Short-Pulse Dual-Wavelength System Based on Mode-Locked Diode Lasers With a Single Polarization-Maintaining Yb:Fiber Amplifier

In this paper, we report on the development of a short-pulse dual-wavelength source consisting of mode-locked diode lasers and a single Yb-doped double-clad fiber amplifier. Two mode-locked external-cavity semiconductor oscillators operating at a repetition rate of 577 MHz with center wavelengths of 1040 nm and 1079 nm are synchronized, producing short pulses that are injected into a Yb-doped polarization-maintaining fiber for amplification. Numerical simulations are used to determine the optimal fiber length and seeding configuration for dual-wavelength amplification in the fiber. Each signal is amplified to an average power of 0.5 W with pulse durations of around 5 ps. Performance issues associated with two-signal amplification in Yb-doped fibers are discussed, as well as perspectives for increasing the wavelength separation of the seed lasers.

[1]  Y. Ogawa,et al.  480-GHz subharmonic synchronous mode locking in a short-cavity colliding-pulse mode-locked laser diode , 2002, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[2]  J. B. Georges,et al.  Stable picosecond pulse generation at 46GHz by modelocking of a semiconductor laser operating in an optoelectronic phaselocked loop , 1994 .

[3]  D. Hanna,et al.  Ytterbium-doped fiber amplifiers , 1997 .

[4]  E. Chicklis,et al.  Compact Fiber-Pumped Terahertz Source Based on Difference Frequency Mixing in ZGP , 2007, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[5]  C. R. Giles,et al.  Modeling erbium-doped fiber amplifiers , 1991 .

[6]  Ultrashort Pulses From a Mode-Locked Diode-Oscillator Yb-Fiber-Amplifier System , 2007, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[7]  Z. Wu,et al.  Two-color fiber amplifier for short-pulse, mid-infrared generation. , 2008, Optics letters.

[8]  D. D. Meyerhofer,et al.  Propagation of light pulses in a chirped-pulse-amplification laser , 1993 .

[9]  J. Limpert,et al.  High-average-power femtosecond fiber chirped-pulse amplification system. , 2003, Optics letters.

[10]  S. Gee,et al.  Self-Stabilization of an Actively Mode-Locked Semiconductor-Based Fiber-Ring Laser for Ultralow Jitter , 2007, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[11]  Johan Nilsson,et al.  High-power, high repetition rate picosecond and femtosecond sources based on Yb-doped fiber amplification of VECSELs. , 2006, Optics express.

[12]  M. Eichhorn,et al.  Numerical modeling of Tm-doped double-clad fluoride fiber amplifiers , 2005, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

[13]  U. Zeimer,et al.  Effect of growth conditions and strain compensation on indium incorporation for diode lasers emitting above 1050 nm , 2000 .

[14]  L. Goldberg,et al.  Mid-infrared difference-frequency generation source pumped by 1.1-1.5 micrometer dual-wavelength fiber amplifier for trace-gas detection. , 1998, Optics letters.

[15]  Yoh Ogawa,et al.  40 GHz hybrid modelocked laser diode module operated at ultra-low RF power with impedance-matching circuit , 2003 .

[16]  E. Desurvire,et al.  Erbium‐Doped Fiber Amplifiers: Principles and Applications , 1995 .

[17]  Peter J. Delfyett.  Hybrid mode-locked diode lasers for synchronous optical network applications , 1994, Photonics West - Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering.

[18]  Jun Ye,et al.  Ultralow-jitter, 1550-nm mode-locked semiconductor laser synchronized to a visible optical frequency standard. , 2003, Optics letters.

[19]  Yong Wang,et al.  Dynamic characteristics of double-clad fiber amplifiers for high-power pulse amplification , 2003 .

[20]  Passively modelocked semiconductor laser synchronisation and pulse cross-correlation with Ti:sapphire laser , 2002 .