Ultrafast fibre lasers
TL;DR: In this paper, essential components and operation regimes of ultrafast fiber laser systems are reviewed, as well as their use in various applications, including industrial, medical and purely scientific applications.
Abstract: Ultrafast fibre lasers are an important optical system with industrial, medical and purely scientific applications. Essential components and the operation regimes of ultrafast fibre laser systems are reviewed, as are their use in various applications.
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TL;DR: Nanotubes and graphene have emerged as promising materials for use in ultrafast fiber lasers as discussed by the authors, and their unique electrical and optical properties enable them to be used as saturable absorbers that have fast responses and broadband operation and can be easily integrated in fibre lasers.
Abstract: Nanotubes and graphene have emerged as promising materials for use in ultrafast fibre lasers. Their unique electrical and optical properties enable them to be used as saturable absorbers that have fast responses and broadband operation and that can be easily integrated in fibre lasers.
673 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an overview of the different processes that can result from focusing an ultrafast laser light in the femtosecond-nanosecond time regime on a host of materials, e.g., metals, semiconductors, and insulators.
Abstract: We present an overview of the different processes that can result from focusing an ultrafast laser light in the femtosecond–nanosecond time regime on a host of materials, e.g., metals, semiconductors, and insulators. We summarize the physical processes and surface and bulk applications and highlight how femtosecond lasers can be used to process various materials. Throughout this paper, we will show the advantages and disadvantages of using ultrafast lasers compared with lasers that operate in other regimes and demonstrate their potential for the ultrafast processing of materials and structures.
362 citations
Cites methods from "Ultrafast fibre lasers"
...With fiber-laser-pumped parametric amplifiers with a peak power over ∼10 GW being developed, these systems will become increasingly used for micromachining, imaging, and frequency comb applications [14]....
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01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: In this article, a review of numerical and experimental studies of supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fiber is presented over the full range of experimentally reported parameters, from the femtosecond to the continuous-wave regime.
Abstract: A topical review of numerical and experimental studies of supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fiber is presented over the full range of experimentally reported parameters, from the femtosecond to the continuous-wave regime. Results from numerical simulations are used to discuss the temporal and spectral characteristics of the supercontinuum, and to interpret the physics of the underlying spectral broadening processes. Particular attention is given to the case of supercontinuum generation seeded by femtosecond pulses in the anomalous group velocity dispersion regime of photonic crystal fiber, where the processes of soliton fission, stimulated Raman scattering, and dispersive wave generation are reviewed in detail. The corresponding intensity and phase stability properties of the supercontinuum spectra generated under different conditions are also discussed.
360 citations
TL;DR: The generation of a femtosecond pulse in a fiber ring laser by using a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based molybdenum disulfide (MoS(2) SA) saturable absorber indicates that the filmy PVA-based MoS( 2) SA is indeed a good candidate for an ultrafast saturable absorption device.
Abstract: We report on the generation of a femtosecond pulse in a fiber ring laser by using a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) saturable absorber (SA). With a saturable optical intensity of 34 MW/cm2 and a modulation depth of ∼4.3%, the PVA-based MoS2 SA had been employed with an erbium-doped fiber ring laser as a mode locker. The mode-locking operation could be achieved at a low pump threshold of 22 mW. A ∼710 fs pulse centered at 1569.5 nm wavelength with a repetition rate of 12.09 MHz had been achieved with proper cavity dispersion. With the variation of net cavity dispersion, output pulses with durations from 0.71 to 1.46 ps were obtained. The achievement of a femtosecond pulse at 1.55 μm waveband demonstrates the broadband saturable absorption of MoS2, and also indicates that the filmy PVA-based MoS2 SA is indeed a good candidate for an ultrafast saturable absorption device.
351 citations
20 Jan 2015
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify clear explosion signatures in measurements of shot-to-shot spectra of a Yb-doped mode-locked fiber laser that is operating in a transition regime between stable and noise-like emission.
Abstract: Soliton explosions are among the most exotic dissipative phenomena studied in mode-locked lasers. In this regime, a dissipative soliton circulating in the laser cavity experiences an abrupt structural collapse, but within a few roundtrips returns to its original quasi-stable state. In this Letter, we report on the first observation, to the best of our knowledge, of such events in a fiber laser. Specifically, we identify clear explosion signatures in measurements of shot-to-shot spectra of a Yb-doped mode-locked fiber laser that is operating in a transition regime between stable and noise-like emission. The comparatively long, all-normal-dispersion cavity used in our experiments also permits direct time-domain measurements, and we show that the explosions manifest themselves as abrupt temporal shifts in the output pulse train. Our experimental results are in good agreement with realistic numerical simulations based on an iterative cavity map.
328 citations
References
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04 Oct 2006
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of numerical and experimental studies of supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fiber is presented over the full range of experimentally reported parameters, from the femtosecond to the continuous-wave regime.
Abstract: A topical review of numerical and experimental studies of supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fiber is presented over the full range of experimentally reported parameters, from the femtosecond to the continuous-wave regime. Results from numerical simulations are used to discuss the temporal and spectral characteristics of the supercontinuum, and to interpret the physics of the underlying spectral broadening processes. Particular attention is given to the case of supercontinuum generation seeded by femtosecond pulses in the anomalous group velocity dispersion regime of photonic crystal fiber, where the processes of soliton fission, stimulated Raman scattering, and dispersive wave generation are reviewed in detail. The corresponding intensity and phase stability properties of the supercontinuum spectra generated under different conditions are also discussed.
3,361 citations
TL;DR: An effective-index model confirms that an all-silica optical fiber made by embedding a central core in a two-dimensional photonic crystal with a micrometer-spaced hexagonal array of air holes can be single mode for any wavelength.
Abstract: We made an all-silica optical fiber by embedding a central core in a two-dimensional photonic crystal with a micrometer-spaced hexagonal array of air holes. An effective-index model confirms that such a fiber can be single mode for any wavelength. Its useful single-mode range within the transparency window of silica, although wide, is ultimately bounded by a bend-loss edge at short wavelengths as well as at long wavelengths.
2,905 citations
TL;DR: Theoretical models and qualitative explanations of experimental results are presented in this paper for femtosecond laser ablation of solid targets by 0.2-5000 ps Ti: Sapphire laser pulses.
Abstract: Laser ablation of solid targets by 0.2–5000 ps Ti: Sapphire laser pulses is studied. Theoretical models and qualitative explanations of experimental results are presented. Advantages of femtosecond lasers for precise material processing are discussed and demonstrated.
2,513 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: By incorporating a section of large positive-dispersion fiber in an all-fiber erbium ring laser, a fully self-starting source of 77-fs pulse with 90 pJ of energy and greater than 1 kW of peak power at a 45-MHz repetition rate is obtained.
Abstract: By incorporating a section of large positive-dispersion fiber in an all-fiber erbium ring laser, we obtain high-energy pulses with spectral widths of 56 nm. The chirp on these pulses is highly linear and can be compensated for with dispersion in the output coupling fiber lead. The result is a fully self-starting source of 77-fs pulse with 90 pJ of energy and greater than 1 kW of peak power at a 45-MHz repetition rate.
912 citations