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The effect of transverse mode instability is a limitation for the power scaling of fiber laser systems, that can originate due to heat caused by stimulated Raman scattering. In this contribution, we experimentally investigate the threshold of transverse mode instability caused by stimulated Raman scattering in a passive fiber. Both, the Stokes seed power and the fiber length of a core-pumped Raman fiber amplifier are varied to systematically study this effect. Mode resolved measurements reveal that the threshold occurs at approximately the same Stokes output power for all tested configurations, independent of the total Raman conversion efficiency. These results increase the understanding of this type of mode instability and show which parameters are important for a further power scaling of high-power Raman fiber amplifiers.

The development of highly customized technical devices is a decisive feature of technically complex setups, as frequently observed in quantum experiments. This paper describes the development and realization of an Yb-doped all-fiber amplifier system designed for such a special application, more specifically, an on-demand single-photon source based on four-wave mixing with rubidium Rydberg atoms. The laser is capable of generating bandwidth-limited configurable nanosecond pulses up to peak powers of >100 W and with pulse repetition frequencies (PRF) between 50 Hz and 1 MHz at selectable wavelengths (1008-1024 nm). Especially the amplification of the 1010 nm reference seed at the lower edge of the amplification range for Yb-based fibers is challenging and tends to produce amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) at higher wavelengths. To achieve high ASE suppression, particularly at low pulse repetition frequencies, two acousto-optical modulators (AOM) are utilized both for pulse picking and for temporal filtering. The synchronization between pulse repetition frequency and AOM driver signal allows pulse amplitude fluctuations to be kept below 1%, while ASE is suppressed by at least 85 dB (PRF = 1 MHz) and 65 dB (PRF = 1 kHz).

In this contribution we demonstrate the generation of a frequency comb with sub-picosecond pulses by seeding an amplifier with two narrow linewidth laser diodes separated by 50 GHz. The results are achieved in the normal dispersion regime with parameters where the forming of the comb is dominated by self-phase modulation. A numerical simulation is performed with different nonlinear interaction lengths, whereas the experimental realization is done in a high power Yb-doped fiber amplifier to generate the necessary nonlinearity. An output power of 750 W with compression to sub-picosecond pulse durations is shown. Further perspectives towards higher power levels and larger comb-line spacing are discussed.

We present modal content measurements (S 2 ) of two different negative curvature hollow-core photonic crystal fibers: a kagome fiber and an ice cream cone fiber. Their sensitivity towards mode matching, bending and polarization is analyzed. For the kagome fiber, a higher order mode suppression of 17dB under optimal conditions was achieved, and for the ice cream cone fiber there was a suppression of up to 42dB. Polarization turned out to be a critical parameter for good higher order mode suppression in both fibers.

We introduce and experimentally validate a pulse picking technique based on a travelling-wave-type acousto-optic modulator (AOM) having the AOM carrier frequency synchronized to the repetition rate of the original pulse train. As a consequence, the phase noise characteristic of the original pulse train is largely preserved, rendering this technique suitable for applications requiring carrier-envelope phase stabilization. In a proof-of-principle experiment, the 1030-nm spectral part of an 74-MHz, carrier-envelope phase stable Ti:sapphire oscillator is amplified and reduced in pulse repetition frequency by a factor of two, maintaining an unprecedentedly low carrier-envelope phase noise spectral density of below 68 mrad. Furthermore, a comparative analysis reveals that the pulse-picking-induced additional amplitude noise is minimized, when the AOM is operated under synchronicity. The proposed scheme is particularly suitable when the down-picked repetition rate is still in the multi-MHz-range, where Pockels cells cannot be applied due to piezoelectric ringing.

We present a self-starting passively mode-locked fiber laser operating in the chirped-pulse regime for the first time. A chirped fiber Bragg grating in the cavity provides positive dispersion with negligible nonlinearity. The laser generates positively-chirped pulses with a pulse duration of 22 ps at a repetition rate of 44 MHz, which are compressible down to 1.5 ps. We believe that the presented approach reveals a pulse energy scaling potential of mode-locked fiber lasers as nonlinear effects are significantly diminished compared the other known operation regimes.

We report on environmentally stable mode-locked Yb-doped all-fiber lasers operating in the wave-breaking-free and stretched-pulse regime. The compact linear cavity is constructed with saturable absorber mirror directly glued to the fibers end-facet as nonlinear mode-locking mechanism and chirped fiber Bragg grating for dispersion management, thus, without any free-space optics. In the wave-breaking-free regime the laser generates positively-chirped pulses with a pulse duration of 15.4 ps. These pulses are compressed to 218 fs in a hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber spliced to the output port. Adaptation of dispersion management has led to operation in the stretched-pulse regime, where a parabolic spectral profile is obtained as well. In this regime pulses are compressible to 213 fs. Numerical simulations are presented which confirm the wave-breaking-free and stretched-pulse evolution inside the fiber laser cavity. Both regimes are compared in terms of pulse quality.