出特性,在腔内熔接50m单模光纤,同时去除双折射滤波片,在泵浦功率为500mW时,观察到稳定锁模单脉冲耗散孤子,光谱范围为1 005~1 140nm,输出激光脉冲最大平均功率为90mW,重复频率为3.58MHz,脉冲宽度为519ps.     

Generation of single and multiple dissipative soliton in an erbium-doped fiber laser

We experimentally report on the generation of single and multiple dissipative soliton via nonlinear polarization rotation technique. The spectrum of the mode-locked dissipative soliton exhibits typical steep edges with a flat top; the pulse duration is 10.07 ps. It is found that with the pump power increasing from 110 mW to 161 mW, the top of the mode-locked spectrum becomes flater and the 3-dB spectral bandwidth is broadened, which indicates that the gain-dispersion effect is lowered under stronger pump. However, the full bandwidth of the spectrum is narrowed, which proves that the spectral filter effect increases and overcomes the effect of self-phase modulation induced spectral broadening. Such a phenomenon was not noticed nor reported before. Our experiment also demonstrates that the pulse interval is highly dependent on the input pump power: with pump power increasing, the pulse interval tends towards more uniform. So our observation qualitatively analyzes the relationship between mode-locked pulse characteristics and input pump power.     

7-GHz high-repetition-rate mode-locked pulse generation using short-cavity phosphate glass fiber laser

A compact short-cavity high-repetition-frequency mode-locked fiber laser configured with Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ highly co-doped phosphate glass fiber and a graphene optical deposited film as saturable absorber is proposed and analyzed experimentally. The laser operates in stable mode-locked regime with fundamental repetition rate of 7.02 GHz. The output power is measured to be 1.2 mW with pump power around 80 mW, and the optical spectrum is centered about 1533.768 nm with mode spacing of 0.056 nm. As the pump power increases, the laser operates in multi-wavelength mode-locking emission state with the same longitude mode spacing. Moreover, the measure results show that different wavelength emission operates in different polarization states.     

色散管理掺铥光纤激光器高能量脉冲的产生

设计了一种基于色散管理的掺铥光纤激光器。通过调节泵浦功率以及腔内偏振态，首先实现了稳定的展宽脉冲输出，中心波长和脉冲宽度分别为1 939.4 nm和482 fs。最大输出功率为15 mW，对应的单脉冲能量为0.52 nJ。增加泵浦功率到645 mW时，通过适当调节偏振控制器可以实现类噪声脉冲锁模，中心波长为1 940.1 nm。所实现的锁模脉冲具有飞秒量级的尖峰以及皮秒量级的基底。最大输出功率为20.4 mW，相对应的单脉冲能量为0.7 nJ。相比于传统孤子，采用色散管理所实现的锁模脉冲具有更高的脉冲能量。此外，所设计的掺铥光纤激光器可作为理想的主振荡功率放大以及啁啾脉冲放大结构的种子源，进一步提高脉冲能量，拓展2 μm高能光纤激光器的实际应用。     

Tunable and switchable dual-wavelength passively mode-locked fiber ring laser with high-energy pulses at a sub-100 kHz repetition rate

We demonstrate a tunable and switchable dual-wavelength passively mode-locked fiber ring laser in the anomalous dispersion regime that generates high-energy pulses at a sub-100 kHz repetition rate. The nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) technique is employed in this configuration to allow for passively mode-locked operation. By exploiting the intensity-dependent loss caused by NPR, the mode competition could be efficiently alleviated. Moreover, taking advantage of the intrinsic spectral filter induced by the intracavity birefringence, the dual-wavelength separations as well as the wavelength lasing locations could be flexibly tuned by properly rotating the polarization controller. With a repetition rate of 85.8 kHz, the laser delivers the single pulse energy of 198 nJ at a pump power of 250 mW. The combination of high per-pulse energy and flexible tunability in this fiber laser is useful for practical applications.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched mode-locked Nd:LuVO4 laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

We present a compact passively Q-switched mode-locked Nd:LuVO₄ laser run in a Z-type folded cavity with semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). The repetition rates of the passively Q-switched pulse envelope ranges from 22.99 to 141.18 kHz as the pump power increased from 2.372 to 8.960 W. The repetition rates of mode-locked laser pulses in the Q-switched pulse envelope has 111 MHz determined by the cavity length and the mode-locked pulse duration is evaluated to be 257 ps. An average output power of 823.5 mW is achieved at the pump power of 8.96 W, corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 9.2%.     

Different operation states of soliton pulses in an erbium-doped fibre ring laser

We report on the experimental observation of soliton pulses in an erbium doped fibre ring laser. The passive mode-locking is achieved using the nonlinear polarization rotation technique. By adjusting the pump power and the intracavity polarization controllers, a normal soliton, a stable 8th harmonic mode-locked pulse and a noise-like pulse have been observed in our laser. The experimental results revealed that the noise-like pulse is not suitable for the optical telecommunication, and in order to obtain the stable harmonic mode-locked soliton, a strong unstable CW laser field is necessary to mediate global soliton interaction. The formation mechanism of the harmonic mode-locked pulse has also been analysed.     

Studies on CW and Q-switched mode-locked in passive mode-locked ytterbium-doped fibre laser

Exploiting the nonlinear polarization rotation technique and adjusting the polarization controllers orientations and the pump power, we achieved stable operations of Q-switched mode-locked or CW modelocked regimes in an ytterbium-doped fibre laser with a unidirectional ring cavity containing a polarizer placed between two in-line polarization controllers. Numerical simulations of pulse propagation in such a modelocked fibre ring laser are performed, which reveals that the Q-switched mode-locked or CW mode-locked regimes can be achieved by aligning the polarizer near the slow or the fast axes of the fibre.     

双重复频率锁模Yb:YAG陶瓷激光器

近年来,双重复频率锁模激光器在诸如双光梳光谱和异步光学采样等应用领域吸引了广泛关注.基于单一激光腔的双梳系统能大大降低成本,简化系统结构,且性能优异.双重复频率锁模激光器为发展紧凑型和实用型双梳装置开辟了道路.本文报道了一种可用作双光梳光谱系统光源的双重复频率锁模Yb:YAG陶瓷激光器.该激光器基于半导体可饱和吸收镜锁模技术,采用双通道抽运结构,利用新型非水基流延成型制备的Yb:YAG透明陶瓷,在单一的五镜腔中,当吸收抽运光功率为5.6 W时,实现了自启动、稳定运转的双重复频率锁模脉冲Pulse1和Pulse2,其重复频率分别为448.918和448.923 MHz,重复频率差为5 kHz.在吸收抽运功率为7 W时,得到最大的总平均输出功率170 mW,其中Pulse1和Pulse2的功率分别为89和81 mW,相应的光谱宽度分别为1和1.16 nm.性能相似的双重复频率脉冲彼此间保持了良好的相干性,实验结果证明了双通道抽运在双重复频率锁模激光器应用中的可行性,此种新型双重复频率激光器在双光梳光谱和测距等领域具有较好的应用潜力.     

High power passively mode-locked Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser using graphene oxide as a saturable absorber

We report on a passively mode-locked Nd:YVO₄ laser using a novel graphene oxide saturable absorber fabricated by vertical evaporation method. An 880 nm LD pump source was used to reduce the thermal load of the laser crystal. At the pump power of 7.4 W, 1.2 W average output power of continuous wave mode-locked laser with optical conversion efficiency of 16.2% was achieved. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest output power of passively mode-locked solid-state laser using graphene oxide saturable absorber. The repetition rate of passively mode-locked pulse was 88 MHz with the pulse energy of 13.6 nJ.