A mode-locked fibre laser using a Sagnac interferometer and nonlinear polarization rotation

We analyse the propagation in a nonlinear, birefringent optical fibre with twist. The results show that the polarization evolution is periodic and they are applied to the analysis of a Sagnac interferometer. We give a useful way to visualize the behaviour of the nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) (as a function of birefringence, twist, length, and input polarization) in terms of the Poincare sphere. We describe a new fibre laser configuration based on the NOLM with a symmetrical coupler, quarter-wave retarder, and highly twisted, birefringent fibre in the loop. We achieved stable generation of subpicosecond pulses with milliwatts of average output power.

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