Pulsed laser sources
First Claim
1. A frequency comb source for producing a frequency comb, said frequency comb source comprising:
- a mode-locked fiber oscillator having a resonant cavity comprising an optical fiber having a length, L, said resonant cavity supporting a plurality of optical modes, wherein said mode-locked fiber oscillator is pumped with at least one pump laser diode, said mode-locked fiber oscillator mode-locking said plurality of optical modes to produce a mode-locked optical signal, said mode-locked optical signal comprising frequency components of said comb;
a feedback system for controlling a carrier envelope offset frequency of said mode-locked fiber oscillator, wherein said feedback system comprises an element configured to control a pump current of said pump diode in response to a feedback signal representative of a beat signal frequency; and
a substantially non-linear optical element having sufficient optical non-linearity to generate additional frequency components in said frequency comb, wherein said mode-locked fiber oscillator has a total dispersion less than about 10,000 femtosec2/m×
L, said total dispersion and said feedback system thereby reducing frequency noise.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Various embodiments include modelocked fiber laser resonators that may be coupled with optical amplifiers. An isolator may separate the laser resonator from the amplifier, although certain embodiments exclude such an isolator. A reflective optical element on one end of the resonator having a relatively low reflectivity may be employed to couple light from the laser resonator to the amplifier. Enhanced pulse-width control may be provided with concatenated sections of both polarization-maintaining and non-polarization-maintaining fibers. Apodized fiber Bragg gratings and integrated fiber polarizers may be also be included in the laser cavity to assist in linearly polarizing the output of the cavity. Very short pulses with a large optical bandwidth may be obtained by matching the dispersion value of the fiber Bragg grating to the inverse of the dispersion of the intra-cavity fiber. Frequency comb sources may be constructed from such modelocked fiber oscillators. In various exemplary embodiments, low dispersion and an in-line interferometer that provides feedback, assist in controlling the frequency components output from the comb source.
71 Citations
24 Claims
-
1. A frequency comb source for producing a frequency comb, said frequency comb source comprising:
-
a mode-locked fiber oscillator having a resonant cavity comprising an optical fiber having a length, L, said resonant cavity supporting a plurality of optical modes, wherein said mode-locked fiber oscillator is pumped with at least one pump laser diode, said mode-locked fiber oscillator mode-locking said plurality of optical modes to produce a mode-locked optical signal, said mode-locked optical signal comprising frequency components of said comb; a feedback system for controlling a carrier envelope offset frequency of said mode-locked fiber oscillator, wherein said feedback system comprises an element configured to control a pump current of said pump diode in response to a feedback signal representative of a beat signal frequency; and a substantially non-linear optical element having sufficient optical non-linearity to generate additional frequency components in said frequency comb, wherein said mode-locked fiber oscillator has a total dispersion less than about 10,000 femtosec2/m×
L, said total dispersion and said feedback system thereby reducing frequency noise. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
15. A frequency comb source for producing a frequency comb, said frequency comb source comprising:
-
a mode-locked fiber oscillator having a resonant cavity comprising an optical fiber having a length, L, said resonant cavity supporting a plurality of optical modes, wherein said oscillator comprises a fiber grating, said mode-locked fiber oscillator mode-locking said plurality of optical modes to produce a mode-locked optical signal, said mode-locked optical signal comprising frequency components of said comb; a feedback system for controlling a carrier envelope offset frequency of said mode-locked fiber oscillator, wherein said feedback system comprises a heating element configured to control a temperature of said fiber grating; and a substantially non-linear optical element having sufficient optical non-linearity to generate additional frequency components in said frequency comb, wherein said mode-locked fiber oscillator has a total dispersion less than about 10,000 femtosec2/m×
L, said total dispersion and said feedback system thereby reducing frequency noise.
-
-
16. A frequency comb source for producing a frequency comb, said frequency comb source comprising:
-
a mode-locked fiber oscillator having a resonant cavity comprising an optical fiber having a length, L, said resonant cavity supporting a plurality of optical modes, wherein said oscillator comprises a fiber grating, said mode-locked fiber oscillator mode-locking said plurality of optical modes to produce a mode-locked optical signal, said mode-locked optical signal comprising frequency components of said comb; a feedback system for controlling a carrier envelope offset frequency of said mode-locked fiber oscillator, wherein said feedback system comprises a transducer configured to control a pressure applied to said fiber grating; and a substantially non-linear optical element having sufficient optical non-linearity to generate additional frequency components in said frequency comb, wherein said mode-locked fiber oscillator has a total dispersion less than about 10,000 femtosec2/m×
L, said total dispersion and said feedback system thereby reducing frequency noise.
-
-
17. A frequency comb source for producing a frequency comb, said frequency comb source comprising:
-
a mode-locked fiber oscillator having a resonant cavity comprising an optical fiber having a length, L, said resonant cavity supporting a plurality of optical modes, said mode-locked fiber oscillator mode-locking said plurality of optical modes to produce a mode-locked optical signal, said mode-locked optical signal comprising frequency components of said comb; a feedback system for controlling a carrier envelope offset frequency of said mode-locked fiber oscillator, wherein said feedback system is configured to modulate a repetition rate of said mode-locked fiber oscillator in response to a feedback signal representative of a beat signal frequency; and a substantially non-linear optical element having sufficient optical non-linearity to generate additional frequency components in said frequency comb, wherein said mode-locked fiber oscillator has a total dispersion less than about 10,000 femtosec2/m×
L, said total dispersion and said feedback system thereby reducing frequency noise.
-
-
18. A frequency comb source for producing a frequency comb, said frequency comb source comprising:
-
a mode-locked fiber oscillator having a resonant cavity comprising an optical fiber having a length, L, said resonant cavity supporting a plurality of optical modes, said mode-locked fiber oscillator mode-locking said plurality of optical modes to produce a mode-locked optical signal, said mode-locked optical signal comprising frequency components of said comb; a feedback system for controlling a carrier envelope offset frequency of said mode-locked fiber oscillator, wherein said feedback system comprises multiple feedback loops, said feedback loops configured in such a way that decouples a variation in both a repetition rate and carrier envelope offset frequency, said variation being caused in response to a stimulus applied to said mode-locked fiber oscillator; and a substantially non-linear optical element having sufficient optical non-linearity to generate additional frequency components in said frequency comb, wherein said mode-locked fiber oscillator has a total dispersion less than about 10,000 femtosec2/m×
L, said total dispersion and said feedback system thereby reducing frequency noise.
-
Specification