Title :
Highly stable 68-fs pulse generation from a stretched-pulse Yb/sup 3+/-doped fiber laser with frequency shifted feedback
Author :
Lefort, L. ; Albert, A. ; Couderc, V. ; Barthélémy, A.
Author_Institution :
Faculte des Sci., Inst. de Recherche en Commun. Optiques et Microondes, Limoges, France
Abstract :
We report on the development of a passively mode-locked and highly-stable stretched pulse laser based on Yb/sup 3+/-doped silica fiber. Mode-locking is achieved by nonlinear polarization evolution coupled with the frequency-shifted feedback technique for ensuring robust self-starting. The Fabry-Perot (F-P) cavity incorporates also a diffraction grating pair to compensate for the normal dispersion of the fiber. The laser generates chirped pulses with energies of 100 pJ at a repetition rate of 23 MHz (2.3 mW average power) around 1055 nm which were subsequently compressed to near-bandwidth-limited pulses of 68 fs duration.
Keywords :
Fabry-Perot resonators; diffraction gratings; fibre lasers; laser cavity resonators; laser feedback; laser mode locking; optical pulse compression; optical pulse generation; ytterbium; 100 pJ; 1055 nm; 2.3 mW; 68 fs; Fabry-Perot cavity; SiO/sub 2/:Yb; Yb/sup 3+/-doped silica fiber; chirped pulses; diffraction grating pair; frequency shifted feedback; highly stable 68-fs pulse generation; near-bandwidth-limited pulses; nonlinear polarization evolution; normal dispersion compensation; passively mode-locked laser; pulse compression; repetition rate; robust self-starting; stretched-pulse Yb/sup 3+/-doped fiber laser; Couplings; Fiber lasers; Laser feedback; Laser mode locking; Optical fiber polarization; Optical pulse generation; Optical pulses; Pulse compression methods; Pulse generation; Silicon compounds;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/LPT.2002.804678
