Subpicosecond pulse generation by a tandem-type AlGaAs DH laser with colliding pulse mode locking

Experimental results of colliding pulse mode locking (CPM) of a double-contact AlGaAs DH injection laser with an external cavity are presented. The laser has two amplifying sections and a passive umpumped segment located between them which exhibited saturable absorption action. Ultrashort pulses propagating in opposite directions collided in the absorber and pulse shortening occurred. Bursts of 0.8 ps (FWHM) pulses at a 710 MHz repetition rate are obtained by means of CPM. The pulse duration is measured by a second harmonic generation correlation method and an ultrafast streak camera.     

Gain Dependent Optimum Pulse Generation Rates of a Hybrid-Type Actively and Passively Mode-Locked Fiber Laser

We have experimentally observed and theoretically analyzed the gain dependent optimum repetition rates of a hybrid-type active and passive mode locked laser pulses in an erbium-doped fiber laser of the figure-of-eight geometry by utilizing a nonlinear amplifier loop mirror (NALM) as a saturable absorber and a directional-coupler type electro-optic modulator as an active mode locker. Transform-limited mode-locked pulses of about 10 ps width were obtained at repetition rates which correspond to harmonics of the cavity fundamental frequency and depend on the optical amplifier gain in the NALM.     

Picosecond injection laser: a new technique for ultrafastQ-switching

A modification of a method for self-Q-switching in a laser with an isotypic saturable absorber is suggested and implemented in a multisegmented injection laser. The method consists of the transportation of most parts of the excited absorber population to the amplifier. The carrier transport time must be less than the spontaneous recombination time in the absorber. In a three-section AlGaAs/GaAs double-heterostructure laser with modified Q-switching, optical pulses of 5 ps in duration with a repetition rate as high as 18.5 GHz and peak power above 10 W have been obtained. The latter value is the largest ever reported for a picosecond injection laser. Unique temporal and spectral features exhibited by these lasers have been observed, including the stepped variation of pulse repetition frequency, its dependence on the pump current, large emission spectral width (on the order of kT), spectral chaos and bistability     

High-repetition-rate optical pulse generation using a rationalharmonic mode-locked fiber laser

Rational harmonic mode locking takes place in an actively mode-locked fiber laser when the modulation frequency f_m=(n+1/p)f_c, where n and p are both integers and f_c is the inverse of the cavity round-trip time, the 22nd order of rational harmonic mode locking has been observed when f_m ≈1 GHz. An optical pulse train with a repetition rate of 40 GHz has been obtained using a modulation frequency f_m=10 GHz. The theory of rational harmonic mode locking has also been developed. The stability of the mode-locked pulses is improved considerably when a semiconductor optical amplifier is incorporated into the fiber laser cavity. The supermode noise in the RF spectrum of a mode-locked laser is removed for a certain range of current in the semiconductor optical amplifier     

Electrical subharmonic hybrid mode locking of a colliding pulse mode-locked laser at 28 GHz

This letter discusses electrical subharmonic hybrid mode locking (SHML) of a colliding pulse mode-locked (CPM) laser in InP. The CPM laser fabrication adopts a simple wet etching process and bisbenzocyclobutene planarization process for realizing planarized low-capacitance devices. The experimental results show, for the first time to our knowledge, stable emission of nearly transform-limited pulses at 28 GHz of a CPM laser synchronized to a clock source by SHML. We further describe careful optimization steps of dc and radio-frequency biasing conditions which lead to minimal output pulsewidth of 1.4 ps, limited by the saturable absorber dimension.     

Generation of picosecond blue light pulse by frequency doubling ofgain-switched GaAlAs laser diode having saturable absorber

Picosecond pulse generation of blue light by frequency doubling of a GaAlAs laser diode is reported. High power pulse generation is realized by incorporating gain switching of a laser diode with a saturable absorber and frequency doubling in a proton-exchanged MgO:LiNbO₃ waveguide. The laser diode with a longer saturable absorber can produce optical pulses with higher peak power and narrower pulse width. The spectral bandwidth of second-harmonic generation for the waveguide is evaluated at about 20 nm. This is wide enough to frequency-double all the multilongitudinal modes of the gain-switched laser diode. A blue light pulse of 7.88-mW maximum peak power and 28.7-ps pulsewidth is obtained for a 1.23-W peak pulse of the laser diode     

Methods for Ultra-Wideband Pulse Generation Based on Optical Cross-Polarization Modulation

Optical methods for different type ultra-wideband (UWB) pulse generation based on cross-polarization modulation (CPM) are proposed and demonstrated in this paper. Two polarity-reverse pulses can be obtained by CPM and birefringence time delay to form a monocycle pulse. A semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is placed after the monocycle pulse process for doublet pulse generation. These two kinds of pulses can be employed in single-band impulse radio UWB (IR-UWB) systems. Two kinds of multi-band UWB pulses can be generated based on monocycle pulse train with proper apodization profiles, realized by hybrid photonic microwave filter and synchronous polarization modulation respectively. Experimental results show that these pulses can be used in multi-band UWB (MB-UWB) over fiber systems.      

