Erbium Fiber Research Articles

Dual-wavelength mode-locked erbium fiber laser utilizing a Ge-PCF saturable absorber

In this work, we demonstrate a mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) based on germanium-core doped photonic crystal fiber (Ge-PCF) as a passive saturable absorber (SA). The proposed SA was incorporated inside the PCF core during the manufacturing process. The short length of the proposed high nonlinear fiber can achieve a stable mode-locked pulse by controlling the fiber and collapsing lengths. The proposed Ge-PCF has been integrated into an erbium-doped fiber ring laser to establish the desired ultrashort pulse with the merits of a short interaction length (<3cm), enhanced damage threshold, environmental robustness, ease of manufacture, and suitable mass production. The obtained output pulses at FWHM have a pulse width of 800 ps and a repetition rate of ∼19MHz. Furthermore, the EDFL based on Ge-PCF achieved a dual-wavelength output spectrum with narrow bandwidths centered at 1557.27 and 1558.81 nm. The short-pulse capabilities of the proposed fiber laser make it highly suitable for a wide range of photonic applications.

1.645 µm Er:YAG single-mode dual-wavelength emitter for CH4 differential absorption lidar.

We present a hybrid fiber/bulk laser source at 1.645 µm designed for methane (CH4) monitoring using differential absorption lidar (DIAL) measurements in the atmosphere. The emitter is also suited for coherent wind Doppler lidar. It relies on a Q-switched Er:YAG ring cavity pumped by erbium fiber lasers at 1532 nm. The pulsed laser is sequentially seeded by two fiber-coupled CW distributed feedback (DFB) laser diodes in the center of the CH4 line multiplet at 1645.55 nm (ON wavelength) and out of at 1645.30 nm (OFF wavelength). Despite a gain difference in the crystal between the ON and OFF wavelengths, pulses with equal energies and durations (9 mJ/300 ns) are obtained at a rate of 1 kHz. The spectral stability and purity properties in the dual-wavelength operating regime are presented.

Single-frequency erbium-doped fiber laser based on self-injection feedback.

In this paper, a single-frequency erbium-doped fiber laser based on self-injection feedback is reported, which uses a high-reflectivity broadband fiber Bragg grating, an ordinary commercial high-doped erbium fiber and a low-reflectivity broadband fiber Bragg grating to form the main resonant cavity, and a stable narrow linewidth single-frequency laser output is achieved by connecting a single-mode fiber and a low reflectivity narrowband fiber Bragg grating to form self-injection feedback. Then, a saturated double-pass erbium-doped fiber amplifier and a saturable absorber were added to the self-injection optical path, which well suppressed the relative intensity noise and phase noise and the relaxation oscillation intensity was well suppressed by about 18.08 dB, and the phase noise was 36.7dBc·Hz-1 suppression, the edge-mode rejection ratio is increased by 13 dB, and the final laser linewidth is about 270 Hz, and the output power is 8.5 dBm.

Broad, Tunable and Stable Single-Frequency Erbium Fiber Compound-Ring Lasers Based on Parallel and Series Structures in L-Band Operation

In this demonstration, we present two erbium-doped fiber (EDF) lasers, with series and parallel three sub-ring configurations, respectively, to achieve tunable channel output and stable single longitudinal mode (SLM) operation in the L-band range. Here, the fiber ring cavity contains the L-band EDF as a gain medium. Based on the measured results of the two quad-ring structures of the EDF lasers, tunable output bandwidth for the two lasers can be obtained from 1558.0 to 1618.0 nm simultaneously. All the 3 dB linewidths measured for both fiber lasers are 312.5 Hz over the effective wavelength output range. Furthermore, the related optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR), output power, output stabilities of the central wavelength and power, and equal output power range of the two proposed EDF lasers are also examined and discussed.

