Abstract
A novel synchronously mode-locked fiber laser is demonstrated by combining the parametric gain modulation in a pulse-pumped nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) with the soliton shaping property of a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror (NALM). Parametric gain modulation induced by the synchronous pump pulses within the NOLM starts and defines the timing of the mode-locked signal pulses, while the nonlinear intensity discrimination in the NALM stabilizes the mode-locked pulses and optimizes their shapes. A stream of 1.3 ps transform-limited soliton pulses is generated when the NOLM is pumped by a mode-locked fiber laser. Moreover, we find that the timing jitter of the synchronously mode-locked pulse train is suppressed by more than 10 dB when compared to the pumping laser.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 313-317 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Optics Communications |
| Volume | 194 |
| Issue number | 4-6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 15 2001 |
Funding
This work was supported in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, through the AFOSR, under grant no. F49620-96-1-0262.
Keywords
- Fiber lasers
- Mode locking
- Nonlinear amplifying loop mirrors
- Nonlinear optical loop mirrors
- Parametric amplification
- Soliton shaping and control
- Timing jitter suppression
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering