Microjoule-level all-polarization-maintaining femtosecond fiber source

Abstract

We report on a high-power, high-energy femtosecond fiber source based on direct amplification of parabolic pulses from an environmentally stable passively mode-locked fiber oscillator in an Yb-doped single-polarization photonic crystal fiber. The special pulse shape allows for the generation of high-quality femtosecond pulses beyond nonlinearity limits. The system delivers a pulse energy of $1.2\mu \mathrm{J}$ ($21\mathrm{W}$ average power) at a repetition rate of $17\mathrm{MHz}$ and a pulse duration of $240\mathrm{fs}$ in a linearly polarized beam with diffraction-limited quality.

© 2006 Optical Society of America