Tenth-order rational-harmonic frequency multiplication and detuning of optical pulse injection-locked erbium-doped fiber laser

The jitter and frequency-detuning dynamics of a 10-GHz rational-harmonic frequency-multiplied pulse train generated from an erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) is studied. The EDFL is self-feedback seeded and optically injection locked by a gain-switched laser diode (GSLD) with a pulse width and an average power of 17.6 ps and 0.2 mW, respectively, at a repetition frequency of 1 GHz. The repetition frequency of the optical pulse train can be tenth-order multiplied by a slight detuning of the repetition frequency of the GSLD to match the rational-harmonic injection-locked condition of the EDFL. As the repetition frequency is multiplied from 1 to 10 GHz, the peak power, the pulse width, and the frequency-detuning bandwidth of the injection-locked EDFL pulses decrease from 1.2 to 0.3 W, from 40 to 21 ps, and from 40 to 9 kHz, respectively. The timing jitter of the injection-locked EDFL repeated at 1 GHz remains unchanged (< 0.5 ps) within the detuning bandwidth, which inevitably increases to 1.2 ps after tenth-order multiplication.     

Mode-locked ring laser with output pulse width of 0.4 ps

The output pulse width of a mode-locked ring laser composed of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier, Mach-Zehnder optical modulator, and optical band-pass filter depends largely on the repetition frequency and the wavelength characteristics of these optical circuit elements. In previous experiments, the output pulse width was in the order of 5 ps at a repetition frequency of 5 GHz. The principal reason was that the narrow passage band of the optical circuit elements made it extremely difficult to generate an ultra-short optical pulse. Consequently, we examined how to narrow the optical pulse width by flattening the wavelength characteristics of these optical circuit elements. Furthermore, we drove the optical modulator in the cavity using a frequency multiplier to operate at an effectively higher frequency By widening the wavelength passage band of all the devices in the optical circuit, we achieved an output pulse width of 0.4 ps at a repetition frequency of 5 GHz; the pulse peak power was more than +23 dBm, and the time-bandwidth product was 0.34. We successfully tested an ultra-short optical pulse source with an output pulse width of 0.4 ps with no external pulse compression using a mode-locked ring laser     

Passive harmonic mode-locking of a fiber laser at controllable repetition rates from fundamental to eighth-order harmonic operation

We have experimentally reported a passively harmonic mode-locked fiber laser at controllable repetition rates. The pulse train is continuously tunable and controllable from the fundamental cavity frequency to the eighth-order harmonic frequency. The pulses in the proposed laser disappear one by one when the pump power is decreased and, at the same time, the remaining pulses self-organize into a new, stable, uniform distribution in the cavity at each state. The experimental results indicate a supermode suppression of more than 40 dB. By appropriately increasing the coupler output ratio and lengthening the laser cavity, the enhanced mutual influence of the global and local soliton interactions induced by the CW components and the dispersive waves plays the key role in separating pulses stably and uniformly in the cavity. Our laser has the potential to generate chirp-free pulses at even higher rates and shorter pulses for use in future time-division multiplexing systems.     

Near-diffraction-limited green source by frequency doubling of a diode-stack pumped Q-switched Nd:YAG slab oscillator-amplifier system

A near-diffraction-limited, stable, 18 mJ green source with a pulse width of 16.7 ns was generated at a 1 kHz repetition rate by frequency doubling of diode stacks end-pumped electro-optically Q-switched slab Nd:YAG oscillator-amplifier system. The pump to green optical conversion efficiency was 10.7%. At the output energy of 15 mJ at 532 nm, the M2 factors were 1.3 and 1.7 in the unstable and stable directions, respectively. The energy pulse stability was approximately 0.8%.     

