High-Power Raman Soliton Generation at 1.7 μm in All-Fiber Polarization-Maintaining Erbium-Doped Amplifier

An all-fiber polarization maintaining high-power laser system operating at 1.7 μm based on the Ramaninduced soliton self-frequency shifting effect is demonstrated. The entirely fiberized system is built by erbiumdoped oscillator and two-stage amplifiers with polarization maintaining commercial silica fibers and devices, which can provide robust and stable soliton generation. High-power soliton laser with the average power of 0.28 W,the repetition rate of 42.7 MHz, and pulse duration of 515 fs is generated directly from the main amplifier.Our experiment provides a feasible method for high-power all-fiber polarization maintaining femtosecond laser generation working at 1.7 μm.

Low-repetition-rate, all-polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber laser mode-locked by a semiconductor saturable absorber

A low-repetition-rate, all-polarization-maintaining（PM）-fiber sub-nanosecond oscillator is presented, which is simple and low-cost, composed of standard components. The ring cavity is elongated by 114-m-long standard PM fiber, and passively mode-locked by a fiber pigtailed semiconductor saturable absorber. Linearly polarized pulses with 1.66 MHz repetition rate and 22 dB polarization extinction ratio are generated at a wavelength of 1030 nm, which is determined by an intracavity filter. In addition, to demonstrate that the oscillator is a good seed for high energy pulse generation, an all-fiber master oscillator power amplifier is built and amplified pulses with energy about 2 μJ are obtained.

Linearly Polarized Polarization-Maintaining Er^(3+)-Doped Fluoride Fiber Laser in the Mid-Infrared

We demonstrated the~2.8-μm and~3.5-μm linearly polarized continuous wave(CW)laser outputs from a polarization-maintaining(PM)Er^(3+)-doped fluoride fiber laser.By introducing a film polarizer into the cavity to select the laser polarization orientation,the~2.8-μm linearly polarized CW laser with a high polarization extinction ratio(PER)of~23 dB and maximum output power of 2.37 W was achieved under double-end pumping at 976 nm.By adding another 1981-nm pump source simultaneously,the~3.5-μm linearly polarized CW laser was also obtained,giving higher PER of~27 dB and maximum output power of 307 mW which is only limited by the available power of 1981-nm pump.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first report on a mid-infrared linearly polarized CW PM fiber laser in the>2.5-μm mid-infrared region.This work not only opens up opportunities for some new mid-infrared applications,but also provides a promising platform for developing high-stability and versatile mid-infrared laser sources.

Pulse generation in Yb-doped polarization-maintaining fiber laser by nonlinear polarization evolution

We demonstrate a self-started,long-term stable polarization-maintaining mode-locked fiber laser based on the nonlinear polarization evolution technique.A polarized beam splitter is inserted into the cavity of the linear polarizationmaintaining fiber laser to facilitate self-started mode-locking.Pulses with single pulse energy of 26.9 nJ and average output power of 73.9 mW are obtained at the pump power of 600 mW.The transmission characteristics of artificial saturable absorber used in this laser are analyzed theoretically,the influence of the half-wave plate state on mode-locking is discussed,and the mode-locking range is obtained,which is well consistent with the experimental results.

Observation of wavelength-switchable solitons in an all-polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber cavity based on graphene saturable absorber reflector

We present the generation of wavelength-switchable single-polarization solitons in an all-polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber laser mode-locked by a graphene saturable absorber. Ultrashort pulses centered at the wavelength of 1531.6 nm with the duration of 816 fs and centered at the wavelength of 1557.8 nm with the duration of 402 fs are separately obtained from the same fiber laser cavity. The cavity loss adjusted by the gold reflector plays a crucial role in wavelength switching.

A tunable comb filter using single-mode/multimode/polarization-maintaining-fiber-based Sagnac fiber loop

A novel tunable comb filter composed of a single-mode/multimode/polarization-maintaining-fiber-based Sagnac fiber loop is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The filter tunability is achieved by rotating the polarization controller. The spectral shift is dependent on rotation direction and the position of the polarization controller. In addition, the adjustable range achieved by rotating the half-wave-plate polarization controller is twice higher than that of the quarter-wave-plate one.

