ALL-FIBER CHIRPED PULSE AMPLIFICATION SYSTEMS
First Claim
1. A method for the generation of high quality pulses from a fiber chirped pulse amplification system in the presence of self-phase modulation in the fiber amplifier, comprising:
- selecting stretched pulses with an input pulse spectrum into the fiber amplifier such that one or a combination of substantial gain-pulling and gain-narrowing occurs in said amplifier, said gain-pulling manifesting itself in a substantial spectral shift of the average optical frequency of the pulse spectrum, said gain-narrowing manifesting itself in the generation of an amplified pulse spectrum with a spectral width not greater than the input pulse spectrum, wherein the quality of the compressed pulses improves in the presence of self-phase modulation.
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Abstract
By compensating polarization mode-dispersion as well chromatic dispersion in photonic crystal fiber pulse compressors, high pulse energies can be obtained from all-fiber chirped pulse amplification systems. By inducing third-order dispersion in fiber amplifiers via self-phase modulation, the third-order chromatic dispersion from bulk grating pulse compressors can be compensated and the pulse quality of hybrid fiber/bulk chirped pulse amplification systems can be improved. Finally, by amplifying positively chirped pulses in negative dispersion fiber amplifiers, low noise wavelength tunable seed source via anti-Stokes frequency shifting can be obtained.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for the generation of high quality pulses from a fiber chirped pulse amplification system in the presence of self-phase modulation in the fiber amplifier, comprising:
selecting stretched pulses with an input pulse spectrum into the fiber amplifier such that one or a combination of substantial gain-pulling and gain-narrowing occurs in said amplifier, said gain-pulling manifesting itself in a substantial spectral shift of the average optical frequency of the pulse spectrum, said gain-narrowing manifesting itself in the generation of an amplified pulse spectrum with a spectral width not greater than the input pulse spectrum, wherein the quality of the compressed pulses improves in the presence of self-phase modulation.
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2. A method for improving the output pulse quality in high power waveguide chirped pulse amplification systems, comprising:
setting a pulse energy to cause 0.3-10π
level of self-phase modulation in said waveguide chirped pulse amplification system, wherein said pulse energy and self-phase modulation produce improved pulse quality characterizable by at least one of;
(a) a reduction in pulse width, (b) a corresponding increase in the ratio of a compressed pulse width FWHM to energy in the wings of said pulse, and (c) a peak of a correlation signal relative to the energy in the wings of said correlation signal.
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3. A method for improving the output pulse quality in high power waveguide chirped pulse amplification systems, in the presence of self-phase modulation in the fiber amplifier, comprising:
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selecting stretched pulses with an input pulse spectrum into said fiber amplifier, said input pulse spectrum being conditioned by a seed source and an optical filter inserted between said seed source and said fiber amplifier; and further selecting the optical bandwidth and center wavelength of said seed source as well as the transmission bandwidth and the center wavelength of said filter such that the quality of the compressed pulses improves in the presence of self-phase modulation.
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4. A fiber chirped pulse amplification system, comprising:
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a short pulse optical source system capable of producing stretched optical pulses; a power amplifier receiving said stretched pulses at an input thereof; and
being operable in a large self-phase modulation regime, and producing a pulse output which improves in pulse quality, and whose higher order dispersion varies, with the pulse energy in the system.
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5. A fiber chirped pulse amplification system, comprising;
a source of optical pulses; a pulse stretcher connected to said source for receiving said pulses and generating temporally stretched pulses; a fiber amplifier connected to said pulse stretcher for receiving said temporally stretched pulses from said pulse stretcher and amplifying said pulses; a pulse compressor connected to said fiber amplifier for receiving said amplified pulses and temporally compressing said amplified pulses; wherein, said pulse stretcher and said pulse compressor are selected to have at least non-compensated values of third-order dispersion; said system further introducing an amount of nonlinear phase shift to a pulse as it travels through said system, said non-compensated values of third-order dispersion and nonlinear phase shift being sufficient to compensate at least partially for one another and thereby producing pulses of shortened duration and increased peak power.
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6. A fiber chirped pulse amplification system comprising:
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a seed source; a pulse stretcher for temporally stretching pulses from said seed source; a fiber amplifier connected to said pulse stretcher for receiving said temporally stretched pulses and amplifying said pulses; a pulse compressor connected to said fiber amplifier for receiving said amplified pulses and temporally compressing said amplified pulses, said system configured with at least one of said stretcher and compressor comprising a photonic crystal fiber. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A chirped pulse amplification system, comprising;
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a source of optical pulses; a pulse stretcher connected to said source for receiving said pulses and generating temporally stretched pulses; a fiber amplifier connected to said pulse stretcher for receiving said temporally stretched pulses from said pulse stretcher and amplifying said pulses; a pulse compressor connected to said fiber amplifier for receiving said amplified pulses and temporally compressing said amplified pulses, said system being configured such that an amplified pulse exhibits substantial non-linear phase delay, said system having one or more sources of dispersion, and wherein said non-linear phase delay and said dispersion at least partially compensate each other such that a temporally compressed output pulse of improved pulse quality is produced. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification