High power broadband continuum source based on an all-PM-fiber master oscillator nonlinear power amplifier
TL;DR: In this paper, an all-polarization-maintaining-fiber master oscillator power amplifier system at 1064 nm under all normal dispersion, intense nanosecond emission was generated with spectral broadening from 980 to 1600 nm.
Abstract: In an all-polarization-maintaining-fiber master oscillator power amplifier system at 1064 nm under all normal dispersion, intense nanosecond emission was generated with spectral broadening from 980 to 1600 nm. In such a fiber nonlinear power amplifier, efficient power scaling is able to be free from significant depletion because both laser amplification and nonlinear conversion are simultaneously employed. As a result, output peak power up to 117 kW with a pulse energy of 1.2 mJ is generated with a maximum core intensity of 30 GW cm 2 . In addition, the conversion efficiency is 66% for a pulse duration of 6.1 ns at the moderate repetition of 20 kHz. The output level is close to the damage threshold for long-term operation. The onset and interplay of constituted fiber nonlinearities can be addressed, especially from single mode to a few modes, stage by stage. Furthermore, the seeding influence on the spectral broadening reveals its versatility for enabling many potential applications. For seeding by a highly controlled diode laser at the nanojoule level, a double-pass preamplifier significantly improves the energy extraction, resulting in a high input level for an efficient nonlinear power amplifier. Such a linearly polarized light source composed of an intense 1064 nm pump and a broad sideband seed is beneficial for efficiently driving broadband tunable optical parametric amplification.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors numerically study the dynamics of supercontinuum generation in an ytterbium-doped highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber with flattened all-normal dispersion (FAND) in the sub-picosecond pulse regime.
Abstract: We numerically study the dynamics of supercontinuum generation (SCG) in an ytterbium-doped highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber (HNL-PCF) with flattened all-normal dispersion (FAND) in the sub-picosecond pulse regime. We discuss the enhancement of the energy spectral density and the recovery of the peak power depletion in the SCG process through the fiber in comparison with the SCG based on a passive-type counterpart. As a unique application of the novel characteristics of the active HNL-PCF with FAND, we also analyze the direct amplification of an SC pulse through it, showing that the incident SC pulse can be amplified by 10 dB without undergoing significant degradations in terms of spectral bandwidth and flatness. Our numerical investigations on the active HNL-PCF with FAND will be helpful for opening up new opportunities for fiber-based SCG technology in the sub-picosecond regime.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors exploit the optical nonlinearities of TiO2 powders at various turbidities to investigate the interplay between nonlinear effects and Anderson localization in 3D.
Abstract: Breakdown of wave transport due to strong disorder is a universal phenomenon known as Anderson localization (AL). It occurs because of the macroscopic population of reciprocal multiple scattering paths, which in three dimensional systems happens at a critical scattering strength. Intensities on these random loops should thus be highly increased relative to those of a diffusive sample. In order to highlight localized modes of light, we exploit the optical nonlinearities of TiO2. Power dependent and spectrally resolved time of flight distribution measurements in transmission through slabs of TiO2 powders at various turbidities reveal that mostly long loops are affected by nonlinearities and that the deviations from diffusive transport observed at long times are due to these localized modes. Our data are a first step in the experimental investigation of the interplay between nonlinear effects and AL in 3D.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, insertions of Raman strippers along the active fiber with double-pass scheme is proved to be another choice to effectively suppress SRS besides the utilization of photonic band-gap fibers.
Abstract: High power fiber laser amplifier cascade can be simplified using double-pass scheme due to improvement of overall efficiency, especially for amplifiers with small input seed or high stored energy. The yield of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in the double-pass scheme is comparable to the level in amplifiers using counter-directional-pumped single-pass scheme if the pumping configuration is appropriate, even though the interaction length becomes twice for double pass scheme. In the study, insertions of Raman strippers along the active fiber with double-pass scheme is proved to be another choice to effectively suppress SRS besides the utilization of photonic band-gap fibers.
6 citations
Cites methods from "High power broadband continuum sour..."
...DP amplification of 53dB gain with sub-nJ input signal has been demonstrated [2] and applied to the preamplifier for decreasing stage numbers and promoting overall efficiency in a MOPA system [3] and MOPA-based supercontinuum generation [4]....