Design of a photonic crystal fiber polarization beam splitter with simple structure and ultra-wide bandwidth

A novel polarization beam splitter(PBS)based on dual-core photonic crystal fiber(DC-PCF)is proposed in this work.The proposed DC-PCF PBS contains two kinds of lattices and three kinds of air holes to form the asymmetrical elliptic dual-core structure.By using the full-vector finite element method,the propagation characteristics of the proposed DC-PCF PBS are investigated.The simulation results show that the bandwidth of the proposed DC-PCF PBS can reach to 340 nm,which covers the S+C+L+U communication bands,the shortest splitting length is 1.97 mm,and the maximum extinction ratio appears near wavelength 1550 nm.Moreover,the insertion loss of the proposed DC-PCF PBS is very low.It is believed that the proposed DC-PCF PBS has important applications in the field of all-optical communication and network.

Multi-band polarization switch based on magnetic fluid filled dual-core photonic crystal fiber

The research of high-performance polarization controllers is of great significance for expanding the application field of polarization optics. Here, a polarization switch is demonstrated by using a dual-core photonic crystal fiber(DCPCF)with four symmetrical air holes, placed above and below each core, filled with magnetic fluid(MF). The switch, which utilizes a magnetic field to change the coupling length ratio of the x and y polarization modes, enables dynamic tuning of the polarization state and extinction ratio. Numerical results show that when the working length is 36.638 mm, the magneto–optical polarization switch can operate in four communication bands, i.e., 1509 nm to 1520 nm, 1544 nm to1556 nm, 1578 nm to 1591 nm, and 1611 nm to 1624 nm. Moreover, the extinction ratio(ER) is greater than 20 d B in the fiber length range of 38.5 mm to 38.7 mm, indicating that the device has a good fault tolerance for the interception of the fiber length.

Low-noise compact fiber laser based on nonlinear polarization evolution in an all-polarization-maintaining figure-8 cavity

We demonstrate an all-polarization-maintaining(APM)fiber mode-locked laser based on nonlinear polarization evolution(NPE).A well-designed Sagnac fiber loop is employed to establish the nonlinear polarization evolution process in a polarization beam splitter(PBS)figure-8 fiber laser.Nonlinear loss curves are calculated to verify the saturable absorption characteristic of this NPE-based APM oscillator.Then,we simulate the pulse propagation process in the cavity to demonstrate the pulse mode-locked formation.Finally,we also design a realizable compact scheme to further reduce noise disturbances,achieving a 101-fs mode-locked pulse train with a 0.3-mrad integrated phase noise and a 0.006%integrated relative intensity noise(RIN).This figure-8 fiber laser provides a new scheme for compacting low-noise compact APM fiber lasers based on the NPE mode-locked mechanism.

Optical Nonlinearity of Violet Phosphorus and Applications in Fiber Lasers

A D-shaped fiber is coated with a new two-dimensional nanomaterial,violet phosphorus(VP),to create a saturable absorber(SA)with a modulation depth of 3.68%.Subsequently,the SA is inserted into a fiber laser,enabling successful generation of dark solitons and bright–dark soliton pairs through adjustment of the polarization state within the cavity.Through further study,mode-locked pulses are achieved,proving the existence of polarization-locked vector solitons.The results indicate that VP can be used as a polarization-independent SA.

