Optical pulse sources
US8848750B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 9, 2008 |
| Grant date | Sep 30, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 9, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/1106
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An optical pulse source comprising a DPSS pump laser, a photonic crystal fiber (PCF), and acousto-optic modulator (AOM) gating device is disclosed. The pump pulses are coupled through lenses to the AOM gating device, which is synchronized to the pump laser and is operable to gate the pump pulses to a reduced repetition rate Rr=Rf/N, where Rf is the pump laser fundamental frequency. The pulses from the AOM are injected via optics into the PCF. Propagation through the PCF causes the pulses to broaden spectrally to produce optical supercontinuum pulses. An optical pulse source that further includes an acousto-optical tunable filter (AOTF) operable to convert the optical supercontinuum pulses into wavelength variable output pulses is also provided. A method of scaling the energy of the optical supercontinuum pulses is also disclosed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.