Generation of ultrashort pulses from a neodymium glass laser system

A neodymium glass laser system capable of generating high-energy, ultrashort pulses at a convenient repetition rate is described. The effect of nonlinear frequency pulling on active mode locking is discussed. By minimizing the nonlinear frequency pulling, it is possible to routinely generate stable ~10-ps pulses at a 100-MHz repetition rate from the actively mode-locked oscillator. The regenerator amplifier increases the oscillator pulse energy to over 30 μJ at a 370-Hz repetition rate. Using intracavity self-phase modulation, the regenerative amplifier also broadens the pulse bandwidth to ~35 Å. By subsequent pulse compression while maintaining high energy, it is possible to produce 0.55-ps pulses with >10 μJ. An optical fiber pulse compressor further shortens the pulses to 30 fs (30 nJ), the shortest pulses ever generated at 1.054 μm from a neodymium laser system     

Active mode locking of broadband quantum cascade lasers

Active mode locking in broadband quantum cascade (QC) lasers with a repetition rate of about 14.3 GHz has been achieved through the modulation of the laser bias current. At low driving currents, the active mode locking in broadband QC lasers resembles the active mode locking in single-wavelength QC lasers, while at high driving currents, the mode locking properties are governed by the broad spectral gain of these lasers. At high bias currents, the active modulation excites Fabry-Perot modes across the entire gain spectrum from 6.7 to 7.4 /spl mu/m, with clear evidence of mode locking. The spectral width of the optical gain in the broadband QC lasers exceeds 2 THz and indicates the potential for generating subpicosecond pulses.     

Higher order FM mode locking for pulse-repetition-rate enhancementin actively mode-locked lasers: theory and experiment

We present a novel higher order FM mode-locked technique for active mode-locked lasers which utilizes the higher order sidebands generated by an intracavity phase modulator to establish the mode locking. The resulting mode-locked output exhibits an enhancement of the pulse repetition rate over the modulation frequency by an integral multiple. The higher order FM mode locking is studied theoretically in a laser with a homogeneous gain medium, and simple analytical expressions are obtained to characterize the output pulses. It is shown that the scheme not only enhances the pulse repetition rate but also ensures chirp-free pulses and is effective in eliminating the output pulse phase-state instability, which are commonly observed in conventional FM mode-locked lasers. The effect of group velocity dispersion and cavity nonlinearity is also investigated through numerical solution of the self-consistency equation applied to a fiber ring laser. Finally, detailed experimental results on repetition rate enhancement in fiber lasers are presented and shown to be in good agreement with the theoretical results     

Multimode effects on the evolution and long-term stability of apassively mode-locked laser under pulsed injection locking

A multidimensional extension of the injection locking of CW lasers has been recently presented and experimentally verified when both a passively and an actively mode-locked laser were locked to injected coherent pulse trains. Harmonic injection locking of a passively mode-locked laser, where a subset of the laser cavity modes were locked to the injected signal, was also recently realized in a fiber laser to yield trains of 6-ps pulses at rates of up to 40 GHz. In this paper, the multimode injection-locking process is addressed with an emphasis on the long-term dynamics of the laser, pulse buildup under injection locking, memory effects, noise mechanism as well as potential applications, e.g., optical signal regeneration. Using a recently introduced formalism for describing passively mode-locked lasers, the experimental results are compared to numerical simulations     

Active mode locking with hybrid lasers

We present the results of a numerical study of active mode locking with hybrid lasers which contain an inhomogeneously broadened laser medium and an homogeneously broadened laser medium. The spectral, pulse, and gain characteristics of actively mode-locked hybrid lasers and the influence of the unsaturated gain, the saturation power, and the homogeneous linewidth on the pulse coherence and bandwidth are studied. The simulations show that coherent and shorter pulses are generated as compared to that by either an inhomogeneously broadened medium or a homogeneously broadened medium alone. Varying the unsaturated gain or the saturation power of the gain medium are two equivalent ways to obtain the same maximal coherent pulse bandwidth for given gain media. When different gain media can be selected, a larger pulse bandwidth can be obtained with the use of a broadband homogeneously broadened medium     

40 GHz active mode-locking in a 1.5 mu m monolithic extended-cavity laser

Reports active mode locking in a monolithic long-cavity semiconductor laser, operating at 1.5 mu m wavelength. Pulses with durations of 4 ps at repetition rates up to 40 GHz have been achieved, with a modulation depth of 97%. This is the first report of active mode locking in a monolithic device, and the highest repetition rate achieved with an actively mode locked laser.<>     