Simulation of random fiber Bragg grating array in polarization-maintaining fiber based on photonic localization effect

Mid-infrared wavelength switchable and dual-wavelength random laser output has many potential applications.A polarization-maintaining random fiber Bragg grating(PMRFBG)array based on the photonic localization effect of longitudinal invariant transverse disorder in fiber structure is proposed,which can be used as random feedback of dual-wavelength and wavelength switchable output of random fiber laser(RFL).The random fiber Bragg grating(RFBG)array was designed on the panda-type polarization-maintaining fiber(PMF),and the two center wavelengths were 2151.60 nm and 2152.22 nm,respectively.The RFBG array was designed on the bow tie-type PMF,and the two center wavelengths were obtained,which were 2153.08 nm and 2153.96 nm,respectively.The RFBG array with a center wavelength of 2139.27 nm was designed on single-mode fiber(SMF).The length of individual fiber Bragg grating(FBG)and PMRFBG,the refractive index modulation depth,the number of cascaded gratings,and the distance between gratings have different effects on the full width at half maximum(FWHM)and reflectance of the RFBG and PMRFBG array,but not on the central wavelength,as obtained by simulation using the transmission matrix method.The designed PMRFBG array provides theoretical support for the design of the feedback mechanism of RFL.

A Single-Frequency Linearly Polarized Fiber Laser Using a Newly Developed Heavily Tm3+-Doped Germanate Glass Fiber at 1.95 μm

A compact linearly polarized, low-noise, narrow-linewidth, single-frequency fiber laser at 1950nm is demonstrated. This compact fiber laser is based on a 21-mm-long homemade Tm3＋-doped germanate glass fiber. Over 100-mW stable continuous-wave single transverse and longitudinal mode lasing at 195Ohm are achieved. The measured relative intensity noise is less than -135dB/Hz at frequencies over 5 MHz. The signal-to-noise ratio of the laser is larger than 72dB, and the laser linewidth is less than 6kHz, while the obtained linear polarization extinction ratio is higher than 22 dB.

All-fiber linearly polarized laser oscillator by fiber coiling loss control

In this paper,we demonstrate an all-fiber linearly polarized fiber laser oscillator.The single polarization of the oscillator is achieved through the careful designing of the active fiber coiling.The relationship between fiber coiling diameter and polarization extinction ratio and optical efficiency is studied,whose results lead to an optimized system.The thermal management of the oscillator is also refined,which allows the oscillator to reach a maximum output power of44.1 W with an optical-to-optical efficiency of 57.9%.A high average polarization extinction ratio of 21.6 d B is achieved during a 2-hour stability test.The oscillator also owns a narrow 3-d B bandwidth of 0.1 nm,as well as near-diffraction-limit beam quality of M^2～ 1.14.

A Compact Low Noise Single Frequency Linearly Polarized DBR Fiber Laser at 1550 nm

A compact low noise single frequency linearly polarized distributed Bragg reflector(DBR)fiber laser based on a 1.4-cm-long homemade Er^(3+)/Yb^(3+)-codoped phosphate single mode glass fiber has been demonstrated.An over 50 mW stable single frequency linearly polarized fiber laser was achieved.The measured slope efficiency is more than 21.6%,and the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)is higher than 65 dB and the laser linewidth is less than 2.0 kHz.The laser RIN is measured to be less than-150 dB/Hz at the frequencies over 2.0 MHz,and the obtained linear polarization extinction ratio(LPER)is more than 30 dB.

Surface plasmon resonance-induced tunable polarization filters based on nanoscale gold film-coated photonic crystal fibers

Surface plasmon resonance induced tunable polarization filters based on nanoscale gold film-coated photonic crystal fibers were proposed and analyzed. The characteristics of the polarization filter were calculated by finite element method （FEM）. The gold film was selectively coated on the inner wall of one cladding air hole which was located near the fiber core along the y-axis direction. When the phase of core fundamental mode and surface plasmon polaritons （SPPs） mode matches, the two modes couple with each other intensely. Numerical results show that the resonance wavelength and strength vary with fiber structural parameters and the index of the infilling liquid. The fiber parameters were optimized to achieve specific functions. Under the optimal structure, we realized a dual channel filter at the communication wavelength of 1.31 μm and 1.55 μm fory polarization direction and x polarization direction. Then a single channel polarized filter at the communication wavelength of 1.55 μm is also achieved by adjusting the refractive index of the infilling liquid. The proposed polarization filters realized dual channel filtering and single channel filtering simultaneously under the same structure for the first time to the best of our knowledge.

