All-fiber chirped pulse amplification systems

• US 8,228,597 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2008
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: IMRA America Incorporated (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: IMRA America Incorporated (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Fermann, Martin E., Imeshev, Gennady, Cho, Gyu C., Liu, Zhenlin, Harter, Donald J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hellner, Mark
• Application Number:
  US12/173,094
• Publication Number:
  US 20080273238A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,470 Days
• Field of Search: 359/333, 359/341.1, 372/6
• US Class Current: 359/333
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/0057 Temporal shaping, e.g. pulse compression, frequency chirping soliton generation and propagation G02F1/3513, H01S3/063 and H01S3/108
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/0064 Anti-reflection devices, e.g. optical isolaters absorbing layers for marking or protecting purposes in laser working B23K26/50; magneto-optical non-reciprocal devices G02F1/093, G02F1/0955
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/0078 Frequency filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/06712 Polarising fibre; Polariser
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/06725 Fibre characterized by a specific dispersion, e.g. for pulse shaping in soliton lasers or for dispersion compensating [DCF]
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/06741 Photonic crystal fibre, i.e. the fibre having a photonic bandgap
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/06754 Fibre amplifiers H01S3/06708 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/06758 Tandem amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/094007 Cladding pumping, i.e. pump light propagating in a clad surrounding the active core
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/1086 using scattering effects, e.g. Raman or Brillouin effect
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/1608 erbium
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/1618 ytterbium
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/2308 Amplifier arrangements, e.g. MOPA
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/2316 Cascaded amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/302 in an optical fibre

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.

Claims

1. A fiber chirped pulse amplification system comprising:

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 temporally stretched pulses; and

a pulse compressor connected to said fiber amplifier for receiving said temporally stretched and amplified pulses and for temporally compressing said temporally stretched and amplified pulses, wherein both said stretcher and said compressor comprise photonic crystal fibers.

2. The chirped pulse amplification system of claim 1, wherein said stretcher and compressor are configured to provide approximately opposite dispersions for dispersion compensation.

3. The chirped pulse amplification system of claim 1, further comprising a Faraday rotator mirror coupled to at least one of said stretcher and compressor, said at least one Faraday rotator providing compensation for polarization mode dispersion.

4. The chirped pulse amplification system of claim 1, wherein said fiber amplifier comprises a photonic crystal fiber.

5. A fiber chirped pulse amplification system comprising:

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 for amplifying said temporally stretched pulses; and

a pulse compressor connected to said fiber amplifier for receiving said temporally stretched and amplified pulses and for temporally compressing said temporally stretched and amplified pulses, said system configured with at least one of said stretcher and compressor comprising a photonic crystal fiber, wherein an amplified pulse amplified with said fiber amplifier exhibits substantial non-linear phase delay, comprising a 0.3-10π

level of self-phase modulation of said amplified pulse, wherein said phase delay is generated prior to being received at said pulse compressor.

6. A fiber chirped pulse amplification system comprising:

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 for amplifying said temporally stretched pulses; and

a pulse compressor connected to said fiber amplifier for receiving said temporally stretched and amplified pulses and for temporally compressing said temporally stretched and amplified pulses, said system configured with at least one of said stretcher and compressor comprising a photonic crystal fiber, wherein a non-linear phase delay is generated in a pulse as it travels through said system, and at a time prior to being received at said pulse compressor, 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.

7. The chirped pulse amplification system of claim 6, wherein said non-linear phase delay comprises 0.3-10π

level of self-phase modulation.

8. The chirped pulse amplification system of claim 6, wherein said improved compressed output pulse quality is characterizable by at least one of:

a reduction in pulse width, a corresponding increase in the ratio of a compressed pulse width FWHM to energy in the wings of said pulse, and a peak of a correlation signal relative to the energy in the wings of said correlation signal.

9. A fiber chirped pulse amplification system comprising:

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 for amplifying said temporally stretched pulses; and

a pulse compressor connected to said fiber amplifier for receiving said temporally stretched and amplified pulses and for temporally compressing said temporally stretched and amplified pulses, said system configured with at least one of said stretcher and compressor comprising a photonic crystal fiber, wherein said stretcher comprises an un-doped optical fiber, and wherein said pulses accumulate non-linear phase delay within at least a portion of said un-doped optical fiber.

10. The chirped pulse amplification system of claim 9, wherein said un-doped optical fiber comprises a length of photonic crystal fiber.