All-fiber spatiotemporally mode-locked laser with multimode fiber-based filtering

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Fiber Lasers
• Mode-Locking Technologies

Background:

• Mode-locked fiber lasers are crucial for generating ultrashort optical pulses.
• Previous multimode fiber lasers faced limitations in pulse energy and stability.
• All-normal dispersion mode-locked lasers often utilize multimode interference filtering.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the first all-fiber laser utilizing spatiotemporal mode-locking in a multimode fiber.
• To characterize the performance of dissipative soliton pulses generated by the novel laser.
• To investigate the underlying cavity dynamics and spatiotemporal mode-locking mechanisms through numerical simulations.

Main Methods:

• Development of an all-fiber oscillator incorporating spatiotemporal mode-locking.
• Generation and characterization of dissipative soliton pulses at 1036 nm.
• Utilizing numerical simulations to analyze laser cavity dynamics and mode-locking behavior.

Main Results:

• Successful demonstration of the first all-fiber multimode spatiotemporally mode-locked laser.
• Generation of dissipative soliton pulses with 12 mW average power, 6.24 ps duration, and 24.3 MHz repetition rate.
• Achieved pulse energy of 0.5 nJ, a significant improvement over previous single-mode laser designs.

Conclusions:

• The developed all-fiber multimode laser represents a breakthrough in spatiotemporal mode-locking.
• The oscillator's high pulse energy and simple fabrication offer practical advantages.
• This technology shows significant potential for various applications requiring high-performance fiber lasers.