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。     

同步抽运锁模的掺镱光纤激光器

同步抽运锁模是一种调制增益的锁模技术，就是调节抽运光的调制频率使之等于激光器纵模间隔的整数倍。通过对抽运光源半导体激光器的驱动电流进行正弦调制，实现了掺镱光纤激光器(YDFL)的同步抽运锁模。通过调整抽运激光器的调制频率，在相应于二次谐波锁模，4阶有理数谐波锁模条件下分别得到了较窄的脉冲输出。对重复频率625kHz的二次谐波锁模脉冲序列，脉冲宽度小于20ns，约为抽运光宽度的1／40；平均输出功率2．34mw，能量转换效率约为5％。     

Laser mode locking with addition of nonlinear index

A nonlinear index medium introduced into a passively or actively mode-locked system can lead to shorter pulses. The bandwidth limitation by gain dispersion is partially overcome by spectral broadening via the nonlinear index medium. We have found that the pulse shortening in an actively mode-locked system is limited to roughly a factor of 2 by the onset of an instability which occurs when an excessive amount of nonlinear medium is added. The instability appears as an oscillation in the pulse shape and energy. The study suggests that active mode locking of Nd YAG lasers could be improved by such means. It is also likely that the colliding pulse mode-locked system is affected by nonlinear index processes. We have found a pulse shortening of roughly the same magnitude as in the actively mode-locked system, again limited by the onset of instability.     

Short-pulse generation with broad-band tunability fromsemiconductor lasers in an external ring cavity

Short optical pulses are generated by actively mode locking semiconductor lasers in an external ring cavity with a very broad tuning range from 795 to 857 nm. The wide tunability is possible because the gain bandwidth is broadened by the use of asymmetric dual quantum wells for the semiconductor laser material. Assuming a Gaussian shape, the generated pulses have pulsewidths of 13-21 ps and spectral widths of 24.5 Å for the tuning range. The mode-locked spectrum contains almost no amplified spontaneous emission noise     

Locking bandwidth of actively mode-locked semiconductor lasersusing fiber-grating external cavities

We demonstrate numerically that actively mode-locked semiconductor lasers employing a linearly-chirped fiber grating in an external cavity can exhibit multiple drive frequency ranges of stable pulse generation, and thus give a large locking bandwidth. The locking bandwidth defines the range of RF drive frequencies over which the laser will generate pulses with low timing jitter. The stable optical pulses are generated with leading or trailing subpulses due to optical energy circulating within the fiber grating. The multiple stable ranges merge if loss is introduced into the fiber-grating region. We also show that the locking bandwidth can be improved if chirp is introduced into the grating. Suprisingly, however, chirp of either sign improves the locking bandwidth     

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.     

80-160-GHz mode-locked fiber ring laser synchronized to external optical pulse stream

The authors present a novel scheme to generate ultrahigh repetition rate picosecond pulses synchronized to an optical pulse stream in an actively mode-locked fiber ring laser. A monolithic Mach-Zehnder interferometer with integrated semiconductor optical amplifiers serves as an 80-GHz optically controlled modulator. 80-GHz transform-limited 2.1-ps Gaussian pulse with low timing jitter, extinction ratios up to 25 dB, and 5 mW of average output power are demonstrated. The laser is wavelength tunable over more than 15 nm around 1555 nm. At 160 GHz, 2.5-ps pulse trains with 3-mW output power are generated by rational harmonic mode locking.     

Injection locking in AlGaAs semiconductor laser

Injection locking of AlGaAs double-heterostructure (DH) lasers was studied with respect to locking bandwidth, required power, and coherence. The relation of the locking bandwidth versus the ratio of locked laser power to injected power was consistent with the classical analysis on injection locking phenomena reported by Adler [2]. The measured maximum locking bandwidth was 5.8 GHz when the locking gain was 18 dB. A maximum gain of 40 dB was observed with a 500 MHz locking bandwidth. The power increase in the injected mode agrees well with theoretical values calculated with the van der Pol equation. The interference pattern was observed between an injecting beam and a locked laser beam. Visibility was the same as that obtained by the interference between forward and backward emitted beams in an identical free-running laser. Spurious mode suppression was observed when a single-frequency optical power is injected into an RF-modulated laser. Single longitudinal mode operation was obtained at a sufficiently high injecting level.     

