Modal instabilities in high power fiber laser oscillators.

Transverse mode competition and instabilities in high-power fiber oscillators have been studied experimentally by monitoring the dynamic power exchanges and characteristic frequencies of the transmitted fundamental mode (FM) and scattered high-order modes (HOMs) of the fiber laser cavity under CW and pulsed pumping. The FM and HOM power evolution indicates the presence of two competing effective laser cavities which result in rich output dynamics and full chaotic operation. The thermal and inversion related contributions to the observed instabilities have been identified by monitoring the associated characteristic instability frequencies under pulsed pumping. It is shown that in the transient regime, both inversion and thermal effects contribute successively to the observed power instabilities. Increasing the pump power leads to full chaotic response through an interplay between transverse and longitudinal mode instabilities.

Integrated reconfigurable photonic filters based on interferometric fractional Hilbert transforms.

In this paper, we present integrated reconfigurable photonic filters using fractional Hilbert transformers (FrHTs) and optical phase tuning structure within the silica-on-silicon platform. The proposed structure, including grating-based FrHTs, an X-coupler, and a pair of thermal tuning filaments, is fabricated through the direct UV grating writing technique. The thermal tuning effect is realized by the controllable microheaters located on the two arms of the X-coupler. We investigate the 200 GHz maximum bandwidth photonic FrHTs based on apodized planar Bragg gratings, and analyze the reflection spectrum responses. Through device integration and thermal modulation, the device could operate as photonic notch filters with 5 GHz linewidth and controllable single sideband suppression filters with measured 12 dB suppression ratio. A 50 GHz instantaneous frequency measuring system using this device is also schematically proposed and analyzed with potential 3 dB measurement improvement. The device could be configured with these multiple functions according to need. The reconfigurable structure has great potential in ultrafast all-optical signal processing fields.

High power, compact, picosecond MOPA based on single trench fiber with single polarized diffraction-limited output.

We experimentally demonstrate an all-solid Yb-doped 30 µm core diameter single trench fiber. Measurements ensure a robust effective single-mode operation without the need of tight coiling as required for conventional fibers thanks to the ultralow NA (∼0.038) and resonant ring surrounding the core. All-solid and cylindrical design ensures the suitability for mass scale production with the added benefit of all-fiberized device structure. A compact master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) has been built using this fiber delivering ∼23.5 ps pulses at 13.5 MHz repetition rate delivering up to ∼52 W of average output power corresponding to a pulse energy of ∼3.8 µJ and peak power of >160 kW, while maintaining ∼76% slope efficiency. The output beam exhibits a polarization extinction ratio of more than 15 dB and a M2 less than 1.15.

High-peak-power, high-energy, high-average-power pulsed fiber laser system with versatile pulse duration and shape.

We present a pulsed fiber laser system with average power up to 265 W, pulse energy up to 10.6 mJ, pulse duration adjustable in the range 500 ps-500 ns, repetition rate fully controllable from single-shot operation up to 1 MHz, and the ability to control peak power independently of pulse energy. The system has a compact, all-spliced construction. Such a versatile laser will have wide applications in materials processing.

Terahertz bandwidth photonic Hilbert transformers based on synthesized planar Bragg grating fabrication.

Terahertz bandwidth photonic Hilbert transformers are proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The integrated device is fabricated via a direct UV grating writing technique in a silica-on-silicon platform. The photonic Hilbert transformer operates at bandwidths of up to 2 THz (~16 nm) in the telecom band, a 10-fold greater bandwidth than any previously reported experimental approaches. Achieving this performance requires detailed knowledge of the system transfer function of the direct UV grating writing technique; this allows improved linearity and yields terahertz bandwidth Bragg gratings with improved spectral quality. By incorporating a flat-top reflector and Hilbert grating with a waveguide coupler, an ultrawideband all-optical single-sideband filter is demonstrated.

Ultra-wide detuning planar Bragg grating fabrication technique based on direct UV grating writing with electro-optic phase modulation.

A direct UV grating writing technique based on phase-controlled interferometry is proposed and demonstrated in a silica-on-silicon platform, with a wider wavelength detuning range than any previously reported UV writing technology. Electro-optic phase modulation of one beam in the interferometer is used to manipulate the fringe pattern and thus control the parameters of the Bragg gratings and waveguides. Various grating structures with refractive index apodization, phase shifts and index contrasts of up to 0.8 × 10(-3) have been demonstrated. The method offers significant time/energy efficiency as well as simplified optical layout and fabrication process. We have shown Bragg gratings can be made from 1200 nm to 1900 nm exclusively under software control and the maximum peak grating reflectivity only decreases by 3 dBover a 250 nm (~32 THz) bandwidth.

Phase controlled integrated interferometric single-sideband filter based on planar Bragg gratings implementing photonic Hilbert transform.

The monolithically integrated all-optical single-sideband (SSB) filter based on photonic Hilbert transform and planar Bragg gratings is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. An SSB suppression of 12 dB at 6 GHz and sideband switching are achieved via thermal tuning. An X-coupler, photonic Hilbert transformer, flat top reflector, and a micro heater are incorporated in a single silicon-on-silica substrate. The device can be thermally tuned by the micro heater on top of the channel waveguide. The device is fabricated using a combination of direct UV grating writing technology and photolithography.

Hollow-bottle optical microresonators.

Selective excitation of whispering-gallery and bottle modes in a robust hollow-bottle optical microresonator, fabricated from a silica microcapillary by a pressure-compensated, "soften-and-compress" method, is demonstrated. Characteristic resonance spectra of bottle modes were obtained by using a tapered fiber coupled at different locations along the hollow bottle. The spectral characteristics (Q-factor, excitation efficiency) are shown to have high tolerance to angular misalignment of the tapered fiber. In addition, introduction of localized losses on the outer surface of the resonator results in selective clean-up of the transmission spectrum and superior performance. A theoretical analysis of modal turning points and associated resonant wavelengths is used to explain the mechanism of mode-suppression and the resultant spectral cleaning.

