Effect of periodic optical pumping on dynamics of passive mode-locked fiber laser

Abstract

We report on the effect of periodic optical pumping on a passively mode-locked fiber laser (MLFL) based on an erbium-doped fiber (EDF). We investigate the influence of various parameters (including average pump power into the fiber laser, the modulation frequency and duty cycle of the pump, and the polarization state of the light inside the cavity) on the transient response characteristic of the MLFL such as: relaxation oscillation (RO) build-up time (defined as the time delay from the onset of pumping to the generation of passively mode-locked pulses) and the power of the detected RF signal at the fundamental cavity-mode frequency (determined by the ring cavity length), which reflects the stability of mode-locking pulse train.We have found that the RO build-up time is inversely proportional to the average pump power while the RF power of the detected fundamental cavity mode (produced by the ring cavity) is proportional to the average pump power. A change in the duty cycle effectively leads the average pump power to vary, which in turn leads to changes in the transient response. The modulation frequency of the pump is rather related to the stability of the MLFL than its response time. Generally, the lower the modulation frequency, the more stable the mode-locked pulses generated in the fiber laser. Finally, the RO build-up time and, consequently, the pulse-generation time are highly sensitive to the state of polarization in the MLFL cavity.