Low self-starting threshold polarization-maintaining Er-doped fiber optical frequency comb

We report the development of an all-fiber polarization maintaining (PM) optical frequency comb using a mode-locked figure-9 laser with a low self-starting pump threshold. We have achieved self-starting mode-lock for repetition rates (fr) from 70 MHz to 109 MHz. At a repetition rate of 109 MHz, mode-locking can be achieved for a pump power ranging from 187 mW to 880 mW. To the best of our knowledge, this is the lowest pump power reported for PM figure-9 erbium fiber lasers with repetition rate over 100 MHz. By optimizing the pump power to 238 mW, we have achieved an output power of 5 mW, center wavelength of 1566.2 nm, and 3-dB spectral bandwidth of 20.5 nm. The repetition rate has a high signal-to-noise ratio of 95 dB at a resolution bandwidth of 300 Hz. We have studied the spectral characteristics of the laser under different cavity lengths and pump powers. Additionally, we have stabilized the repetition rate using a GPS-Rb disciplined RF reference. The fractional instability of the repetition rate is measured to be 4.67×10-12 at 1 s and 9.22×10-13 at 10 s over a measurement of 11 h. Our findings demonstrate that the developed figure-9 comb is robust, compact and has the advantage of high stability and low power consumption. It offers a cost effective solution for future outdoor comb applications.

Influence of geometry passive Q-switch based on a nanopowder-polymer on the characteristics of an erbium ring fiber laser

The presented work shows an influence of geometry passive Q-switch based on a nanopowder-polymer on the characteristics of an erbium ring fiber laser. The saturable absorber Bi2Te3 was applied to two types of specially prepared samples of thinned sections of optical fiber, and the resulting structures were built into the ring circuit of an erbium fiber laser. In the first case, the surface of the light guide segment was thinned by chemical etching, and in the second, by mechanical grinding. For the first time, the time-domain optical reflectometry technique was used to control the quality of the resulting sample surface and the resulting losses. For a more complete comparison, a set of different optical splitters was used, providing a change in the feedback coefficient in the resonator from 5 to 95 %. A study in the mode of passive Q-switching using polarized light showed that for both types of modulators there are optimal ratios of the amount of energy output from the resonator to obtain the highest values of the average generation power. The d-shape fiber modulator allows mode-locking to be observed without any additional changes to the laser circuit. The pulse duration in this case was 5 ns with a repetition rate of 4 MHz. A Q-switch based on a chemically thinned fiber segment made it possible to obtain narrower pulses in Q-switching mode (up to 700 ns at 38 kHz), a stable peak position in the transmission spectrum, and an average power of 34 mW.

Generation of 583 fs optical pulses at 10 GHz from a regeneratively mode-locked fiber laser combining nonlinear polarization evolution

A regeneratively mode-locked erbium fiber laser was numerically investigated and experimentally demonstrated, which was able to generate a 583 fs pulse train at 10 GHz via intracavity pulse compression with nonlinear polarization evolution (NPE). To excite the NPE at such a high repetition rate, a dispersion map was intentionally introduced to obtain short pulses accompanied by high peaks through soliton-like pulse shaping. Numerical simulations indicated that steady-state oscillation with pulses below 1 ps can be successfully established using this laser configuration. Experimentally, we obtained a pulse duration of 583 fs and a 3 dB spectral width of 4.5 nm at an average output power of 15.6 mW. Simultaneously, supermode suppression of more than 80 dB was also obtained from the appropriate biased NPE.

Single-Frequency Ring Fiber Laser with Random Distributed Feedback Provided by Artificial Rayleigh Scattering

Femtosecond (fs) laser inscription technology allows for the production of in-fiber disordered structures with an enhanced level of Rayleigh backscattering with relatively few induced losses. These properties enable the application of these structures as reflectors in fiber lasers. In this study, a narrow-linewidth erbium fiber laser with random distributed feedback provided by a fs-induced random structure in a ring cavity configuration was developed. A single-frequency regime was observed over the entire lasing power range. At a maximum output power of 7.8 mW, the linewidth did not exceed 0.75 kHz.