1.4 ps pedestal-free low timing jitter 10 GHz pulse source using commercial cascaded LiNbO3 modulators and fiber-based compressor

A stable 10 GHz pedestal-free short pulse generation scheme consisting of cascaded commercial LiNbO(3) modulators has been proposed and successfully demonstrated experimentally. Fiber-based pulse compression and reshaping stages have been utilized to obtain a 1.38 ps optical pulse train with very little pedestal and 132 fs timing jitter. Excellent performance of multiplexing from 10 Gbits/s to 160 Gbits/s using this method indicates good potential for application in ultrahigh-speed optical time-division-multiplexing systems.     

Narrow-linewidth passively Q-switched fibre laser based on microsphere resonator

We experimentally demonstrate a stable narrow-linewidth passively Q-switched fibre laser based on a microsphere resonator (MSR) and graphene saturable absorber (SA). The MSR made by the arc discharge method has the characteristics of easy fabrication, broad free spectral range (FSR) and flexibility. And it acts as a narrow band-pass filter to ensure narrow-linewidth operation. A stable passively Q-switched pulse with 0.016?nm narrow spectral linewidth is successfully achieved. The output pulse has the pulse width of 5.2 µs, repetition frequency of 28 kHz and high signal to noise ratio (SNR) of ～60?dB. The results demonstrate that our works may provide an effective way to achieve narrow-linewidth pulsed fibre lasers.     

Multi-wavelength Q-switched Erbium-doped fiber laser with photonic crystal fiber and multi-walled carbon nanotubes

A simple multi-wavelength passively Q-switched Erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) is demonstrated using low-cost multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-based saturable absorber, which is prepared using polyvinyl alcohol as a host polymer. The multi-wavelength operation is achieved based on non-linear polarization rotation effect by incorporating 50?m long photonic crystal fiber in the ring cavity. The EDFL produces a stable multi-wavelength comb spectrum for more than 14 lines with a fixed spacing of 0.48?nm. The laser also demonstrates a stable pulse train with the repetition rate increasing from 14.9 to 25.4?kHz as the pump power increases from the threshold power of 69.0?mW to the maximum pump power of 133.8?mW. The minimum pulse width of 4.4?μs was obtained at the maximum pump power of 133.8?mW while the highest energy of 0.74 nJ was obtained at the pump power of 69.0?mW.     

Picosecond-pulse wavelength conversion based on cascaded second-harmonic generation-difference frequency generation in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide

The wavelength conversion of picosecond optical pulses based on the cascaded second-harmonic generation-difference-frequency generation process in a MgO-doped periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide is studied both experimentally and theoretically. In the experiments, the picosecond pulses are generated from a 40 GHz mode-locked fiber laser and two tunable filters, with which the lasing wavelength can be tuned from 1530 to 1570 nm, and the pulse width can be tuned from 2 to 7 ps. New-frequency pulses, i.e., converted pulses, are generated when the picosecond pulse train and a cw wave interact in the waveguide. The conversion characteristics are systematically investigated when the pulsed and cw waves are alternatively taken as the pump at the quasi-phase-matching wavelength of the device. In particular, the conversion dependences on input pulse width, average power, and pump wavelength are examined quantitatively. Based on the temporal and spectral characteristics of wavelength conversion, a comprehensive analysis on conversion efficiency is presented. The simulation results are in good agreement with the measured data.     

Mode-locked thulium doped fibre laser with copper thin film saturable absorber

We demonstrate the generation of mode-locked Thulium-Doped Fibre Laser by employing a newly developed saturable absorber (SA) based on copper (Cu) thin film. The SA was prepared by depositing nano-sized particles of Cu onto the surface of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film through the E-Beam evaporation process. A stable mode-locking pulse train operating at 1951?nm was successfully generated by introducing the Cu PVA SA into a laser cavity. The laser generated a pulse train at the fundamental frequency of 8.5?MHz with a calculated minimum pulse width of 14.8?ps. This demonstration proves that the Cu PVA based SA is suitable for generating mode-locked fibre laser at 2?µm region.     

