Laser based frequency standards and their applications

• US 8,442,373 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2012
• Issued: 05/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• 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 M
• Application Number:
  US13/446,770
• Publication Number:
  US 20120200439A1
• Time in Patent Office: 396 Days
• Field of Search: 385/15, 385/122, 385/14, 385/27, 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 fiber-based laser system, comprising:

a passively mode locked fiber laser, wherein an output of said passively mode locked fiber laser comprises a carrier envelope offset frequency, said passively mode locked fiber laser comprising an optical cavity having intra-cavity components and having a net cavity dispersion,

wherein said intra-cavity components comprise a temperature controlled saturable absorber or a temperature controlled fiber Bragg grating configured to modify and stabilize said carrier envelope offset frequency, and

wherein said optical cavity is configured in such a way that the net cavity dispersion is substantially lower than the dispersion of any intra-cavity component.

2. The laser system according to claim 1, further comprising a fiber amplifier receiving outputs from said passively modelocked fiber laser and generating amplified pulses.

3. The laser system according to claim 2, further comprising a supercontinuum generator coupled to one of said fiber laser and said amplifier.

4. A fiber-based laser system, comprising:

a passively mode locked fiber laser, wherein an output of said passively mode locked fiber laser comprises a carrier envelope offset frequency, said passively mode locked fiber laser comprising an optical cavity having intra-cavity components, wherein said intra-cavity components comprise a temperature controlled saturable absorber or a temperature controlled fiber Bragg grating configured to modify and stabilize said carrier envelope offset frequency; and

an f-2f interferometer arranged to measure and/or stabilize said carrier envelope offset frequency.

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

a passively modelocked fiber laser configured to operate at a pulse repetition rate [>

] greater than 110 MHz, and 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; and

a supercontinuum generator comprising a highly nonlinear waveguide coupled to an output of said cavity.

6. The frequency comb source according to claim 5, wherein said highly nonlinear waveguide comprises crystalline material.

7. The frequency comb source according to claim 6, wherein said crystalline material comprises LiNbO₃, silicon or a semiconductor material.

8. The frequency comb source according to claim 5, further comprising a fiber amplifier receiving outputs from said passively modelocked fiber laser and generating amplified pulses.

9. The frequency comb source according to claim 5, further comprising an f-2f interferometer to measure and/or stabilize said carrier envelope offset frequency.

10. The frequency comb source according to claim 5, wherein said passively modelocked fiber laser is configured to operate at a repetition rate [>

] greater than 300 MHz.

11. The frequency comb source according to claim 5, wherein said frequency comb source comprises a part of an optical wave meter.

12. A fiber laser based system for photonic analog-to-digital conversion of electrical signals, comprising:

a mode locked fiber laser generating a pulse train of individual pulses with a pulse repetition rate R and an optical bandwidth, wherein said modelocked fiber laser comprises 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;

an optical modulator downstream from said laser to modulate said pulse train and to encode a radio-frequency signal onto said pulse train;

a wavelength demultiplexer for selecting narrow wavelength channels from broader bandwidth pulses generated by said mode locked fiber laser; and

an array of electrical analog to digital converters operatively connected to substantially all the wavelength channels,

said array configured to provide time interleaved sampling of the radio-frequency signal.

13. The fiber laser based system according to claim 12, wherein said fiber based system comprises a frequency comb source.

14. The fiber laser based system according to claim 12, wherein said narrow wavelength channels are configured to contain pulse trains at a pulse repetition rate R.