title: Regenerative mode locking via superposition of higher-order cavity modes in composite cavity fiber lasers.
abstract: We demonstrate a new method of optical pulse generation in regeneratively mode-locked fiber ring lasers (RML-FRLs). The method is based on generating dominant longitudinal modes in the fiber ring cavity by means of a composite cavity structure and their intermode beating at the photodetector incorporated in the regenerative feedback loop. The beat signal is then used as a modulation signal to generate optical pulses in a regenerative mode-locking scheme, thereby eliminating the requirement for a high-Q rf bandpass filter in a conventional RML-FRL. Optical pulses with a repetition frequency of 3.6 GHz have been generated successfully with a supermode noise suppression of more than 48 dB and a low phase noise of -85 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset from the carrier frequency.
authors.affiliation: Kansai Advanced Research Centre, Communications Research Laboratory, 588-2, Iwaoka-cho, Nishi-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2492, Japan. Kamal.gupta@dsto.defence.gov.au
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Onodera