Multi-wavelength narrow-linewidth single-frequency optical fiber laser source for laser radar system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10693274-B2
Application number	US-201616343412-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 19, 2016
Priority date	Oct 21, 2016
Publication date	Jun 23, 2020
Grant date	Jun 23, 2020

Abstract

A multi-wavelength single-frequency optical fiber laser source for a laser radar system includes a resonant cavity composed of a high-reflectivity chirped optical fiber grating, a high gain optical fiber and a low-reflectivity chirped optical fiber grating, a single-mode semiconductor pump laser served as a pump light source, an optical wavelength division multiplexer, an optical coupler, an optical isolator, an optical circulator, an optical filter module, and a semiconductor optical amplifier. The pump light source performs optical fiber core pumping with respect to the high gain optical fiber. A portion of the wide-spectrum laser is filtered by the optical filter module to obtain a wavelength corresponding to a specific central frequency. Multi-wavelength laser lasing with a narrow linewidth and single longitudinal mode is implemented by combining a short linear resonant cavity structure and the optical filter module.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A multi-wavelength single-frequency optical fiber laser source for a laser radar system, comprising:
a high-reflectivity chirped optical fiber grating;
a high gain optical fiber;
a low-reflectivity chirped optical fiber grating;
an optical wavelength division multiplexer;
a single-mode semiconductor pump laser;
an optical coupler;
an optical isolator;
an optical circulator;
an optical filter module; and
a semiconductor optical amplifier,
wherein the low-reflectivity chirped optical fiber grating and the high-reflectivity chirped optical fiber grating form front and back cavity mirrors of a laser resonant cavity to realize laser oscillation in the cavity, the high gain optical fiber is used as a gain medium of the laser resonant cavity, the high-reflectivity chirped optical fiber grating, the high gain optical fiber and the low-reflectivity chirped optical fiber grating form the laser resonant cavity, pump light generated by the single-mode semiconductor pump laser is inputted via a pumping end of the optical wavelength division multiplexer into an optical fiber core of the high gain optical fiber via the low-reflectivity chirped optical fiber grating for optical fiber core pumping, a portion of the laser enters the optical filter module via the optical circulator after the laser outputted by the laser resonant cavity passes through the optical coupler, after selecting a wavelength corresponding to a nominal central frequency via the optical filter module, the laser is injected back into the laser resonant cavity via the optical circulator and the optical coupler, combined with a short linear resonant cavity structure, the resonant cavity after self-injection locking lases single-frequency optical fiber laser with a plurality of wavelengths corresponding to the nominal central frequency; and a single-frequency optical fiber laser signal enters the optical coupler via a signal end of the optical wavelength division multiplexer, another portion of the laser outputted by the optical coupler is outputted from an output end of the optical isolator, and the outputted multi-wavelength laser is subjected to noise suppression via the semiconductor optical amplifier.

2. The multi-wavelength narrow-linewidth single-frequency optical fiber laser source for a laser radar system according to claim 1 , wherein the optical filter module structurally comprises an optical filter or a combination of multiple optical filters.

3. The multi-wavelength narrow-linewidth single-frequency optical fiber laser source for a laser radar system according to claim 1 , wherein a free spectral range of the optical filter module is 0.5 nm to 500 nm, and more than two wavelengths are comprised in an output wavelength.

4. The multi-wavelength narrow-linewidth single-frequency optical fiber laser source for a laser radar system according to claim 1 , wherein the optical fiber laser source is a short linear cavity structure.

5. The multi-wavelength narrow-linewidth single-frequency optical fiber laser source for a laser radar system according to claim 1 , wherein the low-reflectivity chirped optical fiber grating has a low reflection to an exciting light signal, with a reflectivity of 10% to 90%, and a 3 dB reflection spectrum width of 1 nm to 40 nm; while the high-reflectivity chirped optical fiber grating is highly transparent to the pump light, with a transmissivity greater than 90%, and is highly reflective to the exciting light signal, with the reflectivity greater than 95%, and the 3 dB reflection spectrum width of 1 nm to 40 nm.

6. The multi-wavelength narrow-linewidth single-frequency optical fiber laser source for a laser radar system according to claim 1 , wherein a gain per unit length of the high gain optical fiber is greater than 0.2 dB/cm, and a length of the optical fiber is 0.5 cm to 100 cm.

7. The multi-wavelength narrow-linewidth single-frequency optical fiber laser source for a laser radar system according to claim 1 , wherein the optical filter module is an Fabry-Pérot filter or an optical fiber grating filter.

Assignees

• Univ South China Tech

Inventors

• Xu Shanhui
• Yang Zhongmin
• Zhang Yuning
• Feng Zhouming
• Yang Changsheng

Classifications

• H01S3/0675 Primary

  Resonators including a grating structure, e.g. distributed Bragg reflectors [DBR] or distributed feedback [DFB] fibre lasers · CPC title

• H01S3/06708

  Constructional details of the fibre, e.g. compositions, cross-section, shape or tapering (optical fibres as passive waveguides G02B6/02) · CPC title

• H01S3/094084

  with pump light recycling, i.e. with reinjection of the unused pump light, e.g. by reflectors or circulators · CPC title

• H01S3/06716

  Fibre compositions (per se C03C13/04)or doping with active elements (lasing materials in general H01S3/14) · CPC title

• H01S3/08027

  by a filter, e.g. a Fabry-Perot filter is used for wavelength setting · CPC title