Смена режимов генерации в эрбиевых волоконных лазерах

Operation features of the erbium fiber lasers with short cavities near two phase transitions have been established experimentally for the first time. The power-law behavior of the system parameters in the vicinity of the critical point in a wide range of pump power values was revealed. The parameters and operation regimes dependence on the cavity length and pump power, namely the switching from pulsed to CW operation, was investigated. The pulse duration and frequency dependencies with varying cavity length have been investigated, which made it possible to experimentally establish the universal dependence of these parameters on the lasing power for passively Q-switched erbium fiber lasers. The critical indices for pulsed operation of the erbium fiber lasers are determined weakly depending on the cavity parameters. The results of the study can be used for designing high-coherent fiber laser sources.

Threshold Characteristics of 1.56-to-2.84 μm SRS Conversion in Methane under Broadband Pumping by High-Power Frequency-Modulated Pulses of an Erbium Fiber Source

Threshold Characteristics of 1.56-to-2.84 μm SRS Conversion in Methane under Broadband Pumping by High-Power Frequency-Modulated Pulses of an Erbium Fiber Source

A selectable single-frequency erbium fiber laser with septuple-ring apparatus for narrow linewidth and uniform power output

A single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) with septuple-ring is demonstrated to acquire tunable and stable wavelength output. The demonstrated septuple-ring design not only can result in mode-filter operation to diminish the dense longitudinal-mode oscillations, but also can reach sub-kHz linewidth. The presented fiber laser also can extend the tuning bandwidth from 1512.0 to 1572.0 nm based on C-band gain-medium and lead to a uniform power output range within 0.36 dB power fluctuation. Furthermore, the obtained output linewidth, output power (Pout), output stability and optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR) of the EDFL are also executed and discussed.

Observation of three kinds of bound solitons in a black phosphorus-based erbium fiber laser

We describe the experimental finding of three kinds of bound solitons in the Erbium-doped fiber lasers based on saturable absorber of black phosphorus. The passively mode-locked laser can obtain stretched-pulse state, double-pulse and four-pulse bound state with the sech2-shaped pulse profile. The laser can also realize Lorentzian autocorrelation trace with the duration of approximately 562 fs and deliver Lorentzian double-pulse bound state with pulse separations of approximately 5.04 ps by properly adjusting the polarization state. This project demonstrates that the same fiber laser can obtain different types of bound state pulses, which lays a foundation for further research into bound state pulses.

L-Band Erbium Fiber Laser with Tunable and Narrow Sub-kHz Linewidth Output

In this paper, a wavelength-selectable erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser in L-band bandwidth with a simple structure and low cost is described. To obtain stable single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) and narrow laser linewidth, the 2 m unpumped EDF-based saturable absorber (SA) and 100 m single-mode fiber (SMF)-induced Rayleigh backscattering (RB) injection effect are cascaded in the ring cavity of the fiber laser. The EDF SA and feedback RB injection can cause the auto-tracking ultra-narrow bandwidth filter effect to suppress the multiple longitudinal mode oscillations and narrow the laser linewidth. Thus, the tunable SLM wavelength output of the EDF laser with sub-kHz linewidth can be achieved. In the measurement, two EDF ring lasers can be executed when the placement of EDF-based SA and SMF-induced RB are switched to experiment with different output characteristics. The experimental results show that the wavelength bandwidths of the two lasers are between 1558.0 and 1618.0 nm. Additionally, the optimal optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR), wavelength linewidth, output power, and stability of the presented EDF laser configuration are also achieved and discussed.