High-repetition tunable picosecond dye laser pumped by a copperbromide laser

It is reported that by mixing the saturable absorber DODCI with the gain medium Rh6G, 30-ps pulses can be generated from a short-cavity dye laser pumped by a copper bromide laser with a 25-ns pulsewidth and a 10-kHz repetition rate. A theoretical analysis of pulse shortening by this method is shown to agree with experimental results. A dispersion-amplifier system was employed for synchronous amplification and frequency tuning of the dye laser. The single-pulse energy was up to 0.15 μJ with a linewidth-of 1.0 cm^-1 in a one-stage amplifier, and the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) background noise was reduced to below 10%. By simply rotating the grating and occasionally adjusting the thickness of the dye cavity slightly, the laser can be tuned continuously from 570 to 590 nm with a nearly Fourier-transform-limited linewidth. The repetition rate can be varied from 10 to 20 kHz     

Short pulse generation and compression in XeCl lasers

Techniques of short pulse generation in discharge-pumped excimer lasers are experimentally and analytically investigated around the 1 ns region. With a compact Blumlein-type XeCl laser and an 8 cm cavity length, a lasing pulse duration of 1 ns FWHM was obtained. The pulse duration is remarkably shortened in comparison with the pumping period through the mechanism of controlled resonator transients. Next, pulse compression by an absorber-amplifier system is demonstrated in XeCl lasers. Incident pulses are compressed by a factor of 2/3 by passing through a saturable absorber butyl PBD, and a XeCl amplifier.     

Generation and kilohertz rate amplification of synchronizedfemtosecond and picosecond laser pulses

Synchronized femtosecond and tunable picosecond laser pulses have been generated using a linear cavity configuration in both lasers. The long-term stability of the synchronization, as well as the frequency of the synchronously pumped femtosecond dye laser, is assured by active stabilization of the cavity length. Additionally, the picosecond and femtosecond pulses have been amplified in dual amplifier chains to pulse energies in the microjoule range at a 1 kHz repetition rate. The total peak intensity available for two-photon, nonlinear excitations is on the order of 10⁹ times greater than that available from unamplified beams     

低重复频率脉冲掺镱光纤放大器

为了研究低重复频率两级脉冲掺Yb3+光纤放大器,采用脉冲信号驱动的半导体激光器作为种子光源,产生重频100Hz、半峰全宽100ns、能量30nJ的矩形光脉冲。第1级放大采用单模掺Yb3+光纤放大器,双程放大方案有效地抑制了放大自发辐射,放大后的脉冲能量达到了8.2μJ。第2级放大采用纤芯直径15μm的双包层掺Yb3+光纤放大器,大功率多模半导体激光器连续抽运。结果在抽运功率为7.3W时,放大输出脉冲能量达到了242μJ,放大输出半峰全宽压缩为29ns。输出的光束质量较好,为准单模输出。结果表明,该光纤放大器输出脉冲能量高,具有全光纤化、结构简单的特点。     

Ti3AlC2 coated D-shaped fiber saturable absorber for Q-switched pulse generation

In this letter, a titanium aluminum carbide (Ti3AlC2) coated D-shaped fiber is proposed and demonstrated as a new saturable absorber (SA) for Q-switched laser pulse generation. In preparing the SA, the Ti3AlC2 powder is dispersed in liquid polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) before the solution is dropped and left to dry onto a polished surface of D-shape fiber. The SA is added to an erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) cavity to modulate the cavity loss for Q-switching. The Q-switched laser is obtained at 1 561 nm. The pulse width of the pulses can be varied between 7.4 µs and 5.1 µs with a corresponding repetition rate range from 41.26 kHz to 54.35 kHz, when the pump power is increased from 42.2 mW to 71.5 mW. At 71.5 mW pump, the pulse energy is obtained at 70.3 nJ. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the fundamental frequency is recorded at 67 dB, which indicates the stability of the laser.     

Erbium-ytterbium waveguide laser mode-locked with a semiconductorsaturable absorber mirror

Picosecond pulses are produced using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror in a laser based on an Er-Yb codoped planar waveguide amplifier. Continuous-wave mode-locking (CWML) with 9.8-ps pulses is obtained at repetition rates up to 100 MHz. With intracavity spectral filtering, saturable pulsewidths of 1 ps are achieved, and tunable picosecond pulses are obtained from 1534 to 1553 nm. Absorber characterization suggests that two-photon absorption within the saturable absorber mirror influences the CWML stability     

Extreme timing jitter reduction of a passively mode-locked laserdiode by optical pulse injection

Reduction of the timing jitter to less than that of the master laser pulses was achieved for a passively mode-locked laser diode stabilized by subharmonic-frequency optical pulse injection. Detailed investigation revealed that this phenomenon originates from the short-term stability of the mode locking frequency under passively mode-locking operation with suitable bias conditions of the saturable absorber and the gain sections     

