Laser based frequency standards and their applications

• US 9,166,361 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2015
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• 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
• Primary Examiner(s): BLEVINS, JERRY M
• Application Number:
  US14/709,906
• Publication Number:
  US 20150249317A1
• Time in Patent Office: 161 Days
• Field of Search: 385/122, 372/6
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 system for the generation of low noise radio frequency (RF) signals, comprising:

a low noise, passively modelocked low dispersion fiber laser comprising a cavity, said low noise fiber laser characterized by having 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 coherent supercontinuum generator comprising;

a highly nonlinear waveguide coupled to an output of said optical cavity and disposed downstream from said optical cavity.

2. The fiber-based laser system according to claim 1, wherein said highly nonlinear waveguide is based on crystalline material.

3. The fiber-based laser system according to claim 2, wherein said highly nonlinear waveguide comprises LiNbO3, silicon or a semiconductor material.

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

5. The fiber-based laser system according to claim 1, further comprising an f-2f interferometer to measure or stabilize said carrier envelope offset frequency.

6. The fiber-based laser system according to claim 1, wherein said passively modelocked fiber laser is configured to operate at a repetition rate greater than about 110 MHz.

7. The fiber-based laser system according to claim 1, wherein said passively modelocked fiber laser is configured to operate at a repetition rate greater than about 300 MHz.

8. The fiber-based system according to claim 1, wherein said low noise RF signal is generated via frequency division of a frequency in the optical domain.

9. The fiber-based system according to claim 1, wherein said RF signal is in the microwave frequency region.

10. The fiber-based system according to claim 1, wherein said RF signal comprises an output at about 10 GHz, said output corresponding to a harmonic of an output of said passively mode locked fiber laser operating at a pulse repetition frequency.

11. A fiber-based system, comprising:

a dispersion compensated, low noise, passively modelocked fiber laser comprising a cavity, said low noise fiber laser characterized by having 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 repetition rate multiplication system comprising plural concatenated differential optical delay lines configured to increase the repetition rate of the fiber system by a factor of n.

12. A fiber-based system according to claim 11, said fiber-based system being operably arranged for analog to digital (A/D) conversion.

13. A fiber-based system, comprising:

a dispersion compensated, low noise, passively modelocked fiber laser comprising a cavity, said low noise fiber laser characterized by having 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,

wherein said fiber laser system is adapted to low noise radio frequency (RF) generation via frequency division of a frequency in the optical domain.