34-fs, all-fiber all-polarization-maintaining single-mode pulse nonlinear amplifier

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Fiber Lasers
• Nonlinear Optics

Background:

• All-fiber systems offer robust and compact solutions for laser applications.
• Polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber is crucial for applications requiring stable polarization states.
• High-power, ultrashort pulse generation is essential for various scientific and industrial applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an all-fiber, all-polarization-maintaining (PM) single-mode (SM) fiber pulse nonlinear amplification system.
• To achieve record high peak power and shortest pulse duration in such systems.
• To explore supercontinuum generation using the amplified pulses.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a two-section erbium-doped PM gain fiber amplifier.
• Employed a seed laser with a 200 MHz repetition rate.
• Compressed the amplified pulses and coupled them into a highly nonlinear fiber.

Main Results:

• Achieved 34-fs pulse duration with 320-mW output power.
• Obtained 1.6-nJ pulse energy and approximately 23.5-kW peak power.
• Demonstrated octave-spanning supercontinuum generation.

Conclusions:

• The developed system represents a significant advancement in all-fiber PM SM fiber pulse amplification.
• It sets new benchmarks for peak power and pulse duration in this field.
• The system enables further applications like supercontinuum generation.