Investigation of ellipticity and pump power in a passively mode-locked fiber laser using the nonlinear polarization rotation technique

An elliptical initial polarization state is essential for generating mode-locked pulses using the nonlinear polarization rotation technique. In this work, the relationship between the ellipticity ranges capable of maintaining mode-locked operation against different pump power levels is investigated. An increasing pump power, in conjunction with minor adjustments to the polarization controller＇s quarter waveplate, results in a wider ellipticity range that can accommodate mode-locked operation. Other parameters such as noise, pulsewidth, and average output power are also observed to vary as the ellipticity changes.