1.55 μm hydrogen cyanide optical frequency-stabilized and 10 GHz repetition-rate-stabilized mode-locked fiber laser

We describe a 1.55 μm hydrogen cyanide (HCN) optical frequency and repetition rate stabilized mode-locked fiber laser, where the optical frequency was locked to the P(10) HCN absorption line and the repetition rate was locked to 9.95328 GHz by using a microwave phase-locked loop. The optical frequency stability of the laser reached 5 x 10^-11 with an integration time τ of 1 s. With a bidirectional pumping scheme, the laser output power reached 64.6 mW. To obtain a short pulse train, the average dispersion in the cavity was managed so that it was zero around 1.55 μm, resulting in a 0.95 ps pulse train. In addition, the stabilization of the optical frequency and the repetition rate, meant that the entire spectral profile remained the same for 24 hours.