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Automatic mode-locking fiber lasers: progress and perspectives

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Abstract

Polarization control in nonlinear polarization rotation based mode-locked fiber lasers is a long-term challenge. Suffering from the polarization drifts induced by environmental disturbances, nonlinear polarization rotation based mode-locked fiber lasers is difficult in continuously operating under the desired pulsation regime thereby substantially hindering their utilizations. The appearance of automatic mode-locking techniques brings the light in addressing this challenge. Combining with various algorithms and electrical polarization control, automatic mode-locking techniques resolve the dilemma of nonlinear polarization rotation based mode-locked fiber lasers. We review the research progress of automatic mode-locking techniques in detail. Furthermore, we comment on the perspectives and potential applications of automatic mode-locking techniques.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61575122).

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  1. State Key Lab of Advanced Communication Systems and Networks, Shanghai Institute for Advanced Communication and Data Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Guoqing Pu, Li Zhang, Weisheng Hu & Lilin Yi

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  1. Guoqing Pu
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Pu, G., Zhang, L., Hu, W. et al. Automatic mode-locking fiber lasers: progress and perspectives. Sci. China Inf. Sci. 63, 160404 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11432-020-2883-0

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