Double-Brillouin Frequency Spacing Multi-Wavelength Brillouin Erbium Fiber Laser in Double Cavities Configuration

Multi-wavelength fiber laser has great potential for use in dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) systems, sensors, and microwave photonics. This paper presents a multi-wavelength Brillouin erbium fiber laser (MW-BEFL) with double-frequency Brillouin spacing of approximately 0.176 nm between each adjacent Stokes. The proposed setup utilizes double cavities configuration for odd and even-order Brillouin Stokes to propagate separately in the system. This configuration is flexible as it can be transformed into a single-spacing MW-BEFL by swapping the ports of the circulator; it can also extract the odd-orders Brillouin Stokes by relocating the OSA in the cavity. Up to 25 double-spaced Brillouin Stokes are obtained with a tuning range of 30 nm. The first 8 Stokes have peak power variation within ± 3.7 dB and an average signal-to-noise ratio of 20 dB.

Investigating the Impact of SMF on Brillouin Fiber Laser Performance

Using erbium-doped fiber, a steady Q-switched erbium-doped laser (EDFL) was successfully demonstrated. With a 150 m of Single Mode Fiber to generate the Brillouin Fiber Laser and increase the non-linearity inside the cavity. In the absence of a Brillouin pump, a compact Brillouin fiber laser (BFL) is realized by combining an Erbium Doped Fiber (EDF) and a Single Mode Fiber (SMF), which serve as both the Brillouin and linear gain media. It is accomplished by self-Brillouin production in a laser cavity from 4.5 m of EDF and 150 m of SMF with strong nonlinearity. The SMF inside the ring cavity was used to generate self-generating BFL. The BFL in the linear cavity produced more Brillouin stokes at a lower pump threshold. In the experiments, the average of spacing is 0.088 nm was generated at the EDF pump power of 93.468 to 259.493 mW for the 150 m of SMF. This compact BFL has total cavity length (160.34 m). Eventually, this is the most recent gain medium length recorded for Brillouin erbium fiber laser production without the use of a Brillouin pump.

Generation of femtosecond pulses with an energy of ~10 μJ at a wavelength of 1.56 μM and nonlinear conversion of their frequency in a hollow revolver fiber

A fiber source of ultrashort pulses (USPs) with a powerful hybrid amplifier based on erbium and erbium-ytterbium fibers connected in series with a double cladding and an increased mode diameter, pumped by multimode laser diodes at a wavelength of 976 nm, was created and studied. Pulses from the output of a powerful amplifier at a central wavelength of about 1.56 μm with a duration of ~200 ps and an energy of up to 21.9 μJ, following with a frequency of 198.5 kHz, were compressed using a compressor based on a pair of volumetric polarization-independent diffraction gratings operating at transmission, with an efficiency of ≈73%. A minimum duration of compressed pulses of 742 fs was achieved, while their maximum energy and peak power were 15.8 μJ and ≈13 MW, respectively (maximum average power - 3.14 W) at a central wavelength of 1.56 μm in a beam with a Gaussian profile and measured quality parameters = 1.58 and = 1.38. When pumped by pulses from an erbium fiber source of various durations, the SRS transformation of 1.56 μm → 1.71 μm was realized in a hollow revolver light guide with a core of 75 μm in diameter filled with molecular hydrogen. Pulses with a maximum energy of about 200 nJ at a wavelength of 1.71 μm were obtained. The developed ultrashort pulse source can be useful in creating advanced systems for precision processing of transparent materials, especially silicon, as well as for other applications that require high energy and peak power of ultrashort pulses.

10-µJ-level femtosecond pulse generation in the erbium CPA fiber source with microstructured hollow-core fiber assisted delivery and nonlinear frequency conversion.

We report on the development of a chirped pulse amplification (CPA) designed erbium fiber source with a hybrid high-power amplifier, which is composed of erbium-doped and erbium/ytterbium-co-doped double-clad large-mode-area fibers. Stretched pulses from the high-power amplifier with up to 21.9µJ energy and 198.5kHz repetition rate are dechirped in the transmission grating pair-based compressor with 73% efficiency, yielding as short as 742fs duration with 15.8µJ energy and ≈13M W peak power (maximum average power up to 3.14W) at the central wavelength of 1.56µm. Compressed pulses are coupled into microstructured negative-curvature hollow-core fibers with a single row capillary cladding and different core sizes of 34µm and 75µm in order to realize femtosecond pulse delivery with a diffraction-limited output beam (M 2≤1.09) and demonstrate ∼200n J Stokes pulse generation at 1712nm via rotational SRS in pressurized hydrogen (H 2). We believe that the developed system may be a prospect for high-precision material processing and other high-energy and high-peak-power laser applications.

Design and performance of a repetition rate controllable and wavelength tunable L + U-band actively mode-locked erbium fiber laser

Mode-locked lasers draw great interest in the laser research field due to their diverse applications and easy achievement of ultra-short and high-intensity optical pulse trains. Actively mode-locked (AML) fiber lasers are more flexible compared to passively mode-locked fiber lasers owing to their ability to control repetition rates and pulse intervals electronically. The design and development of wavelength tunable AML fiber lasers operating beyond the C-band have attracted great attention from the research community. In this paper, a repetition rate controllable and wavelength tunable L+U-band AML erbium fiber laser (AML-EFL) based on a single standard 1480 nm pump laser and Mach–Zehnder modulator (MZM) as an intra-cavity intensity modulator is demonstrated using numerical simulation. The AML-EFL is created using a MZM driven by electrical Gaussian pulses and a tunable optical bandpass filter that is used to tune the laser cavity at any wavelength in the 1565–1645 nm range. The repetition rate of the AML-EFL is controlled from 500 kHz to 1 GHz. Trains of pulses with pulse widths of 103 ns and 50 ps and pulse intervals of 2 µs and 1 ns are successfully generated at repetition rates of 500 kHz and 1 GHz, respectively. A pulse energy of 626 nJ is obtained for a 500 kHz repetition rate. Signal-to-noise ratios of 30 and 32 dB are observed for trains of mode-locked pulses with repetition rates of 500 kHz and 1 GHz, respectively. In addition, slope efficiencies of around 66% for an L-band wavelength of 1582.1 nm and 30% for a U-band wavelength of 1633.6 nm are obtained considering the optimized parameters.

A Linearly Polarized Wavelength-Tunable Q-Switched Fiber Laser with a Narrow Spectral Bandwidth of 112 MHz.

A tunable and narrow-bandwidth Q-switched ytterbium-doped fiber (YDF) laser is investigated in this paper. The non-pumped YDF acts as a saturable absorber and, together with a Sagnac loop mirror, provides a dynamic spectral-filtering grating to achieve a narrow-linewidth Q-switched output. By adjusting an etalon-based tunable fiber filter, a tunable wavelength from 1027 nm to 1033 nm is obtained. When the pump power is 1.75 W, the Q-switched laser pulses with a pulse energy of 10.45 nJ, and a repetition frequency of 11.98 kHz and spectral linewidth of 112 MHz are obtained. This work paves the way for the generation narrow-linewidth Q-switched lasers with tunable wavelengths in conventional ytterbium, erbium, and thulium fiber bands to address critical applications such as coherent detection, biomedicine, and nonlinear frequency conversion.

Tunable 60 GHz Multiwavelength Brillouin Erbium Fiber Laser

An experimental study of a tunable 60 GHz multiwavelength Brillouin erbium fiber laser is presented in this paper. Two unidirectional ring laser cavities and two pre-amplification laser cavities are used. In the first three cavities, a Brillouin gain medium is presented with a dispersion compensation fiber (DCF) spool, and a single-mode fiber (SMF) spool is used as a Brillouin gain medium in the fourth cavity. Three erbium amplifiers are utilized to supply enough gain to the generated Brillouin Stokes signal and to suppress cavity losses. For these three amplifiers, up to 450 mW (150 mW for each) of a 1480 nm pump power is used. In our proposed configuration, four sextuple Brillouin Stokes signals with a high power of 10 dBm and more than 55 dB as an optical signal-to-noise ratio are achieved. The obtained Brillouin Stokes signals can be tuned over 30 nm (1560–1590 nm) and can be easily used in dense wavelength division multiplexing in optics communication systems.