Review of low timing jitter mode-locked fiber lasers and applications in dual-comb absolute distance measurement

Passively mode-locked fiber lasers emit femtosecond pulse trains with excellent short-term stability. The quantum-limited timing jitter of a free running femtosecond erbium-doped fiber laser working at room temperature is considerably below one femtosecond at high Fourier frequency. The ultrashort pulse train with ultralow timing jitter enables absolute time-of-flight measurements based on a dual-comb implementation, which is typically composed of a pair of optical frequency combs generated by femtosecond lasers. Dead-zone-free absolute distance measurement with sub-micrometer precision and kHz update rate has been routinely achieved with a dual-comb configuration, which is promising for a number of precision manufacturing applications, from large step-structure measurements prevalent in microelectronic profilometry to three coordinate measurements in large-scale aerospace manufacturing and shipbuilding. In this paper, we first review the sub-femtosecond precision timing jitter characterization methods and approaches for ultralow timing jitter mode-locked fiber laser design. Then, we provide an overview of the state-of-the-art dual-comb absolute ranging technology in terms of working principles, experimental implementations, and measurement precisions. Finally, we discuss the impact of quantum-limited timing jitter on the dual-comb ranging precision at a high update rate. The route to highprecision dual-comb range finder design based on ultralow jitter femtosecond fiber lasers is proposed.

Generation and evolution of multiple operation states in passively mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser by using a graphene-covered-microfiber

Using graphene-covered-microfiber （GCM） as a saturable absorber, the generation and evolution of multiple operation states are proposed and demonstrated in passively mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser. The microfiber was fabricated using the flame brushing method to an interaction length of - 1.2 cm with a waist diameter of -10 μm. Graphene layers were grown on copper foils by chemical vapor deposition and transferred onto the polydimethylsiloxane （PDMS） to form a PDMS/graphene film, which allowed light-graphene interaction via evanescent field. With the increase of the pump power from 1.25 W to 2.15 W, five different lasing regimes, including continuous-wave, conventional soliton mode-locking, multi- soliton mode-locking, a period of transition, and noise-like mode-locking, were achieved in a fiber ring cavity. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report of the generation and evolution of multiple operation states by covering graphene on the microfiber in the 2-μ.m region. The results demonstrate that GCM can be a promising method for fabricating all fiber SA, and the switchable operation states can provide more portability in complex application domain.

Interaction of a parabolic-shaped pulse pair in a passively mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser

We numerically investigate the formation and interaction of a parabolic-shaped pulse pair in a passively mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser. Based on a lumped model, the parabolic-shaped pulse pair is obtained by controlling the intercavity average dispersion and gain saturation energy, Moreover, pulse repulsive and attractive motion are also achieved with different pulse separations. Simulation results show that the phase shift plays an important role in pulse interaction, and the interaction is determined by the inter-cavity average dispersion and gain saturation energy, i.e., the strength of the interaction is proportional to the gain saturation energy, a stronger gain saturation energy will result in a higher interaction intensity. On the contrary, the increase of the inter-cavity dispersion will counterbalance some interaction force. The results also show that the interaction of a parabolic-shaped pulse pair has a larger interaction distance compared to conventional solitons.

High power diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO_4 laser at repetition rate of 3.2 GHz

A compact high power diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO_4 laser with high repetition rate is realized.Using an Nd:YVO_4 crystal and a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror(SESAM) in the oscillator, the picosecond pulse output with an average power of 1.38 W, a repetition rate of 3.24 GHz, and a pulse duration of 11.4 ps is achieved. After one stage of amplification, the final output power reaches 11.34 W, corresponding to a total optical-to-optical efficiency of about 32%. The root mean square(RMS) value of power fluctuation is demonstrated to be less than 0.6% in 24 hours,showing a superior stability with the compact configuration.

A theoretical and experimental study on all-normal-dispersion Yb-doped mode-locked fiber lasers

We report on a theoretical and experimental study of an all-normal-dispersion （ANDi） Yb-doped mode-locked fiber laser, in which nonlinear polarization rotation （NPR） is used to realize mode-locking without any dispersion compensation. Based on the coupled nonlinear Schr6dinger （CNLS） equation, a model simulating the mode-locked process of an all-normal-dispersion ring fiber laser is developed, which shows that the achievement of stable mode-locking depends on the alignment of the polarization controller （PC） along the fast-polarization axis of the fiber, the birefringence intensity, and the net cavity dispersion. According to the theoretical analysis, stable mode-locked pulses with pulse duration 300 ps and average output power 33.9 mW at repetition rate 36 MHz are obtained.

Diode end-pumped self-Q-switched and mode-locked Nd,Cr：YAG /KTP green laser

We first experimentally demonstrate a laser-diode end-pumped self-Q-switched and mode-locked Nd,Cr：YAG green laser with a KTP crystal as the intra-cavity frequency doubler. The device produces an average output power of 680 mW at 532 nm. The corresponding pulse width of the Q-switched envelope of the green laser is 170 ＋ 20 ns. The mode-locked pulses have a repetition rate of approximately 183 MHz and the average pulse duration is estimated to be around sub-nanosecond. It is found that the intra-cavity frequency doubling greatly improves the modulation depth and stability of the mode-locked pulses within the Q-switched envelope.

