Flexible and stable supercontinuum source
US9020000B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 10, 2013 |
| Grant date | Apr 28, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 10, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/1106
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Optical pulse source comprising optical pump laser for generating optical pump pulses at repetition rate Rf; a nonlinear optical element comprising an optical fiber for generating supercontinuum pulses; a gating device provided operable to selectively control the launch of pump pulses into the optical fiber at a reduced, lower repetition rate Rr=Rf/N in order to generate supercontinuum pulses at different user selectable repetition rates lower than the pump pulse repetition rate; first and second optical amplifiers; wavelength tunable optical bandpass filter; wherein the optical fiber can generate supercontinuum pulses having a supercontinuum spanning from below 450 nm to greater than 2000 nm; and wherein said optical pulse source comprises an all-fiber source wherein said optical pump laser comprises a fiber oscillator, said gating device comprises a fiber coupled optical modulator, and the optical pump pulses are launched into the optical fiber without the use of free space optics.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.