Q-switched thulium-doped fiber laser operating at 1940 nm region using a pencil-core as saturable absorber

Q-switched thulium-doped fiber laser (TDFL) is demonstrated using pencil-core flakes as a saturable absorber (SA) for the first time. The SA was fabricated by exfoliating pencil-core flakes on adhesive tape surface, then repeatedly folded over the tape until the flakes homogenously deposited on the tape. A small piece of the tape is sandwiched between two ferrules and incorporated in TDFL cavity to realize a stable Q-switching pulse train. By increasing the 1552-nm pump power from 389 to 431 mW, the repetition rate of the TDFL increases from 14.95 to 34.60 kHz while the pulse width decreases from 6.70 to 4.69 μs. The maximum pulse energy of 46.05 nJ is generated with repetition rate and pulse width of 21.25 kHz and 6.27 μs, respectively. To the best our knowledge, this is a first demonstration SA from mundane object as alternative to commercial bulk graphite for Q-switched fiber laser.     

Pure antimony film as saturable absorber for Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser

This paper reports on the use of Antimony (Sb) polymer film to generate stable Q-switching pulses in Erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) cavity. The SA is fabricated by coating a thin layer of Sb on a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film through physical vapour deposition (PVD) process. A 1 × 1 mm area of the film SA is cut and integrated into between two fiber ferrules inside the laser cavity for intra-cavity loss modulation. Self-starting and stable Q-switched pulses are obtained within a pump power range from 60 to 142 mW. Within this range, the repetition rate increases from 70.82 to 98.04 kHz, while pulse width decreases from 7.42 to 5.36 μs. The fundamental frequency signal-to-noise ratio of the pulse signal is 74 dB, which indicates the excellent stability of the pulses. The maximum output power and pulse energy are 8.45 mW and 86.19 nJ, respectively. Our demonstration shows that Sb film SA capable of generating stable pulses train operating at 1.55-micron region.     

A multigigawatt X-Band relativistic backward wave oscillator with a modulating resonant reflector

Effective generation regime with a high output pulse power has been experimentally realized in a relativistic backward wave oscillator (RBWO) with a resonant reflector and a slow-wave system having a diameter 1.6 times the radiation wavelength. At a guiding magnetic field of 4.5 T, the maximum peak power amounted to 4.3 GW at a frequency of 9.4 GHz, an efficiency of 31%, and a microwave pulse duration of 22 ns.     

Suppression of continuous lasing in a carbon nanotube polyimide film mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser

We demonstrated an erbium-doped mode-locked fiber laser using a single-walled carbon nanotube-dispersed polyimide (SWNT-PI) film. Different mode-locking operations were compared and analyzed utilizing SWNT-PI films with different concentrations (2, 1, and 0.25 wt.%, respectively). It was found that the continuous single-pulse mode-locking operation was often accompanied by a continuous wave oscillation part for the 1 and 0.25 wt.% SWNT-PI films, whereas the 2 wt.% SWNT-PI film presented the most excellent mode-locking performance, thanks to sufficient modulation depth. Using the 2 wt.% SWNT-PI film, a stable pulse train with a pulse width of 840 fs and a repetition rate of 15.3 MHz was achieved. The average output power was 0.33 mW at the pump power of 155 mW under an output coupling ratio of 10%. Operational performance of the laser cavity when employing the 2 wt.% SWNT-PI film was also demonstrated.     

Generation of subnanosecond high-voltage pulses with a peak power of up to 300 MW and a repetition rate of 2 kHz

We report on the results of testing a hybrid subnanosecond modulator with an input resistance of 50 Ω based on an all-solid-state high-voltage nanosecond-pulse charging source with an inductive energy accumulator, a semiconductor current switch, and a pulse shaper with gas-discharge gaps. Use of the sharpening and cutting discharge gaps filled with hydrogen at a pressure of 100 atm ensured the stable formation of pulses with a peak amplitude of up to 140 kV and a pulse width of ∼500 ps at a repetition rate of up to 2 kHz.     