调Q和调Q锁模脉冲共存双波长光纤激光器

为了使光纤激光器同时运转在不同的工作状态,搭建了非线性偏振旋转（NPR）技术和碳纳米管可饱和吸收体（CNT-SA）混合的掺铒光纤激光器。其中,基于NPR效应的腔内双折射引入的梳状滤波器可以实现双波长输出,NPR和CNT-SA的可饱和吸收效应共同作用可以获得调Q或调Q锁模脉冲,因此在该激光器中通过调节参数可以使光纤激光器同时获得双波长调Q和调Q锁模脉冲输出。该双波长脉冲经滤波处理后,观察到1531.23 nm处的波长对应调Q脉冲,其重复率为45.62 kHz,1557.18 nm处的波长对应调Q锁模,调Q包络重复率也为45.62 kHz,包络内锁模脉冲的重复率为18.18 MHz,与激光器腔长相符。该实验结果增强了光纤激光器工作的灵活性,有望进一步拓展其在相关领域的应用。     

Miniature packaged actively mode-locked semiconductor laser with tunable 20 ps transform limited pulses

Miniature, fibre tailed and packaged, wavelength tunable actively mode locked semiconductor lasers have been developed for use as sources of approximately 20 ps transform limited pulses. Continuous stable operation with >40 nm tuning ranges centred either at 1.3 mu m or 1.55 mu m have been demonstrated. The package has an adjustable cavity length enabling the repetition frequency to be selected between 2 GHz and 8 GHz. Mean output powers in the monomode fibre tail are in the range -10 dBm to -5 dBm.<>     

非线性放大复合环形镜及被动锁模掺铒光纤激光器的研究

提出采用两个光纤耦合器构成具有复合环的非线性放大环形镜。分析表明，改变构成非线性放大复合环形镜的光纤耦合器的耦合系数可以改变非线性复合光纤环形镜的非线性传输特性，调节非线性光反射和透射率。采用非线性放大复合环形镜与半导体饱和吸收体组成复合腔掺铒光纤激光器，获得了十分稳定的被动锁模脉冲输出，得到了重复频率为２４８ＭＨｚ的谐频锁模脉冲序列。实验表明，采用非线性放大复合环形镜构成复合腔光纤激光器，有可能获得高重复频率的锁模脉冲。     

Generation and detection of tunable ultrashort infrared and far-infrared radiation pulses of high intensity

We report on generation and detection of intense pulsed radiation with frequency tunability in the infrared and far-infrared spectral regions. Infrared radiation is generated with a transversally electrically excited high pressure CO₂ laser. A laser pulse of a total duration of about 300 ns consisted, due to self mode locking, of a series of single pulses, some with pulse durations of less than 450 ps and peak powers larger than 20 MW. Using these pulses for optical with durations less than 400 ps were obtained. For detection a new ultrafast superconducting detector was used.     

Performance characterization of a harmonically mode-locked erbiumfiber ring laser

We describe the performance of a harmonically mode-locked, erbium fiber ring laser. Transform-limited pulses with durations of 20-50 ps at 5.044 GHz repetition rate are obtained. The modulation frequency can be detuned by up to ±70 kHz and the lasing wavelength can be varied over the entire erbium gain bandwidth. Pulsewidths and pulse bandwidths are measured as a function of modulation power and frequency detuning. The laser is actively stabilized by locking intra-cavity Fabry-Perot etalon passbands to the laser modes     

Simulation of mode-locking by nonlinear polarization rotation in a semiconductor optical amplifier

We present a theoretical investigation of a mode locked laser that has a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) in its ring cavity. A mode-locked train of narrow pulses is obtained by combining nonlinear polarization rotation in the SOA and a polarization filter whose polarization axis is set such that the tail of optical pulses is removed in each cavity round-trip. The pulse narrowing process is demonstrated numerically and good qualitative agreement with experiments in our previous work is achieved. The pulse performance is largely determined by the ultrafast SOA gain dynamics and the cavity dispersion. Our simulation shows that the laser can produce a pulse train of subpicosecond pulsewidth at a repetition rate of 28 GHz for a moderate SOA current level. We observe that the laser can switch itself on or off depending on the initial pulse.