Single output LD end-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO_4 laser with semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

A quarter-wave plate and the thin film polarizer （TFP） are used for the LD end-pumped passively mode-locked Nd：YVO4 laser with semiconductor saturable absorber mirror （SESAM） to obtain a single beam output with a total power of 4.8 W. An optical-optical efficiency is achieved to be 24% for a stable CW mode-locking operation at 1064 nm, with a pulse repetition rate of 70 MHz and pulse width of 16 ps. The multipulse in the pulse sequence is eliminated for reaching a peak power as high as 4 kW.

Reflective graphene oxide absorber for passively mode-locked laser operating at nearly 1μm

A low cost and simply fabricated reflective graphene oxide is successfully made. By using this absorber, as well as an end reflector, we obtain a passively mode-locked Yb：LuYSiO5 laser operating at nearly 1 p,m. When the pump power is increased up to 5.73 W, stable mode locking is achieved. The central wavelength of the laser spectrum is 1043.2 nm with a pulse duration of 5.0 ps. When the pump power reaches 8.16 W, dual-wavelength mode locking laser pulses at 1036.3 nm and 1043.5 nm are simultaneously detected.

Mode-Locked Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser Using Vanadium Oxide as Saturable Absorber

A mode-locked erbium doped fiber laser（EDFL） is demonstrated using the vanadium oxide（V2O5） material as a saturable absorber（SA）. The V2O5 based SA is hosted into poly ethylene oxide film and attached on fiber ferule in the laser cavity. It shows 7% modulation depth with 71 MW/cm2 saturation intensity. By incorporating the SA inside the EDFL cavity with managed intra-cavity dispersion, ultrashort soliton pulses are successfully generated with a full width at half maximum of 3.14 ps. The laser operated at central wavelength of 1559.25 nm and repetition frequency of 1 MHz.

A 40-GHz Colliding Pulse Mode-Locked Semiconductor Laser

A monolithically active-passive integrated colliding pulse mode-locked semiconductor laser is demonstrated in the InGaAsP//InP material system. The device is mode locked at the second harmonic passive mode-locking regime with a wide mode-locking range. Pulse trains with the repetition rate of 40 GHz, 3-dB rf line width of 25 kHz, the pulse width of 2.5 ps, and a nearly transform-limited time-bandwidth product of 0.53 are obtained.

Diode-Pumped Passively Mode-Locked 1079 nm Nd:CaGdAlO_4 Laser

We demonstrate a diode-pumped passively cw mode-locked Nd：CaGdAlO4 laser operating at 1079nm with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The threshold pump power of the laser is 180mW. A maximum average output power of 93mW is obtained under the pump power of 1.94 W. The pulse duration of the mode-locked pulses is 3.1ps and the repetition rate is 157MHz.

Passively Mode-Locked Femtosecond Disordered Crystal Laser with Nd:CGA as Gain Medium

We present a laser-diode-pumped passively mode-locked femtosecond disordered crystal laser by using Nd：CaGdAI04 （Nd：CGA） as the gain medium. With a pair of SF6 prisms to control the dispersion compensation, laser pulses as short as 850fs at 1079nm are obtained with a repetition rate of 124.6 MHz. The measured threshold pump power is 1.45 W. A maximum average output power of 122mW is obtained under the pump power of 5.9 W. These results show that Nd：CGA could be a promising laser medium for generating femtosecond ultrashort pulse at about 1 μm.

An Actively Mode-Locked Ho:YAG Solid-Laser Pumped by a Tm-Doped Fiber Laser

An actively mode-locked Ho： YAG laser pumped by a diode-pumped Tin-doped fiber laser is reported. For the cw operation, we obtain the maximum output power of 3.43 W with a central wavelength 2022.2nm at the maximum incident pump power of 11.4 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 34.5%. The beam quality factor M2 is 1.16, and the output beam is close to fundamental TEMoo. In the case of the CWML operation, a stable pulse train is generated with an average output power up to 3.41 W with a slope efficiency of 34.3% at the incident pump power of 11.4 W and a pulse duration of 294ps at a repetition rate of 81.92MHz. In addition, the maximum single pulse energy is 41.6nJ.

Synchronously Pumped Mode-Locked 1.89 μm Tm-Doped Fiber Laser with High Detuning Toleration

We propose and demonstrate a synchronously pumped mode-locked Tm-doped fiber（TDF） laser without any extra mode-locking elements. Pumped by a 1.56 μm pulse fiber laser, the TDF laser generates 1.17 ps pulses with a spectral width of 9.7 nm and a repetition rate of 9.33 MHz. The emission wavelength is tunable along with the cavity length detuning in a wide range of 3 mm. The high detuning toleration is beneficial to achieve high temperature and vibration stability in all-fiber configuration lasers.