利用非线性偏振旋转锁模技术产生0.7nJ, 1.5ps光脉冲

为了研究锁模光纤激光器以增益平坦型掺铒光纤放大器作为增益介质对输出特性的影响,采用增益平坦型掺铒光纤放大器结合光纤偏振控制器、偏振相关光隔离器组成锁模光纤激光器,基于非线性偏振旋转锁模技术,实现稳定、自起振锁模运转,得到了中心波长1560nm、重复频率6.495MHz、单脉冲能量0.7nJ、脉宽1.5ps的超短光脉冲。同时实验观察到峰值波长为1557nm和1570nm的双峰值波长锁模脉冲的产生。结果表明,采用增益平坦型掺铒光纤放大器替代普通掺铒光纤组成锁模光纤激光器,可获得较高单脉冲能量的超短光脉冲,锁模脉冲的输出光谱可能出现双峰结构,从而可为超短脉冲光纤激光器设计及实用化提供参考。     

Picosecond laser diode pulse amplification up to 12 W by laserdiode pumped erbium-doped fiber

Intense picosecond optical pulse generation from a gain-switched laser diode (LD) was demonstrated using a 1.48-μm LD-pumped Er³⁺ -doped fiber laser amplifier. Saturation characteristics of the amplifier output power were also measured as a function of input repetition frequency. An amplified peak power of 12 W and 105-pJ pulse energy were obtained for 9-ps pulses at a 33-GHz repetition frequency. This is the highest peak power yet demonstrated in pulse generation employing all-laser diodes as active devices     

Tunable Raman Soliton Source Using Mode-Locked Tm–Ho Fiber Laser

We report a femtosecond pulse source that uses a mode-locked Tm-Ho oscillator and a self-frequency shift of Raman solitons in Tm-Ho power amplifier. The master oscillator mode-locked by an antimonide-based saturable absorber mirror produces 750-fs transform-limited soliton pulses over the tuning range from 1912 to 1972 nm. The soliton self-frequency shift in the amplifier resulted in transform-limited pulses with the wavelength adjusted by varying the amplifier pump power. We obtain ~150-fs soliton pulses at the wavelength of 2150 nm with average power up to 230 mW corresponding to the peak power of 27 kW. The efficiency of Raman conversion ranges from 47% to 62% over the tuning range     

高功率高重复频率飞秒掺镱光纤激光频率梳的研究(特邀)

飞秒光学频率梳在精密计量学和光谱学中扮演着革命性的推动角色,成为近二十年超短脉冲激光技术及应用研究领域最活跃的前沿方向之一。文中基于250 MHz重复频率（frep）的掺镱（Yb）光纤激光器,研究了不同腔内色散以及锁模机制对飞秒脉冲序列载波包络相位偏移频率（fCEO）噪声的影响。通过对飞秒光梳细节的优化,得到了49 dB信噪比的fCEO拍频信号并获得了秒稳3.210-10的锁定结果,同时frep的锁定结果也达到了到了秒稳3.410-13的精度。此外文中还研究了不同啁啾状态的种子光飞秒脉冲对基于大模场面积双包层Yb光子晶体光纤放大器输出光脉冲宽度的影响。以携带-3.8104 fs2预啁啾量的光脉冲作为种子光,在60 W 976 nm半导体激光泵浦下,获得了250 MHz重复频率、23 W平均功率和66 fs压缩后脉冲宽度的激光输出。     

Relaxation Oscillations and Pulse Stability in Harmonically Mode-Locked Semiconductor Lasers

In this paper, we discuss pulse dynamics in harmonically mode-locked semiconductor lasers and present the conditions necessary for stability. In a laser mode-locked at the Nth harmonic, the pulse energy fluctuations have (N+1) different modes of relaxation oscillations. Different modes correspond to different patterns for the energy fluctuations in the N different pulses inside the laser cavity. In the higher order relaxation oscillation modes, the energy fluctuations are negatively correlated in different pulses inside the laser cavity, and these modes can cause instability. Gain saturation on time scales of the order of the pulse width (dynamic gain saturation) stabilizes pulse energy fluctuations with respect to relaxation oscillations. The precise limits on the stable operating regime depend on the gain dynamics at both slow and fast time scales. We also discuss harmonic mode-locking in the presence of a slow saturable absorber. Dynamic loss saturation in a saturable absorber can work against dynamic gain saturation and limit the stability range for harmonic mode-locking.     

基于饱和吸收镜的被动锁模光纤激光器

在普通单模光纤环中插入半导体可饱和吸收镜(SESAM)作为非线性器件,实现了自启动的被动锁模光纤激光器,并产生了亚皮秒量级的稳定锁模激光脉冲。输出锁模脉冲的基频为几兆赫兹。利用基于倍频晶体的二次谐波自相关仪测得锁模脉冲的脉宽为422 fs,最窄时可达377 fs,利用光谱仪测得脉冲谱宽为6.35 nm,脉宽谱宽乘积为0.329,接近于双曲正割脉冲的变换极限。实验中激光器输出脉冲稳定,没有观察到子脉冲和直流分量。在一般的实验室条件下,未采取任何附加措施,激光器可连续稳定工作10 h以上,没有出现失锁现象。该装置结构简单,紧凑,易于调整,工作稳定,可以很方便地实现自启动锁模。