High-power linearly-polarized tunable Raman fiber laser

In this study, we demonstrate an all-fiber high-power linearly-polarized tunable Raman fiber laser system. An in- house high-power tunable fiber laser was employed as the pump source. A fiber loop mirror （FLM） serving as a high reflectivity mirror and a flat-cut endface serving as an output coupler were adopted to provide broadband feedback. A piece of 59-m commercial passive fiber was used as the Raman gain medium. The Raman laser had a 27.6 nm tuning range from 1112 nm to 1139.6 nm and a maximum output power of 125.3 W, which corresponds to a conversion efficiency of 79.4%. The polarization extinction ratio （PER） at all operational wavelengths was measured to be over 21 dB. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on a hundred-watt level linearly-polarized tunable Raman fiber laser.

Designing of a polarization beam splitter for the wavelength of 1310 nm on dual-core photonic crystal fiber with high birefringence and double-zero dispersion

We have proposed a novel kind of photonic crystal fiber which contains two asymmetric cores. The bireti＇ingence and the dispersion are numerically analyzed based on finite element method when the size of the air holes and the pitch of two adjacent air holes are changed. It is shown that the proposed photonic crystal fiber has high birefringence up to the order of 10-2 and double-zero dispersion points are at the wavelengths of 1310 nm and 800 rim, simultaneously. At the same time, the normalized power and the extinction ratios of the proposed photonic crystal fiber have been simulated. It is demonstrated that, at the wavelength of 1310 rim, the x-polarized mode and the y-polarized mode are separated when the propagation distance is 2.481 ram.

Generation of a mid-infrared broadband polarized supercontinuum in As_2Se_3 photonic crystal fibers

A simplified structure of birefringent chalcogenide As 2 Se 3 photonic crystal fiber（PCF） is designed.Properties of birefringence,polarization extinction ratio,chromatic dispersion,nonlinear coefficient,and transmission are studied by using the multipole method,the finite-difference beam propagation method,and the adaptive split-step Fourier method.Considering that the zero dispersion wavelength of our proposed fiber is about 4 μm,we have analysed the mechanism of spectral broadening in PCFs with different pitches in detail,with femtosecond pulses at a wavelength of 4 μm as the pump pulses.Especially,mid-infrared broadband polarized supercontinuums are obtained in a 3-cm PCF with an optimal pitch of 2 μm.Their spectral width at 20 dB reaches up to 12 μm.In the birefringent PCF,we find that the supercontinuum generation changes with the pump alignment angle.Research results show that no coupling between eigenpolarization modes are observed at the maximum average power（i.e.,37 mW）,which indicates that the polarization state is well maintained.

Adaptive Polarization Control of Fiber Amplifier Based on SPGD Algorithm

We demonstrate an adaptive polarization control system of a 10.2 W non-polarization-maintaining fiber amplifier based on stochastic parallel gradient decent(SPGD)algorithm.The experimental investigation shows that the system can used to compensate for the polarization fluctuation of the fiber amplifier effectively and perform well over a long-time observation.When the adaptive polarization control system is in closed loop,the extinction ratio increases from 2.28 dB to 11.54 dB,and more than 93.4%of the total power in desired polarization direction is achieved.

Novel Polarization Control Approach to Long-Term Fiber-Optic Frequency Transfer

We demonstrate a novel polarization control system based on a gradient descent algorithm,applied to a 450-km optical frequency transfer link.The power of the out-loop beat note is retrieved by controlling the polarization state of the transferred signal,with a recovery time of 24 ms,thereby ensuring the long-term evaluation of the fiber link.As a result,data utilization is enhanced from 70%to 99%over a continuous measurement period of^12 h.A fractional transfer instability of 7.2×10^-20 is achieved at an integration time of 10000 s.This work lays the foundation for the comparison of a remote optical clock system via a long-haul optical fiber link.