Laser based frequency standards and their applications

• US 8,170,387 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2010
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IMRA America Incorporated (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: IMRA America Incorporated (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Hartl, Ingmar, Fermann, Martin E
• Primary Examiner(s): Lepisto, Ryan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Blevins, Jerry
• Application Number:
  US12/825,446
• Publication Number:
  US 20100265972A1
• Time in Patent Office: 672 Days
• Field of Search: 385/122, 385/15, 372/18
• US Class Current: 385/122
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/3528 for producing a supercontinuum
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/3558 Poled materials, e.g. with periodic poling; Fabrication of domain inverted structures, e.g. for quasi-phase-matching [QPM]
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/365 in an optical waveguide structure G02F1/377, G02F1/395 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2203/56 Frequency comb synthesizer
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 2301/02 ASE (amplified spontaneous emission), noise; Reduction thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/067 Fibre lasers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/06716 Fibre compositions per se C03C13/04or doping with active elements lasing materials in general H01S3/14
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/1112 Passive mode locking

Abstract

Frequency standards based on mode-locked fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers and fiber-based ultra-broad bandwidth light sources, and applications of the same.

Claims

1. A laser system comprising a modelocked fiber laser producing pulses with a peak pulse power, said laser system configured to provide an output of equidistant optical pulses at a repetition frequency, said laser system comprising a phase adjuster controlling the absolute phase of said optical pulses, said repetition frequency and said pulse phase further being matched to an external enhancement cavity disposed external to said modelocked fiber laser, such that the pulse peak power within the boundaries of said external enhancement cavity is substantially higher compared to the pulse peak power provided by said modelocked fiber laser.

2. The laser system according to claim 1, wherein said pulses produced with said modelocked fiber laser are amplified in a chirped pulse amplification system.

3. The laser system according to claim 2, wherein said laser system generates at least one of VUV, EUV and THz radiation in said enhancement cavity via the insertion of a nonlinear material into said enhancement cavity.

4. The laser system according to claim 2, wherein a nonlinear material is disposed in said enhancement cavity, said non-linear material comprising a gas, a liquid or a solid.

5. The laser system according to claim 4, where said nonlinear material is a portion of a parametric amplifier.

6. The laser system according to claim 1, wherein said laser system is configured as a portion of a fiber-based frequency comb source, and wherein said absolute phase control is adjustable to produce an individual laser comb linewidth which is smaller than the linewidth of the individual comb lines comprising the frequency comb spectrum of the enhancement cavity, and wherein the fiber-based frequency comb is adjusted to overlap with the frequency comb spectrum of the enhancement cavity, and wherein the comb spacing of the fiber-based comb spectrum is adjusted to be equal to the comb spacing of the comb spectrum of the enhancement cavity.

7. A source of phase stable optical pulses, comprising:

a modelocked fiber laser;

a fiber amplifier to amplify an output of said modelocked fiber laser; and

a phase stabilizer configured such that a stable carrier phase slip is obtainable at the output of said fiber amplifier.

8. A coherent fiber-based frequency comb source, comprising:

a passively modelocked fiber laser comprising an optical cavity having intra-cavity components and a net cavity dispersion, wherein said cavity is configured in such a way that the net cavity dispersion is substantially lower than the dispersion of any intra-cavity component;

a fiber amplifier receiving outputs from said passively modelocked fiber laser and generating amplified output pulses;

a highly nonlinear waveguide based on a crystalline material, said waveguide receiving amplified output pulses from said fiber amplifier and generating a coherent super-continuum therewith;

an f-2f interferometer to measure the carrier envelope offset frequency of said fiber comb source.

9. The coherent fiber-based frequency comb source of claim 8, wherein said passively modelocked fiber laser generates outputs at a repetition rate greater than 110 MHz.

10. The coherent fiber-based frequency comb source of claim 8, further comprising:

a phase stabilizer comprising said f-2f interferometer;

an adjustable control element within or coupled to said passively modelocked fiber laser; and

a feedback loop connecting said adjustable control element and said f-2f interferometer, said stabilizer being configured to stabilize the carrier envelope offset frequency of said fiber comb source.

11. The coherent fiber-based frequency comb source of claim 8, wherein said non-linear waveguide comprises a poled crystalline material.

12. A coherent fiber-based frequency comb source, comprising:

a passively modelocked fiber laser;

a fiber amplifier receiving outputs from said passively modelocked fiber laser and generating amplified output pulses;

a highly nonlinear waveguide based on a poled crystalline material, said waveguide receiving amplified output pulses from said fiber amplifier and generating a super-continuum therewith, wherein said poled crystalline material is periodically poled with a variation of the poling period along the crystal length.

13. The fiber-based frequency comb source of claim 12, wherein a poling period of said poled crystalline material is configured to produce at least one region of enhanced spectral density within said super continuum.

14. The fiber-based frequency comb source of claim 12, wherein said periodically poled crystalline material comprises LiNbO₃.

15. A coherent fiber-based frequency comb source, comprising:

a passively modelocked fiber laser generating outputs at a repetition rate greater than 110 MHz, said passively mode locked fiber laser comprising an optical cavity having intra-cavity components and a net cavity dispersion, wherein said cavity is configured in such a way that the net cavity dispersion is substantially lower than the dispersion of any intra-cavity component;

a fiber amplifier receiving outputs from said passively modelocked fiber laser and generating amplified output pulses;

a highly nonlinear waveguide, said waveguide receiving amplified output pulses from said fiber amplifier and generating a coherent super-continuum therewith; and

a stabilizer for a carrier envelope offset frequency of said fiber comb source.

16. The coherent fiber-based frequency comb source of claim 15, wherein said stabilizer comprises at least one external reference cavity, and wherein at least two feedback loops are configured to align said carrier envelope offset frequency and the repetition rate of said passively mode locked fiber laser to said external reference cavity.

17. The coherent fiber-based frequency comb source of claim 15, wherein said stabilizer comprises at least two feedback loops configured with detectors for receiving two narrow spectral portions of a spectral output of said comb source.

18. The coherent fiber-based frequency comb source of claim 15, wherein said passively modelocked fiber laser is diode pumped with at least one pump diode, and said stabilizer comprises a feedback system to regulate the power of said at least one pump diode.

19. The coherent fiber-based frequency comb source of claim 15, wherein said passively modelocked fiber laser comprises a fiber Bragg grating, and said stabilizer comprises a feedback system to regulate at least one of temperature and stress of said fiber Bragg grating.

20. The coherent fiber-based frequency comb source of claim 15, wherein said stabilizer is configured to utilize said continuum.

21. The coherent fiber-based frequency comb source of claim 15, wherein said stabilizer comprises a feedback loop controlling said passively modelocked fiber laser based on a control signal derived from an output of said highly nonlinear waveguide.