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TL;DR: In this article, a compact and wavelength-calibration-free interferometric scheme was numerically and experimentally investigated using an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source generated by a laser-produced plasma.
Abstract: A compact and wavelength-calibration-free interferometric scheme was numerically and experimentally investigated using an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source generated by a laser-produced plasma. A Michelson-type interferometer with a common path, formed by a Si/Mo-multilayer-based beam splitter and mirror, was utilized to achieve system compactness. Based on the Wiener–Khinchin theorem, an accurate EUV spectrum was obtained by numerically analyzing the measured signal autocorrelation without performing wavelength calibration. The achieved spectral resolution of 30 pm was comparable to those of flat-field spectrometers. Various high-oxidation states of Sn and the residual O in the vacuum chamber were also successfully identified.
3 citations
Cites background from "High power broadband continuum sour..."
...24 nm FWHM linewidth of the seed laser, the broadened pulse linewidth could have originated from either self-phase modulation or cross-phase modulation [28], [29]....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the spectral and temporal evolution processes of tunable chirped picosecond pulses at different wavelengths (ranging from 1030 to 1070 nm) and found that the generated supercontinuum can be significantly enhanced when the amplifier is seeded at a short wavelength.
Abstract: The amplification of a short-pulsed fiber laser along a high-power nonlinear fiber amplifier will undergo nonlinear spectral broadening and temporal distortion with the influence of fiber nonlinear effects. Within the same nonlinear Yb-doped fiber amplifier, we experimentally compared the different spectral and temporal evolution processes of tunable chirped picosecond pulses at different wavelengths (ranging from 1030 to 1070 nm). The comparison results indicate that the generated supercontinuum can be significantly enhanced when the amplifier is seeded at a short wavelength. A comprehensive analysis links the phenomenon to the overlap of Yb $^{3+}$ ion gain and the Raman gain, as well as the additional amplified spontaneous emission seeding effect. The phenomena of nonlinear-effect-induced spectral and temporal center dips were also observed and explained. The proposed conclusion can help to thoroughly understand the nonlinear process in fiber amplifiers and contribute to the development of a high-power spectrally flat amplifier-based supercontinuum source.
3 citations
Cites result from "High power broadband continuum sour..."
...Similar works can also be found in [18]–[21] and [25]....
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References
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Book•
01 Jan 1989TL;DR: The field of nonlinear fiber optics has advanced enough that a whole book was devoted to it as discussed by the authors, which has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, and Russian languages, attesting to the worldwide activity in the field.
Abstract: Nonlinear fiber optics concerns with the nonlinear optical phenomena occurring inside optical fibers. Although the field ofnonlinear optics traces its beginning to 1961, when a ruby laser was first used to generate the second-harmonic radiation inside a crystal [1], the use ofoptical fibers as a nonlinear medium became feasible only after 1970 when fiber losses were reduced to below 20 dB/km [2]. Stimulated Raman and Brillouin scatterings in single-mode fibers were studied as early as 1972 [3] and were soon followed by the study of other nonlinear effects such as self- and crossphase modulation and four-wave mixing [4]. By 1989, the field ofnonlinear fiber optics has advanced enough that a whole book was devoted to it [5]. This book or its second edition has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, and Russian languages, attesting to the worldwide activity in the field of nonlinear fiber optics.
15,770 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate experimentally that air-silica microstructure optical fibers can exhibit anomalous dispersion at visible wavelengths, and exploit this feature to generate an optical continuum 550 THz in width, extending from the violet to the infrared.
Abstract: We demonstrate experimentally for what is to our knowledge the first time that air–silica microstructure optical fibers can exhibit anomalous dispersion at visible wavelengths. We exploit this feature to generate an optical continuum 550 THz in width, extending from the violet to the infrared, by propagating pulses of 100-fs duration and kilowatt peak powers through a microstructure fiber near the zero-dispersion wavelength.
2,372 citations
TL;DR: This technique will permit scaling of pulsed fiber lasers and amplifiers to significantly higher pulse energies and peak powers and cw fiber sources to higher average powers while maintaining excellent beam quality.