Whispering gallery mode spectra of channel waveguide coupled microspheres.

Evanescent coupling of light from glass channel waveguides into the whispering gallery modes of glass microspheres of radius 15?m and 100?m is studied experimentally at wavelengths near 1550 nm. Fitting the positions, widths and heights of resonances in the experimental spectra to the characteristic equation for microsphere modes and to universal coupled microresonator theory, we establish sphere radius and index, identify mode numbers, and determine losses. The results provide detailed information for the design of optical devices incorporating microsphere resonators in planar lightwave circuits.

Adaptive pulse shape control in a diode-seeded nanosecond fiber MOPA system.

We demonstrate active shaping of the driving electrical pulses to a laser diode in order to compensate for the pulse shaping effects of gain saturation in an Yb doped fiber amplifier cascade and to allow the generation of user defined customized output pulse shapes. In particular we demonstrate the generation of square output pulses, which have the potential to significantly increase the maximum pulse energy extractable from an amplifier before the peak power reaches the threshold for SRS, and for high efficiency frequency conversion.

Superstrate index control of waveguide grating reflectivity.

Control of reflectivity of a relief grating in a high-index film overlaid on a monomode glass waveguide was achieved by adjustment of the superstrate refractive index with liquids. Weak gratings reflecting at 1531 nm were inscribed by UV laser ablation. The grating reflectivity was measured as the ratio of the transmission outside the reflection band, at 1536 nm, to that at the Bragg wavelength. Reflectivity with an air superstrate was <0.3 dB for both polarizations. In the TE polarization the grating strength increased to 20.5 dB after application of a liquid of index 1.45. In the TM polarization the strength increased to 27 dB with a superstrate index of 1.50. Good agreement was found with a theoretical model based on beam propagation.

Distributed-feedback fiber laser sensor for simultaneous strain and temperature measurements operating in the radio-frequency domain.

Radio-frequency (rf) beat frequencies between two longitudinal modes and two polarization modes of a birefringent dual-longitudinal-mode moiré distributed-feedback fiber laser are employed to measure strain and temperature simultaneously. Operating entirely in the rf domain, this approach potentially allows one to employ low-cost and precise rf measuring techniques. A strain-temperature cross sensitivity of the strain- and the thermo-optic coefficients, which can be neglected in wavelength-based grating sensors, has been observed. The achieved sensor accuracy was +/-15 microepsilon and +/-0.2 degrees C.

Generation of a 40-GHz pulse stream by pulse multiplication with a sampled fiber Bragg grating.

A sinc-sampled fiber Bragg grating is used to achieve multiplication of the repetition rate of a pulse stream from 10 to 40 GHz. The spectral characteristics of the grating ensure that the resultant pulses-solitons of 3.4-ps width-have the same individual pulse characteristics as those of the input.

40-GHz pulse-train generation at 1.5 mum with a chirped fiber grating as a frequency multiplier.

Pulse-train multiplication based on the temporal Talbot effect in a linearly chirped fiber Bragg grating has been experimentally demonstrated. A 40-GHz repetition-rate, nearly transform-limited 10-ps duration optical pulse train at 1.533 mum has been obtained from a 2.5-GHz mode-locked Er- Yb:glass laser by use of a 100-cm-long linearly chirped apodized fiber grating.

Characterization of fiber distributed-feedback lasers with an index-perturbation method.

We demonstrate the characterization of fiber distributed-feedback lasers by scanning a heat-induced index perturbation along the cavity and by measuring the induced laser frequency shift. The measured shift is shown to be a good indicator for the intensity distribution in the cavity, and the experimental results reveal that the sensitivity of fiber distributed-feedback laser sensors with frequency readout is highly localized near the grating phase-shift position. Use of the characterization data to determine the grating coupling parameter kappa, the polarization dependence of kappa, and birefringence nonuniformities as well as for identification of the order of longitudinal mode operation are discussed and demonstrated experimentally. Asymmetrically phase-shifted lasers with highly directional output are also investigated.

Complex grating structures with uniform phase masks based on the moving fiber-scanning beam technique.

We present experimental results of complex grating structures fabricated with uniform phase masks by the moving fiber-scanning beam approach. Pure apodized gratings with side-mode-suppression levels in excess of 40 dB, self-apodized linearly chirped gratings, and phase shifted gratings with narrow-band transmission peaks have all been realized.

Surface plasmon-polariton waves guided by thin metal films.

Surface plasmon-polariton modes supported by thin metal films surrounded by dissimilar semi-infinite dielectrics are studied. The dispersion of the modes is evaluated, and their characteristics are investigated when the metal film thickness and the superstrate refractive index are varied. Long-range surface plasmon-polaritons are shown to be supported even by highly asymmetric configurations.

Performance of surface-plasma-wave fiber-optic polarizers.

Variations in the TM-like polarization transmission characteristics and polarization extinction ratio of surface-plasma-wave fiber-optic polarizers owing to variations in the depth of polishing and the metal film thickness are presented. The two effects have been isolated in carefully designed experiments and studied separately.

Optical-fiber phase modulator with enhanced modulation efficiency.

A novel piezoelectrically driven optical-fiber phase modulator is described. The modulator has low thermal drift and minimum polarization modulation and is immune to variations in the characteristics of the piezoelectric transducer. The theoretical model of the modulator accurately predicts the experimental performance, showing a phase-modulation enhancement over a wraparound fiber modulator at resonance.