A cladding-pumping based power-scaled noise-like and dissipative soliton pulse fiber laser

We report a high-average-power noise-like pulse(NLP) and dissipative soliton(DS) pulse fiber laser. Average power as high as 4.8 W could be obtained at the fundamental mode-locked repetition rate. The NLP can also be transformed into a more powerful DS mode-locking state by optimizing the polarization and losses of intra-cavity pulses in the nonlinear polarization evolution regime. The operation mode between the NLP and DS can be switched, and the laser output performance in both modes has been studied. The main advantage of this work is switchable high-power operation between the NLP and DS. In comparison with conventional single-mode NLP fiber lasers, the multi-function high-power optical source will greatly push its application in supercontinuum generation, coherence tomography, and industrial processing.

Noise-like rectangular pulses in a mode-locked double-clad Er:Yb laser with a record pulse energy

Generation of noise-like rectangular pulse was investigated systematically in an Er–Yb co-doped fiber laser based on an intra-cavity coupler with different coupling ratios.When the coupling ratio was 5/95,stable mode-locked pulses could be obtained with the pulse packet duration tunable from 4.86 ns to 80 ns.The repetition frequency was 1.186 MHz with the output spectrum centered at 1.6μm.The average output power and single pulse energy reached a record 1.43 W and1.21μJ,respectively.Pulse characteristics under different coupling ratios(5/95,10/90,20/80,30/70,40/60)were also presented and discussed.

Multi-frame speckle reduction in OCT using supercontinuum pumped by noise-like pulses

In most coherent imaging modality,speckle noise is a major cause that blurs the boundary of tissues and degrades the image contrast.By utilizing the unique properties of supercontinuum(SC)generated by noise-like pulses(NLPs)and a simple multi-frame averaging technique,we achieved significant speckle reduction in spectral domain optical coherence tomography(SD-OCT).We quantitatively compared the speckle of our proposed method with those of conventional swept source OCT(SS-OCT)and SD-OCT based on commercial light sources.The experimental results show that SC pumped by NLPs combined with noncoherent averaging method achieves better denoising performance in terms of contrast to noise ratio(CNR).

Noise-like pulse generation from a thulium-doped fiber laser using nonlinear polarization rotation with different net anomalous dispersion

A mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser(TDFL) based on nonlinear polarization rotation(NPR) with different net anomalous dispersion is demonstrated. When the cavity dispersion is-1.425 ps^2, the noise-like(NL) pulse with coherence spike width of 406 fs and pulse energy of 12.342 nJ is generated at a center wavelength of 2003.2 nm with 3 dB spectral bandwidth of 23.20 nm. In the experimental period of 400 min, the 3 dB spectral bandwidth variation, the output power fluctuation, and the central wavelength shift are less than 0.06 nm, 0.04 d B, and0.4 nm, respectively, indicating that the NPR-based TDFL operating in the NL regime holds good long-term stability.

Stable noise-like pulse generation in all-PM mode-locked Tm-doped fiber laser based on NOLM

A stable noise-like(NL)mode-locked Tm-doped fiber laser(TDFL)relying on a nonlinear optical loop mirror(NOLM)was experimentally presented.Different from the previous NL mode-locked TDFL with NOLM,the entire polarization-maintaining(PM)fiber construction was utilized in our laser cavity,which makes the oscillator have a better resistance to environmental perturbations.The robust TDFL can deliver stable bound-state NL pulses with a pulse envelope tunable from〜14.1 ns to〜23.6 ns and maximum pulse energy of〜40.3 nj at a repetition rate of〜980.6 kHz.Meanwhile,the all-PM fiber laser shows good power stability[less than〜0.7%)and repeatability.

Experimental studies of noise-like pulses in a dispersion-managed fiber laser

Based on an erbium.doped dispersion-managed fiber laser,the characteristics of noise-like pulses under different net cavity group velocity dispersions (GVDs) are experimentally investigated.Results show that the spec-tral bandwidth of noise-like pulse will increase as the net cavity GVD increases and attains maximum when the GVD is slightly positive.The effect of Raman scattering is enhanced due to the temporal width attains minimum.When the net cavity GVD increases continually and further into the positive region, the spectral width begins to decrease and the effect of Raman scattering is suppressed due to the positive dispersion.Our experimental results are in good agreement with the previous prediction of numerical simulation.