Abstract: The authors report a new approach to obtain single-transverse-mode operation of a multimode fiber amplifier, in which the gain fiber is coiled to induce significant bend loss for all but the lowest-order mode. They have demonstrated this method by constructing a coiled amplifier using Yb-doped, double-clad fiber with a core diameter of 25 {micro}m and NA of {minus}0.1 (V {approx} 7.4). When operated as an ASE source, the output beam had an M{sup 2} value of 1.09 {+-} 0.09; when seeded at 1,064 nm, the slope efficiency was similar to that of an uncoiled amplifier. This technique does not require exotic fiber designs or increase system complexity and is inexpensive to implement. It will allow scaling of pulsed fiber lasers and amplifiers to significantly higher pulse energies and peak powers and cw fiber sources to higher average powers while maintaining excellent beam quality.
630 citations
"High power broadband continuum sour..." refers methods in this paper
...A core-pumped preamplifier can ensure better mode contrast [22] without sacrificing the conversion efficiency by coiling the fibers [23]....
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Book•
01 Apr 2010
TL;DR: Supercontinuum generation in microstructure fiber - an historical note J. C. Travers, M. H. Frosz, P. M. Turner and T. W. French as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: 1. Introduction and history J. R. Taylor 2. Supercontinuum generation in microstructure fiber - an historical note J. K. Ranka 3. Nonlinear fiber optics overview J. C. Travers, M. H. Frosz and J. M. Dudley 4. Fiber supercontinuum generation overview J. M. Dudley 5. Silica fibers for supercontinuum generation J. C. Knight and W. Wadsworth 6. Supercontinuum generation and nonlinearity in soft glass fibers J. H. V. Price and D. J. Richardson 7. Increasing the blue-shift of a picosecond pumped supercontinuum M. H. Frosz, P. M. Moselund, P. D. Rasmussen, C. L. Thomsen and O. Bang 8. Continuous wave supercontinuum generation J. C. Travers 9. Theory of supercontinuum and interactions of solitons with dispersive waves D. V. Skryabin and A. V. Gorbach 10. Interaction of four-wave mixing and stimulated Raman scattering in optical fibers S. Coen, S. G. Murdoch and F. Vanholsbeeck 11. Nonlinear optics in emerging waveguides: revised fundamentals and implications S. V. Afshar, M. Turner and T. M. Monro 12. Supercontinuum generation in dispersion varying fibers G. Genty 13. Supercontinuum generation in chalcogenide glass waveguides Dong-Il Yeom, M. R. E. Lamont, B. Luther Davies and B. J. Eggleton 14. Supercontinuum generation for carrier-envelope phase stabilization of mode-locked lasers S. T. Cundiff 15. Biophotonics applications of supercontinuum generation C. Dunsby and P. M. W. French 16. Fiber sources of tailored supercontinuum in nonlinear microspectroscopy and imaging A. M. Zheltikov Index.
270 citations
TL;DR: The fabrication of photonic crystal fibers with a continuously-decreasing zero-dispersion wavelength along their length is reported, designed to extend the generation of supercontinuum spectra from the visible into the ultraviolet.
Abstract: We report the fabrication of photonic crystal fibers with a continuously-decreasing zero-dispersion wavelength along their length. These tapered fibers are designed to extend the generation of supercontinuum spectra from the visible into the ultraviolet. We report on their performance when pumped with both nanosecond and picosecond sources at 1.064 microm. The supercontinuum spectra have a spectral width (measured at the 10 dB points) extending from 0.372 microm to beyond 1.75 microm. In an optimal configuration a flat (3 dB) spectrum from 395 to 850 nm, with a minimum spectral power density of 2 mW/nm was achieved, with a total continuum output power of 3.5 W. We believe that the shortest wavelengths were generated by cascaded four-wave mixing: the continuous decrease of the zero dispersion wavelength along the fiber length enables the phase-matching condition to be satisfied for a wide range of wavelengths into the ultraviolet, while simultaneously increasing the nonlinear coefficient of the fiber.
255 citations
"High power broadband continuum sour..." refers background in this paper
...In particular, a strong and flat spectral broadening toward the ultravioletextended and mid-infrared ranges can be easily achieved using PCF [4], PCF tapers [5] and non-silica PCF [6]....
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