From basic research to industrial partnership

laser

Supercontinuum Generation and Fiber Lasers

Research Project

Supercontinuum Generation in Optical Fibers
continuum3

In 2002, we demonstrated an original scheme that allows for the efficient supercontinuum generation, based on a visible microchip laser and a conventional DSF fiber, instead of using a bulky femtosecond laser and a photonic crystal fiber. In view of their potential applications for a wide range of optical measurement systems, we promoted our compact "white-light" laser and developed a commercially-available reliable SC source in partnership with Laserlabs Company. In addition, we continue studying the physics of supercontinuum generation in both microstructured and highly-nonlinear fibers in the nanosecond and continuous-wave pumping regime. As an example, we recently demonstrated a CW-SC source with up to 2,5 mW/nm over the 1200nm-2000nm band.

Raman Fiber Lasers

Cascade Raman

Cascade Raman

Raman Fiber Lasers (RFL) were developed specifically to meet the rapidly growing demand of the telecommunication industry for highly efficient, compact, high power sources at selectable wavelengths. These new laser sources are ideal in advanced dense wavelength division multiplexed (DWDM) systems which use distributed Raman amplification in transmission fibers to improve noise characteristics, flatten gain, and increase span length. RFLs are nested all-fiber Fabry-Perot resonators made by using Bragg gratings and in which stimulated Raman scattering converts a high-power continuous-wave source near 1 µm into a cascade of down-shifted Stokes frequencies. Thanks to both the wide Raman gain spectrum and to the flexibility in the design of the fiber Bragg gratings, single or multiple high-power output wavelengths can be generated in the 1 µm - 2µm range. In collaboration with Alcatel-Lucent and The Free University of Brussels, we theoretically and experimentally studied the role of chromatic dispersion in RFLs and demonstrated new laser dynamics with enhanced stability.
In addition, we recently implemented in Raman fiber laser a passive mode-locking technique based on dissipative four-wave mixing that enables the generation of ultra-high repetition rate soliton-like pulse trains (>100 GHz).

Persons involved

T. Sylvestre (CR, 30%), H. Maillotte (DR, 25%), A. Boucon (DOC, 100%), J.C. Beugnot (DOC, 40%), A. Mussot (DOC, 20%), A. Vedadi (DOC, 10%), L. Provino (DOC, 25%).

Collaborations

The University of Auckland New-Zealand, Université Alcalá, Madrid, Espagne,
Université Libre de Bruxelles, Alcatel-Lucent R&I Marcoussis, LPUB Dijon, Laserlabs Etampes. Université Technologique de Lille

Selected Papers

  • "Passively mode-locked Raman fiber laser with 100 GHz repetition rate," Jochen Schröder, Stéphane Coen, and Frédérique Vanholsbeeck, and Thibaut Sylvestre Optics Letters, VOL. 31, NO. 23, page 3489-3491 (2006).
  • "Supercontinuum generation using continuous-wave multi-wavelength pumping and dispersion management," T. Sylvestre, A. Vedadi, H. Maillotte, F. vanholsbeeck and S. Coen, Opt. Lett. Vol. 31, No. 13, pp2036-2038, July 1 (2006)
  • "Tailoring CW supercontinuum generation in microstructured fibers with two-zero dispersion wavelengths," Arnaud Mussot, Maxime Beaugeois and Mohamed Bouazaoui and Thibaut Sylvestre, to appear in Optics Express (2007)
  • "Numerical modeling of a four-wave mixing-assisted Raman fiber laser", F. Vanholsbeeck, S. Coen, Ph. Emplit, C. Martinelli, F. Leplingard, and T. Sylvestre, Optics Letters 29, n°23, 2719-2721 (Dec. 2004).
  • " Self-induced modulational instability laser revisited : normal dispersion and dark pulse train generation”, T. Sylvestre, S. Coen, Ph. Emplit, and M. Haelterman, Optics Letters 27, 482-484 (2002).
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