Vector soliton and noise-like pulse generation using a Ti3C2 MXene material in a fiber laser

We built a Tm:Ho co-doped fiber laser using a Ti3C2 MXene material as a saturable absorber(SA).The formation of vector solitons(VSs)and noise-like pulses(NLPs)was observed.The SA was prepared by dripping a Ti3C2 solution on a side-polished D-shaped fiber and then naturally vaporized.The VS is characterized by two coexisting sets of Kelly sidebands.By modulating the polarization controller in the fiber laser,NLPs with about 3.3 nm bandwidth can be switched from the VS.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first time that VSs have been generated in a fiber laser using a Ti3C2 MXene material as the SA.

Noise-like pulse with a 690 fs pedestal generated from a nonlinear Yb-doped fiber amplification system

Noise-like pulses having a pedestal of 690 fs and a spike of 59.6 fs were generated in a nonlinear Yb-doped fiber amplification system. The seed source is a mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser by nonlinear polarization rotation,and dissipative soliton pulses were obtained in it. Then, the dissipative soliton pulses passed through a 7.6 m dispersive fiber to enhance the dispersion and nonlinearity. Further on, the dissipative soliton pulses were launched into a Yb-doped fiber nonlinear amplifier, and stable noise-like pulses with a pedestal of 6.26 ps and a spike of 227 fs were achieved. Finally, by a grating pair, the pedestal and spike of the noise-like pulses were effectively compressed to 690 fs and 59.6 fs, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the shortest pedestal demonstrated in noise-like pulses operating at 1 μm.

2μm noise-like mode-locked fiber laser based on nonlinear optical loop mirror

We report a Tm-doped noise-like mode-locked(NLML)pulsed fiber laser with a compact linear cavity which consists of dual nonlinear optical loop mirrors(NOLMs).The design of dual-NOLM shows both exceptional compactness in construction and distinct flexibility.In this laser,mode-locking can be realized through the nonlinear optical loop mirror technique.Stable noise-like mode-locked pulses with spectral bandwidth of 29.18 nm and pulse energy of 46 nJ are generated at a central wavelength of 1999.7 nm.Our results indicate that such a simple and inexpensive structure can pave the way for the development of generating supercontinuum with desirable performance.

Two types of ultrafast mode‑locking operations from an Er‑doped fber laser based on germanene nanosheets

As a member of Xenes family,germanene has excellent nonlinear saturable absorption characteristics.In this work,we prepared germanene nanosheets by liquid phase exfoliation and measured their saturation intensity as 0.6 GW/cm^(2) with a modulation depth of 8%.Then,conventional solitons with a pulse width of 946 fs and high-energy noise-like pulses with a pulse width of 784 fs were obtained by using germanene nanosheet as a saturable absorber for a mode-locked Erbium-doped fber laser.The characteristics of the two types of pulses were investigated experimentally.The results reveal that germanene has great potential for modulation devices in ultrafast lasers and can be used as a material for creation of excellent nonlinear optical devices to explore richer applications in ultrafast photonics.

Dynamics of multi-state in a simplified mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser

The dispersive Fourier transform technique provides feasibility of exploring non-repetitive events and the buildup process in ultrafast lasers.In this paper,we report a new buildup process of dissipative solitons in a simplified mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser,which includes more complex physics stages such as the Q-switching stage,raised and damped relaxation oscillation stages,noise-like stage,successive soliton explosions stage,and soliton breathing stage.Complete evolution dynamics of noise-like pulse and double pulse are also investigated with dispersive Fourier transform.For the noise-like pulse dynamics process,it will only experience the Q-switching and relaxation oscillation stages.In the case of dissipative soliton and noise-like pulse,the double pulse buildup behavior is manifested as the replication of individual pulses.A weak energy migration occurs between two pulses before reaching steady state.Meanwhile,real-time mutual conversion of the dissipative soliton and noise-like pulse has been experimentally observed,which appears to be instantaneous without extra physical processes.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first report on these physical phenomena observed together in a mode-locked fiber laser.The results further enrich the dynamics of mode-locked fiber lasers and provide potential conditions for obtaining intelligent mode-locked lasers with controllable output.