Two-stage optical pulse compression for a mode-locking SOAFL driven by an asymmetric-duty-cycle square wave

• Published in: Optics and laser technology 2012-09, Vol.44 (6), p.1733-1737
• Main Authors: Lin, Kuen-Cherng, Lin, Yu-Chan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fiber laser; Pulse compression; Ultra-short pulse
• ISSN: 0030-3992; 1879-2545
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optlastec.2011.12.021

We demonstrate ultra-short optical pulses by using a two-stage compression of pulses from a mode-locking SOAFL driven by the injection of a periodic square wave with an asymmetric duty cycle. Through cascading a linear compressor of 110-m dispersion compensation fiber and a soliton compressor of 12-m single-mode fiber, the optical pulses can be shortened to 55fs with a timing jitter of 0.45ps. In the ninth-order soliton compression, the spectral linewidth of the mode-locking SOAFL pulses can be broadened by the self-phase-modulation effect. Also, the compression performance includes a time-bandwidth product up to 0.437 and a pulse-compressing ratio of 54. ► The proposed optical pulse compression technique is to improve the mode-locking SOAFL-based optical pulses with an externally-injected NRZ-like asymmetric-duty-cycle square-wave data stream in a more simple efficient way. All optical components used in the system are commercially available. ► The SPM effect on pulse jitter and pulsewidth in the optical pulse compressor cascaded by a DCF fiber and a SMF fiber is investigated empirically. We believe that it is a practical and useful work for this field. ► The linear compression of optical pulses by a DCF fiber for the first stage and the ninth-order soliton compression by a SMF fiber for the second stage are cascaded to narrow the optical pulse to 55fs with a timing jitter of 0.45ps. ► The two-stage pulse compression provides a time-bandwidth product up to 0.437 and a pulse-compressing ratio up to 54. The characteristic of the optical pulses can be improved by using commercially available optical components.