Method and system for tunable pulsed laser source
View Patent ↗A tunable pulsed laser source comprising a seed source adapted to generate a seed signal and an optical circulator. The optical circulator includes a first port coupled to the seed source, a second port, and a third port. The laser source also includes an amplitude modulator characterized by a first side and a second side. The first side is coupled to the second port of the optical circulator. The laser source further includes a first optical amplifier characterized by an input end and a reflective end including a spectral-domain reflectance filter. The input end is coupled to the second side of the amplitude modulator. Moreover, the laser source includes a second optical amplifier coupled to the third port of the optical circulator.
1. A pulsed optical source comprising:
a laser operable to generate a continuous wave optical beam;
an optical circulator including a first port coupled to the continuous wave optical beam, a second port, and a third port;
an amplitude modulator having a first input/output port and a second input/output port, wherein the first input/output port is coupled to the second port of the optical circulator; and
a double-pass optical fiber amplifier having an input/output port and a reflective portion, wherein;
the double-pass optical fiber amplifier comprises a first rare-earth doped optical fiber; and
the input/output port is coupled to the second input/output port of the amplitude modulator;
a first pump coupled to the double-pass optical fiber amplifier;
a single-pass optical fiber amplifier coupled to the third port of the optical circulator, wherein the single-pass optical fiber amplifier comprises a second rare-earth doped optical fiber; and
a second pump coupled to the single-pass optical fiber amplifier.
2. The pulsed laser source of claim 1 wherein the laser comprises a semiconductor laser.
3. The pulsed laser source of claim 2 wherein the semiconductor laser comprises an FBG-stabilized semiconductor laser.
4. The pulsed laser source of claim 1 wherein the laser comprises at least one of a solid-state laser or a fiber laser.
5. The pulsed laser source of claim 1 wherein the amplitude modulator comprises a Mach-Zehnder interferometric amplitude modulator adapted to perform time-domain transmission filtering of the continuous wave optical beam.
6. The pulsed laser source of claim 1 wherein rare-earth doping in the first rare-earth doped optical fiber comprises a mixture of one or more rare-earth elements including one or more of Ytterbium, Erbium, Thulium, Holmium, Praseodymium, or Neodymium.
7. The pulsed laser source of claim 1 wherein the reflective portion of the double-pass optical fiber amplifier comprises a fiber Bragg grating.
8. The pulsed laser source of claim 1 wherein the double-pass optical fiber amplifier comprises at least one of a double-clad or multiple-clad fiber.
9. The pulsed laser source of claim 1 wherein the double-pass optical fiber amplifier comprises a polarization-maintaining fiber.
10. The pulsed laser source of claim 1 wherein rare-earth doping in the second rare-earth doped optical fiber comprises a mixture of one or more rare-earth elements.
11. The pulsed laser source of claim 10 wherein the one or more rare-earth elements include one or more of Ytterbium, Erbium, Thulium, Holmium, Praseodymium, or Neodymium.
12. The pulsed laser source of claim 1 wherein the single-pass optical fiber amplifier comprises at least one of a double-clad or multiple-clad fiber.
13. The pulsed laser source of claim 1 wherein the single-pass optical fiber amplifier comprises a polarization-maintaining fiber.
14. A pulsed multi-amplifier laser system comprising:
an optical circulator having an input port, an input/output port, and an output port;
a laser seed source operable to output a continuous wave laser beam, wherein the laser seed source is optically coupled to the input port of the optical circulator;
an amplitude modulator optically coupled to the input/output port of the optical circulator, wherein the amplitude modulator is operable to generate pulses from the continuous wave laser beam;
a first optical amplifier coupled to the amplitude modulator;
a first optical pump coupled to the first optical amplifier;
a second optical amplifier coupled to the output port of the optical circulator; and
a second optical pump coupled to the second optical amplifier.
15. The pulsed multi-amplifier laser system of claim 14 wherein the first optical amplifier comprises a rare-earth doped double-pass optical fiber amplifier.
16. The pulsed multi-amplifier laser system of claim 15 wherein the rare-earth doped double-pass optical fiber amplifier comprises at least one of a double-clad or multiple-clad fiber.
17. The pulsed multi-amplifier laser system of claim 14 wherein the second optical amplifier comprises a rare-earth doped single-pass optical fiber amplifier.
18. The pulsed multi-amplifier laser system of claim 17 wherein the rare-earth doped single-pass optical fiber amplifier comprises at least one of a double-clad or multiple-clad fiber.
19. The pulsed multi-amplifier laser system of claim 14 wherein the amplitude modulator comprises a Mach-Zehnder interferometric amplitude modulator.