A periodic pulsed relativistic backward wave oscillator mechanically tunable in an expanded frequency band

We have studied a periodic pulse train regime (1 s, 50 Hz) of a relativistic backward wave oscillator with a resonant reflector, which can be mechanically tuned from pulse to pulse within a frequency band of 9% on a level of ?3 dB of the maximum in the entire microwave peak power range in a magnetic field of 0.36 T. The maximum peak power in a pulse train amounted to 2.5 GW at a frequency of 3.6 GHz, an efficiency of 20%, and a microwave pulse duration of 20 ns.     

An experimental study of electron acceleration with detuning of the bunch repetition frequency from that of an excited wake field

We have experimentally studied the excitation of wake fields in a dielectric structure by a train of relativistic electron bunches and the acceleration of subsequent bunches of the same train due to detuning of the bunch repetition frequency relative to that of the wake field excited in the dielectric structure at the Cherenkov resonance. Electron bunches of the first (leading) part of the train excite the wake wave, and bunches of the second (trailing) part of this train are shifted to the accelerating phase of the wake wave so as to gain additional energy. The possibility of controlling the number (repetition frequency) of bunches exciting the wake field in the dielectric structure and the number of subsequently accelerated bunches has been investigated by changing the value of detuning.     

Characterizing a fiber-based frequency comb with electro-optic modulator

We report on the characterization of a commercial- core fiber-based frequency comb equipped with an intracavity free-space electro-optic modulator (EOM). We investigate the relationship between the noise of the pump diode and the laser relative intensity noise (RIN) and demonstrate the use of a low-noise current supply to substantially reduce the laser RIN. By measuring several critical transfer functions, we evaluate the potential of the EOM for comb repetition rate stabilization. We also evaluate the coupling to other relevant parameters of the comb. From these measurements, we infer the capabilities of the femtosecond laser comb to generate very-low-phase-noise microwave signals when phase-locked to a high-spectral-purity ultra-stable laser.     

Highly efficient relativistic SHF gyrotron with a microsecond pulse width

Based on extensive theoretical and experimental investigations, a new relativistic gyrotron is created with an efficiency of 45% and an output power of up to 7 MW at an SHF pulse width of up to 6 μs. Under optimum conditions, the gyrotron operates in a single-mode regime featuring excitation of the electrically strong TE₀₁ mode at a frequency of 9.2 GHz.     

Theoretical spectrum of noisy optical pulse trains

The intensity of an ideal optical pulse train is often modeled as an exact periodic repetition of a given pulse-shape function with constant amplitude and width. Therefore, the ideal intensity power spectrum is a pure line power spectrum. However, spontaneous-emission noise due to amplification media, electronic noise due to modulators, or even intentional modulations result in period-to-period fluctuations of the pulse amplitude, width, or arrival time. The power spectrum of this so-called noisy optical pulse train is then composed of a line spectrum added to a band spectrum. This study shows that the optical pulse train intensity is cyclostationary under usual assumptions on the fluctuations. This property allows us to derive the exact optical pulse train power spectrum. A general closed-form expression that takes into account the three noise manifestations (jitter, amplitude, and width modulations) is provided. Particular expressions are given for usual cases of interest such as the jitter and amplitude modulation model, for given fluctuation probability distributions, and pulse-shape functions.     

Tungsten tri-oxide (WO3) film absorber for generating Q-switched pulses in erbium laser

ABSTRACT

This paper reports a new type of passive saturable absorber (SA) made of transition metal oxide (TMO) embedded in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The Tungsten trioxide (WO₃)-PVA SA is placed in an erbium-doped fibre laser cavity to produce Q-switched pulses operating at 1562.82?nm. The pulse laser starts to manifest at the threshold pump power of 40?mW and continues to exist until the maximum pump power of 195?mW. Within that pump power range, its pulse energy, repetition rate and pulse width vary from 98 to 142.85?nJ, 29.86 to 56.7?kHz and 5.032 to 1.85?µs, respectively. The pulse train is stable with a signal to noise ratio of 70?dB. This is the first demonstration of a Q-switched laser using such a SA.