Mechanism and elimination of spectrum filtering in a high power mode-locked fibre laser with a free output coupler

The filtering mechanism of a free output coupler mode-locked laser based on large-mode-area photonic-crystal fibre is analysed. A filtering-soliton mode-locked laser with 495 fs pulse width and 21 nJ pulse energy is achieved. Another novel cavity configuration is established to eliminate the filtering effect. Pulses, each 457 fs in width and 16.5 nJ in energy, are obtained in a soliton-like regime. Pulses, each 387 fs in width and 15.8 nJ in energy, are also generated in a stretched pulse regime and could be dechirped to 119 fs externally to the cavity.

Tunable and Switchable Narrow Bandwidth Semiconductor-Saturable Absorber Mirror Mode-Locked Yb-Doped Fiber Laser Delivering Different Pulse Widths

The wavelength-tunable and switchable narrow bandwidth mode-locking operation is demonstrated in an all fiber laser based on semiconductor-saturable absorber mirror （SESAM）. Two narrow-band fiber Bragg gratings centered at 1029.9nm and 1032nm respectively with a polarization controller inserted between them are used to realize the wavelength switchable between 1029.9nm and 1032nm. The laser delivers different pulse widths of 7.5ps for 1030nm and 20ps for 1032nm. The maximum output power for both could reach -6.5mW at single pulse operation. The output wavelength couM be tuned to about 0.gnm intervals ranging from 1030.2nm to 1031.1 nm and from 1032.15nm to 1033.7nm with the temperature change of the fiber Bragg grating, respectively.

Reduced graphene oxide as saturable absorbers for erbium-doped passively mode-locked fiber laser

We demonstrate a nanosecond mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser （EDFL） based on a reduced graphene oxide （RGO） saturable absorber （SA）. The RGO SA is prepared by depositing the graphene oxide （GO） on fluorine mica through thermal reduction of GO. A scanning electron microscope （SEM）, Raman spectrometer, and x-ray photoelectron spec- troscopy （XPS） are adopted to analyze the RGO characteristics. The results show that the reduction degree of graphene oxide is very high. By embedding the RGO SA into the EDFL cavity, a stable mode-locked fiber laser is achieved with a central wavelength of 1567.29 nm and repetition rate of 12.66 MHz. The maximum output power and the minimum pulse duration are measured to be 18.22 mW and 1.38 ns respectively. As far as we know, the maximum output power of 18.22 mW is higher than those of other nanosecond mode-locked oscillators reported. Such a nanosecond pulse duration and megahertz repetition rate make this mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser a suitable seed oscillator for high-power applications and chirped pulse amplifications.

Carboxyl graphene oxide solution saturable absorber for femtosecond mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser

The carboxyl-functionalized graphene oxide(GO-COOH)is a kind of unique two-dimensional(2 D)material and possesses excellent nonlinear saturable absorption property and high water-solubility.In this paper,we prepare saturable absorber(SA)device by depositing GO-COOH nanosheets aqueous solution on a D-shaped fiber.The modulation depth(MD)and saturable intensity of the SA are measured to be 9.6%and 19 MW/cm^(2),respectively.By inserting the SA into the erbium-doped fiber(EDF)laser,a passively mode-locked EDF laser has been achieved with the spectrum center wavelength of 1562.76 nm.The pulse duration,repetition rate,and the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)are 500 fs,14.79 MHz,and 80 dB,respectively.The maximum average output power is measured to be 3.85 mW.These results indicate that the GO-COOH nanosheets SA can be used as a promising mode locker for the generation of ultrashort pulses.

Comprehensive analysis of pure-quartic soliton dynamics in a passively mode-locked fiber laser

The understanding of soliton dynamics promotes the development of ultrafast laser technology. High-energy purequartic solitons(PQSs) have gradually become a hotspot in recent years. Herein, we numerically study the influence of the gain bandwidth, saturation power, small-signal gain, and output coupler on PQS dynamics in passively mode-locked fiber lasers. The results show that the above four parameters can affect PQS dynamics. Pulsating PQSs occur as we alter the other three parameters when the gain bandwidth is 50 nm. Meanwhile, PQSs evolve from pulsating to erupting and then to splitting as the other three parameters are altered when the gain bandwidth is 10 nm, which can be attributed to the existence of the spectral filtering effect and intra-cavity fourth-order dispersion. These findings provide new insights into PQS dynamics in passively mode-locked fiber lasers.

Transition Metal Dichalcogenides(WS2 and MoS2)Saturable Absorbers for Mode-Locked Erbium-Doped Fiber Lasers

We demonstrate an ultrafast fiber laser based on transition metal dichalcogenide materials which are tungsten disulfide (WS2) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as saturable absorber (SA). These materials are fabricated via a simple drop-casting method. By employing WS2, we obtain a stable harmonic mode-locking at the threshold pump power of 184 mW, and the generated soliton pulse has 3.48 MHz of repetition rate. At the maximum pump power of 250 mW, we also obtain a small value of pulse duration, 2.43 ps with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 57 dB. For MoS2 SA, the pulse is generated at 105 mW pump power with repetition rate of 1.16 MHz. However, the pulse duration cannot be detected by the autocorrelator device as the pulse duration recorded is 468 ns, with the SNR value of 35 dB.