Fiber grating compression of giant-chirped nanosecond pulses from an ultra-long nanotube mode-locked fiber laser

1.2-W average-power, 700-W peak-power, 100-ps dissipative soliton resonance in a compact Er:Yb co-doped double-clad fiber laser

Mode-locked pulses in the dissipative soliton resonance (DSR) regime enable extremely high pulse energy, but typically have the limited peak power of <100  W and a nanosecond-long pulse duration. In this Letter, we demonstrate high-peak-power, ultrashort DSR pulses in a compact Er:Yb co-doped double-clad fiber laser. The linear cavity is simply formed by two fiber loop mirrors (FLMs) using a 50/50 optical coupler (OC) and a 5/95 OC. The 5/95 FLM with a short loop length of 3 m is not only used as the output mirror, but also acts as a nonlinear optical loop mirror for initiating high-peak-power DSR. In particular, the mode-locked laser can deliver ∼100  ps DSR pulses with a maximum average power of 1.2 W and a peak power as high as ∼700  W. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest peak power of DSR pulses obtained in mode-locked fiber lasers.

Wavelength tunable ultrafast fiber laser via reflective mirror with taper structure

Laser sources with a controllable flexible wavelength have found widespread applications in optical fiber communication, optical sensing, and microscopy. Here, we report a tunable mode-locked fiber laser using a graphene-based saturable absorber and a tapered mirror as an end mirror in the cavity. The phase layer in the mirror is precisely etched by focused ion beam (FIB) milling technology, and the resonant wavelength of the mirror shifts correspond to the different etch depths. By scanning the tapered mirror mechanically, the center wavelength of a mode-locked fiber laser can be continuously tuned from 1562 to 1532 nm, with a pulse width in the sub-ps level and repetition rate of 27 MHz.

Towards 'smart lasers': self-optimisation of an ultrafast pulse source using a genetic algorithm

Short-pulse fibre lasers are a complex dynamical system possessing a broad space of operating states that can be accessed through control of cavity parameters. Determination of target regimes is a multi-parameter global optimisation problem. Here, we report the implementation of a genetic algorithm to intelligently locate optimum parameters for stable single-pulse mode- locking in a Figure-8 fibre laser, and fully automate the system turn-on procedure. Stable ultrashort pulses are repeatably achieved by employing a compound fitness function that monitors both temporal and spectral output properties of the laser. Our method of encoding photonics expertise into an algorithm and applying machine-learning principles paves the way to self-optimising ‘smart’ optical technologies.

Mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser emitting broadband pulses at ultralow repetition rates

We report on an environmentally stable, Yb-doped, all-normal dispersion, mode-locked fiber laser that is capable of creating broadband pulses with ultralow repetition rates. Specifically, through careful positioning of fiber sections in an all-PM-fiber cavity mode-locked with a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror, we achieve stable pulse trains with repetition rates as low as 506 kHz. The pulses have several nanojules of energy and are compressible down to ultrashort (<500  fs) durations.

Tunable scalar solitons from a polarization-maintaining mode-locked fiber laser using carbon nanotube and chirped fiber Bragg grating

Generation of tunable scalar solitons from a polarization-maintaining (PM) mode-locked fiber laser is presented. A single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) absorber is used for self-started mode locking. A chirped fiber Bragg grating (CFBG) mounted on a cantilever is employed as a tunable all-fiber filter. Mode-locked solitons are obtained with typical pulse duration of ~6.94 ps and repetition rate of 28.94 MHz. Linearly polarized laser emission is characterized with degree of polarization (DOP) of ~99.5%. The wavelength of the emitted scalar soliton can be continuously tuned through adjusting the CFBG, while maintaining the polarization stability.

Mode-locking pulse generation with MoS2-PVA saturable absorber in both anomalous and ultra-long normal dispersion regimes

We experimentally demonstrate a stable and simple mode locked erbium doped fiber laser (EDFL) utilizing passive few-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) as a saturable absorber. The MoS₂ is obtained by liquid phase exfoliation before it is embedded in a polymer composite film and then inserted in the laser cavity. A stable soliton pulse train started at a low threshold pump power of 20 mW in the anomalous dispersion regime after fine-tuning the rotation of the polarization controller. The central wavelength, 3 dB bandwidth, pulse width, and repetition rate of the soliton pulses are 1574.6 nm, 9.5 nm, 790 fs, and 29.5 MHz, respectively. By inserting a 850 m long dispersion shifted fiber (DSF) in the cavity, a dissipative soliton with square pulse train is obtained in the normal dispersion regime where the operating wavelength is centered at 1567.44 nm with a 3 dB bandwidth of 19.68 nm. The dissipative soliton pulse has a pulse width of 90 ns at a low repetition rate of 231.5 kHz due to the long DSF used. These results are a contribution to the pool of knowledge in nonlinear optical properties of two-dimensional nanomaterials especially for ultrafast photonic applications.

Characterization and compression of dissipative-soliton-resonance pulses in fiber lasers

We report numerical and experimental studies of dissipative-soliton-resonance (DSR) in a fiber laser with a nonlinear optical loop mirror. The DSR pulse presents temporally a flat-top profile and a clamped peak power. Its spectrum has a rectangle profile with characteristic steep edges. It shows a unique behavior as pulse energy increases: The rectangle part of the spectrum is unchanged while the newly emerging spectrum sits on the center part and forms a peak. Experimental observations match well with the numerical results. Moreover, the detailed evolution of the DSR pulse compression is both numerically and experimentally demonstrated for the first time. An experimentally obtained DSR pulse of 63 ps duration is compressed down to 760 fs, with low-intensity pedestals using a grating pair. Before being compressed to its narrowest width, the pulse firstly evolves into a cat-ear profile, and the corresponding autocorrelation trace shows a crown shape, which distinguishes itself from properties of other solitons formed in fiber lasers.

Mode-locked long fibre master oscillator with intra-cavity power management and pulse energy > 12 µJ

Combined lengthening of the cavity of a passive mode-locked fibre master oscillator and implementation of a new concept of intra-cavity power management led to achievement of a record-high pulse energy directly at the output of the mode-locked fibre master oscillator (without any subsequent amplification) exceeding 12 µJ. Output powers at the level of > 12 µJ obtainable from a long-cavity mode-locked fibre master oscillator open new possibilities of application of all pulse types that can be generated in such oscillators.

Dark solitons in laser radiation build-up dynamics

We reveal the existence of slowly decaying dark solitons in the radiation build-up dynamics of bright pulses in all-normal dispersion mode-locked fiber lasers, numerically modeled in the framework of a generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The evolution of noise perturbations to quasistationary dark solitons is examined, and the significance of background shape and soliton-soliton collisions on the eventual soliton decay is established. We demonstrate the role of a restoring force in extending soliton interactions in conservative systems to include the effects of dissipation, as encountered in laser cavities, and generalize our observations to other nonlinear systems.