Paper
25 October 2016 Environmental stability of actively mode locked fibre lasers
Author Affiliations +
Proceedings Volume 9992, Emerging Imaging and Sensing Technologies; 99920D (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2242173
Event: SPIE Security + Defence, 2016, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Abstract
Lasers developed for defence related applications typically encounter issues with reliability and meeting desired specification when taken from the lab to the product line. In particular the harsh environmental conditions a laser has to endure can lead to difficulties. This paper examines a specific class of laser, namely actively mode-locked fibre lasers (AMLFLs), and discusses the impact of environmental perturbations. Theoretical and experimental results have assisted in developing techniques to improve the stability of a mode-locked pulse train for continuous operation. Many of the lessons learned in this research are applicable to a much broader category of lasers.

The AMLFL consists of a fibre ring cavity containing a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), an isolator, an output coupler, a circulator, a bandpass filter and a modulator. The laser produces a train of 6-ps pulses at 800 nm with a repetition rate in the GHz regime and a low-noise profile. This performance is realisable in a laboratory environment. However, even small changes in temperature on the order of 0.1 °C can cause a collapse of mode-locked dynamics such that the required stability cannot be achieved without suitable feedback. Investigations into the root causes of this failure were performed by changing the temperature of components that constitute the laser resonator and observing their properties.

Several different feedback mechanisms have been investigated to improve laser stability in an environment with dynamic temperature changes. Active cavity length control will be discussed along with DC bias control of the Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM).
© (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Calum H. Hill, Stephen T. Lee, Derryck T. Reid, Ghaya Baili, and John Davies "Environmental stability of actively mode locked fibre lasers", Proc. SPIE 9992, Emerging Imaging and Sensing Technologies, 99920D (25 October 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2242173
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KEYWORDS
Mode locking

Temperature metrology

Fiber lasers

Laser stabilization

Optical isolators

Laser development

Fiber Bragg gratings

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