Mode-locked fiber lasers with significant variability of generation regimes

Abstract

a b s t r a c tWe demonstrate a great variability of single-pulse (with only one pulse/wave-packet traveling along the cavity) generation regimes in fiber lasers passively mode-locked by non-linear polarization evolution (NPE) effect. Combining extensive numerical modeling and experimental studies, we identify multiple very distinct lasing regimes with a rich variety of dynamic behavior and a remarkably broad spread of key parameters (by an order of magnitude and more) of the generated pulses. Such a broad range of variability of possible lasing regimes necessitates developing techniques for control/adjustment of such key pulse parameters as duration, radiation spectrum, and the shape of the auto-correlation function. From a practical view point, availability of pulses/wave-packets with such different characteristics from the same laser makes it imperative to develop variability-aware designs with control techniques and methods to select appropriate application-oriented regimes.

Tunable and switchable dual-wavelength Tm-doped mode-locked fiber laser by nonlinear polarization evolution

“…In this setup, the mode locking has many regimes, including multi-soliton state, single-scale state, wave-packet state, tunable single-wavelength state, tunable and switchable dualwavelength state [23,25]. If other researchers implement a similar laser, they may observe the regimes listed above.…”

Automation of Mode Locking in a Nonlinear Polarization Rotation Fiber Laser through Output Polarization Measurements

“…NPR mode-locked fiber lasers are known to provide a large variety of pulsing regimes such as Q-switched pulses 10 , coherent ML pulses, noiselike pulses, bound states of ML pulses, harmonic ML and complex structures of interacting ML pulses 11 . In the laser described here, after the birefringence of the PSC was fixed to be able to get ML, the pump power was adjusted to be relatively near the threshold of single-pulse ML.…”

“…Also, the simple characterization of S 1 at the output used here in combination with the control of a unique PSC angle does not allow the exploration of all the possible regimes of emission of the laser as discussed by Andral et al 6 for instance. Moreover, the ML detection technique presented here cannot discriminate between noise-like pulses 11 , coherent ML pulses and multiple-pulses regimes. The pre-adjustment of the cavity fibers, the pump power and the PSC birefringence must thus be carefully done to ensure that single coherent ML pulses will form instead of noise-like pulses or multiple-pulses regimes.…”

Modeling Frequency Comb Sources

“…Other optical elements such as wave plates, polarizers, and polarization controllers would be modeled by point functions using Jones matrices [70,71]. Such a model has been widely used to investigate the pulse solutions in NPE-based mode-locked fiber lasers [70][71][72][73][74][75]. The stable pulse solutions and nonlinear dynamics of NPE mode-locked lasers are better described by the discrete model (6), when compared to the distributed model.…”