Pulse amplification and shaping using a nonlinear loop mirror that incorporates a saturable gain.
We describe the pulse-amplification characteristics of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier and nonlinear loop mirror combination. The low switching power (less than a milliwatt peak) afforded by high amplifier gain and long loop length has permitted the efficient amplification (17 dB) and intensity filtering of mode-locked semi-conductor laser pulses. In addition, saturation of the amplifier gain is shown to result in amplification and shaping characteristics that are remarkably insensitive to the input power.
Smith
K
K
Greer
E J
EJ
Doran
N J
NJ
Bird
D M
DM
Cameron
K H
KH