High-repetition-rate guided-mode femtosecond laser
First Claim
1. A method for generating a high-repetition-rate guided-mode femtosecond laser comprising:
- providing a laser comprising the following cavity components;
a saturable absorption device, a reflector, and a waveguide extending between the saturable absorption device and the reflector;
generating a single optical pulse traversing the waveguide in the form of a soliton via fundamental modelocking, wherein the cavity components increase the intensity of the pulse and provide a balance of dispersion and nonlinearity to provide the soliton with a pulsewidth of no more than 500 femtoseconds; and
emitting output optical pulses at a repetition rate of at least 500 MHz and with a pulsewidth of no more than 500 femtoseconds from the soliton in the waveguide.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Femtosecond pulse trains in waveguide lasers with high fundamental repetition rates are achieved by exploiting the nonlinearity in the waveguide. Components of the apparatus include an optical resonator, a saturable absorber for starting and stabilizing mode-locking, and a gain element. Part of the laser cavity or the entire laser cavity is made of waveguide or fiber (collectively called “waveguide” herein). The net dispersion of the laser cavity can be anomalous. This anomalous dispersion in combination with the positive self-phase modulation nonlinearity in the waveguide creates soliton formation to shorten the pulse duration in the invented lasers. Conversely, a normal dispersive waveguide with negative self-phase modulation nonlinearity can also be used.
10 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for generating a high-repetition-rate guided-mode femtosecond laser comprising:
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providing a laser comprising the following cavity components;
a saturable absorption device, a reflector, and a waveguide extending between the saturable absorption device and the reflector;generating a single optical pulse traversing the waveguide in the form of a soliton via fundamental modelocking, wherein the cavity components increase the intensity of the pulse and provide a balance of dispersion and nonlinearity to provide the soliton with a pulsewidth of no more than 500 femtoseconds; and emitting output optical pulses at a repetition rate of at least 500 MHz and with a pulsewidth of no more than 500 femtoseconds from the soliton in the waveguide. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 23)
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14. A high-repetition-rate guided-mode femtosecond laser comprising a laser cavity with cavity components including:
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a saturable absorption device; a partial reflector; and a waveguide extending no more than 20 cm from the saturable absorption device to the partial reflector, wherein the cavity components are structured to produce a single optical pulse traversing the waveguide in the form of a soliton via fundamental modelocking, to increase the intensity of the soliton, to emit output optical pulses from the soliton, and to provide a balance of dispersion and nonlinearity to provide the output optical pulses with a repetition rate of at least 500 MHz and a pulsewidth of no more than 500 femtoseconds. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25)
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Specification