×

Stabilized non-reciprocal fiber-ring brillouin laser source

  • US 10,014,649 B2
  • Filed: 12/21/2016
  • Issued: 07/03/2018
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2015
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
Patent Images

1. A laser source comprising:

  • (a) a fiber-ring optical resonator including an optical circulator and an optical coupler, wherein the fiber-ring optical resonator is characterized by a Brillouin shift frequency ν

    B, and wherein the optical circulator is arranged so as to (i) limit to a single round trip propagation of an optical signal around the fiber-ring optical resonator in a forward direction, and (ii) permit resonant propagation of an optical signal around the fiber-ring optical resonator in a backward direction;

    (b) a pump laser source that arranged so as to (i) produce a pump optical signal characterized by a pump optical frequency ν

    1, (ii) launch into the fiber-ring optical resonator via the optical circulator a first input portion of the pump optical signal to propagate in the forward direction, and (iii) launch into the fiber-ring optical resonator via the optical coupler a second input portion of the pump optical signal to propagate in the backward direction; and

    (c) a frequency-locking mechanism coupling the pump laser source and the fiber-ring optical resonator, wherein the frequency-locking mechanism is arranged so as to control the pump optical frequency ν

    1 to maintain resonant propagation of the second input portion of the pump optical signal around the fiber-ring optical resonator in the backward direction,wherein;

    (d) the fiber-ring optical resonator is arranged so as to produce from the first input portion of the pump optical signal a Brillouin laser optical signal, at a Brillouin laser frequency ν

    1S

    1

    ν

    B, that resonantly propagates around the fiber-ring optical resonator in the backward direction; and

    (e) the optical coupler is arranged so as to direct out of the fiber-ring optical resonator (i) an output portion of the second input portion of the pump optical signal, at the pump optical frequency ν

    1, to act as an optical feedback signal to the frequency-locking mechanism, and (ii) an output portion of the Brillouin laser optical signal, at the Brillouin laser frequency ν

    1S, to act as optical output of the laser source.

View all claims
  • 2 Assignments
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×