We study the effect of noise on the dynamics of passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers both experimentally and theoretically. A method combining analytical and numerical approaches for estimation of pulse timing jitter is proposed. We investigate how the presence of dynamical features such as wavelength bistability affects timing jitter.
We demonstrate 14.3-attosecond timing jitter [integrated from 10 kHz to 94 MHz offset frequency] optical pulse trains from 188-MHz repetition-rate mode-locked Yb-fiber lasers. In order to minimize the timing jitter, we shorten the non-gain fiber leng
th to shorten the pulsewidth and reduce excessive higher-order nonlinearity and nonlinear chirp in the fiber laser. The measured jitter spectrum is limited by the amplified spontaneous emission limited quantum noise in the 100 kHz - 1 MHz offset frequency range, while it was limited by the relative intensity noise-converted jitter in the lower offset frequency range. This intrinsically low timing jitter enables sub-100-attosecond synchronization between the two mode-locked Yb-fiber lasers over the full Nyquist frequency with a modest 10-kHz locking bandwidth. The demonstrated performance is the lowest timing jitter measured from any free-running mode-locked fiber lasers, comparable to the performance of the lowest-jitter Ti:sapphire solid-state lasers.
In this paper, we analyze the formation and dynamical properties of discrete light bullets (dLBs) in an array of passively mode-locked lasers coupled via evanescent fields in a ring geometry. Using a generic model based upon a system of nearest-neigh
bor coupled Haus master equations we show numerically the existence of dLBs for different coupling strengths. In order to reduce the complexity of the analysis, we approximate the full problem by a reduced set of discrete equations governing the dynamics of the transverse profile of the dLBs. This effective theory allows us to perform a detailed bifurcation analysis via path-continuation methods. In particular, we show the existence of multistable branches of discrete localized states (dLSs), corresponding to different number of active elements in the array. These branches are either independent of each other or are organized into a snaking bifurcation diagram where the width of the dLS grows via a process of successive increase and decrease of the gain. Mechanisms are revealed by which the snaking branches can be created and destroyed as a second parameter, e.g., the linewidth enhancement factor or the coupling strength are varied. For increasing couplings, the existence of moving bright and dark dLSs is also demonstrated.
We consider design optimization of passively mode-locked two-section semiconductor lasers that incorporate intracavity grating spectral filters. Our goal is to develop a method for finding the optimal wavelength location for the filter in order to ma
ximize the region of stable mode-locking as a function of drive current and reverse bias in the absorber section. In order to account for material dispersion in the two sections of the laser, we use analytic approximations for the gain and absorption as a function of carrier density and frequency. Fits to measured gain and absorption curves then provide inputs for numerical simulations based on a large signal accurate delay-differential model of the mode-locked laser. We show how a unique set of model parameters for each value of the drive current and reverse bias voltage can be selected based on the variation of the net gain along branches of steady-state solutions of the model. We demonstrate the validity of this approach by demonstrating qualitative agreement between numerical simulations and the measured current-voltage phase-space of a two-section Fabry-Perot laser. We then show how to adapt this method to determine an optimum location for the spectral filter in a notional device with the same material composition, based on the targeted locking range, and accounting for the modal selectivity of the filter.
We demonstrate ultra-low timing jitter optical pulse trains from free- running, 80 MHz repetition rate, mode-locked Yb-fiber lasers. Timing jitter of various mode-locking conditions at close-to-zero intra-cavity dispersion (-0.004 to +0.002 ps2 range
at 1040 nm center wavelength) is characterized using a sub-20-attosecond-resolution balanced optical cross-correlation method. The measured lowest rms timing jitter is 175 attoseconds when integrated from 10 kHz to 40 MHz (Nyquist frequency) offset frequency range, which corresponds to the record-low timing jitter from free-running mode-locked fiber lasers so far. We also experimentally found the mode-locking conditions of fiber lasers where both ultra-low timing jitter and relative intensity noise can be achieved.
We demonstrate sub-100-attosecond timing jitter optical pulse trains generated from free-running, 77.6-MHz repetition-rate, mode-locked Er-fiber lasers. At -0.002(pm0.001) ps2 net cavity dispersion, the rms timing jitter is 70 as (224 as) integrated
from 10 kHz (1 kHz) to 38.8 MHz offset frequency, when measured by a 24-as-resolution balanced optical cross-correlator. To our knowledge, this result corresponds to the lowest rms timing jitter measured from any mode-locked fiber lasers so far. The measured result also agrees fairly well with the Namiki-Haus analytic model of quantum-limited timing jitter in stretched-pulse fiber lasers.