Microjoule-level all-polarization-maintaining femtosecond fiber source

Area of Science:

• Laser physics
• Photonics

Background:

• Femtosecond fiber lasers are crucial for various scientific and industrial applications.
• Existing systems face limitations in pulse energy and quality due to nonlinear effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a high-power, high-energy femtosecond fiber laser source.
• To overcome nonlinear limitations in pulse generation.

Main Methods:

• Direct amplification of parabolic pulses from a mode-locked fiber oscillator.
• Utilizing an Ytterbium-doped single-polarization photonic crystal fiber for amplification.

Main Results:

• Generation of high-quality femtosecond pulses beyond nonlinearity limits.
• Achieved 1.2 microJ pulse energy (21 W average power) at 17 MHz repetition rate.
• Output is a 240 fs duration, linearly polarized, diffraction-limited beam.

Conclusions:

• The developed fiber laser system offers a robust solution for generating high-energy femtosecond pulses.
• The parabolic pulse amplification technique effectively bypasses nonlinear limitations.
• This technology has potential for applications requiring high-power, high-quality ultrashort pulses.