Self-Starting, Passively Modelocked Figure Eight Fiber Laser
First Claim
1. A passively modelocked figure-eight fiber laser comprisinga uni-directional fiber loop and a bi-directional fiber loop mirror coupled together by a 2×
- 2 central coupler to create a figure-eight configuration,the uni-directional fiber loop comprising;
a section of rare-earth doped fiber;
a section of single mode fiber coupled to the section of rare-earth doped fiber to form a fiber loop;
an input coupler disposed at an input termination of the section of rare-earth doped fiber for introducing a pump beam into the rare-earth doped fiber for amplifying an optical signal propagating therethrough;
an output coupler disposed along the section of single mode fiber for out-coupling optical pulses created by the passively modelocked figure-eight fiber laser; and
a bandpass filter disposed along the section of single mode fiber;
the bi-directional fiber loop mirror comprising;
a section of single mode fiber; and
a section of Raman fiber coupled to the section of single mode fiber to form a loop mirror, the section of Raman fiber having a predetermined length L selected to impart a known dispersion value to the optical signal propagating therethrough;
the 2×
2 central coupler defined by a coupling ratio and configured to self-start into a passively modelocked low noise mode for generating optical pulses as an output, the figure-eight fiber laser further configured to self-start in a low noise mode by controlling one or more operating parameters selected from the group consisting of;
the coupling ratio of the 2×
2 central coupler, the coupling ratio of the output coupler, an accumulated, group velocity dispersion (GVD) of the figure-eight fiber laser based upon the accumulated dispersion associated with the sections of single mode fiber and the Raman fiber, and characteristics of the bandpass filter.
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Abstract
A self-starting, passively modelocked figure-8 fiber laser is specifically configured to self-start into a low noise mode by controlling one or more operating parameters of the laser including, but not limited to, the coupling ratio between the uni-directional fiber loop and the bi-directional mirror loop, the accumulated dispersion within the figure-8 structure, and the amount of power present in the laser cavity. A self-starting passive modelocked figure-8 laser may also be made to self-start by initially increasing the pump current above its lasing threshold. Including a band-pass filter in the uni-directional loop has been found to ensure that the laser will enter a low noise lasing mode.
2 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A passively modelocked figure-eight fiber laser comprising
a uni-directional fiber loop and a bi-directional fiber loop mirror coupled together by a 2× - 2 central coupler to create a figure-eight configuration,
the uni-directional fiber loop comprising; a section of rare-earth doped fiber; a section of single mode fiber coupled to the section of rare-earth doped fiber to form a fiber loop; an input coupler disposed at an input termination of the section of rare-earth doped fiber for introducing a pump beam into the rare-earth doped fiber for amplifying an optical signal propagating therethrough; an output coupler disposed along the section of single mode fiber for out-coupling optical pulses created by the passively modelocked figure-eight fiber laser; and a bandpass filter disposed along the section of single mode fiber; the bi-directional fiber loop mirror comprising; a section of single mode fiber; and a section of Raman fiber coupled to the section of single mode fiber to form a loop mirror, the section of Raman fiber having a predetermined length L selected to impart a known dispersion value to the optical signal propagating therethrough; the 2×
2 central coupler defined by a coupling ratio and configured to self-start into a passively modelocked low noise mode for generating optical pulses as an output, the figure-eight fiber laser further configured to self-start in a low noise mode by controlling one or more operating parameters selected from the group consisting of;
the coupling ratio of the 2×
2 central coupler, the coupling ratio of the output coupler, an accumulated, group velocity dispersion (GVD) of the figure-eight fiber laser based upon the accumulated dispersion associated with the sections of single mode fiber and the Raman fiber, and characteristics of the bandpass filter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
- 2 central coupler to create a figure-eight configuration,
Specification