Generation of 140 fs pulse train with widely tunable repetition rate through cascaded fibre compression techniques

The authors present numerical simulations of ultrashort pulse generation by a technique of linear spectral broadening in phase modulators and compression in dispersion compensating fibre, followed by a further stage of soliton compression in dispersion shifted fibre. This laser system is predicted to generate pulses of 140 fs duration with a peak power of 1.5 kW over a wide, user selectable repetition rate range while maintaining consistent characteristics of stability and pulse quality. The use of fibre compressors and commercially available modulators is expected to make the system setup compact and cost-effective.