All-fiber laser frequency mixer and frequency-mixing fiber laser thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9588399-B2
Application number	US-201615058194-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 2, 2016
Priority date	May 14, 2014
Publication date	Mar 7, 2017
Grant date	Mar 7, 2017

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of laser frequency-mixing technologies, and in particular, to an all-fiber laser frequency mixer and a frequency-mixing fiber laser thereof. In the all-fiber laser frequency mixer and the frequency-mixing fiber laser thereof, a graded index fiber coupling technology is used to implement an all-fiber laser frequency mixer, and the all-fiber laser frequency mixer is further combined with a fiber laser to implement an all-fiber frequency-mixing fiber laser. The apparatus can implement all-fiber frequency doubling, sum frequency or difference frequency on any one or two of the following linearly polarized narrow linewidth fiber lasers: a 1 μm fiber laser, a 1.5 μm fiber laser, a 1.9 μm thulium-doped fiber laser, a 2 μm thulium holmium co-doped fiber laser, a Raman fiber laser, and a frequency-mixing fiber laser and implement an all-fiber fiber laser covering ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, mid-infrared bands.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An all-fiber laser frequency mixer, comprising the following parts coupled in sequence:
a laser frequency mixer input fiber, configured to input fundamental frequency light used for frequency-mixing;
a first coreless silica fiber, configured to perform beam expanding transmission on the fundamental frequency light that is input by the laser frequency mixer input fiber;
a first graded index (GRIN) fiber, configured to perform collimation and focusing on the fundamental frequency light that is input after the beam expanding transmission by the first coreless silica fiber;
a second coreless silica fiber, configured to perform focusing transmission on the fundamental frequency light after the collimation and focusing by the first Grin fiber;
a frequency-mixing crystal, configured to perform nonlinear frequency conversion on the fundamental frequency light that is input after the focusing transmission by the second coreless silica fiber, and generate a frequency-mixing laser;
a third coreless silica fiber, configured to perform beam expanding transmission on the frequency-mixing laser generated by the frequency-mixing crystal;
a second Grin fiber, configured to perform collimation and focusing on the frequency-mixing laser that is input after the beam expanding transmission by the third coreless silica fiber;
a fourth coreless silica fiber, configured to perform focusing transmission on the frequency-mixing laser after the collimation and focusing by the second Grin fiber;
a laser frequency mixer output fiber, configured to transmit the frequency-mixing laser that is input after the focusing transmission by the fourth coreless silica fiber; and
a fiber end cap, configured to prevent system damage caused by end face reflection.

2. The all-fiber laser frequency mixer according to claim 1 , wherein the fundamental frequency light is a linearly polarized narrow linewidth laser.

3. The all-fiber laser frequency mixer according to claim 1 , wherein the laser frequency mixer input fiber is a polarization-maintaining fiber.

4. The all-fiber laser frequency mixer according to claim 1 , wherein the laser frequency mixer output fiber is a polarization-maintaining fiber whose cutoff wavelength is smaller than a wavelength of the frequency-mixing laser.

5. The all-fiber laser frequency mixer according to claim 1 , wherein a phase-matching wavelength of the frequency-mixing crystal is consistent with a wavelength of the fundamental frequency light.

6. A frequency-mixing fiber laser, comprising the all-fiber laser frequency mixer according to claim 1 and further comprising a first fiber laser and a first polarization dependent fiber isolator, wherein:
the first fiber laser is configured to provide fundamental frequency light used for frequency-mixing;
an input end of the first polarization dependent fiber isolator is coupled with an output end of the first fiber laser; and
an output end of the first polarization dependent fiber isolator is coupled with the laser frequency mixer input fiber.

7. The frequency-mixing fiber laser according to claim 6 , further comprising a second fiber laser, a second polarization dependent fiber isolator, and a wavelength division multiplexer, wherein:
the second fiber laser is configured to provide fundamental frequency light used for frequency-mixing;
an input end of the second polarization dependent fiber isolator is coupled with an output end of the second fiber laser; and
the output end of the first polarization dependent fiber isolator and an output end of the second polarization dependent fiber isolator are coupled with the laser frequency mixer input fiber by using the wavelength division multiplexer.

8. The frequency-mixing fiber laser according to claim 6 , wherein a phase-matching wavelength of the frequency-mixing crystal is consistent with operating wavelengths of the first fiber laser and the second fiber laser.

9. The frequency-mixing fiber laser according to claim 6 , wherein fibers of the input end and the output end of the first polarization dependent fiber isolator are polarization-maintaining fibers of which parameters are the same as a fiber parameter of the output end of the first fiber laser; fibers of the input end and the output end of the second polarization dependent fiber isolator are polarization-maintaining fibers of which parameters are the same as a fiber parameter of the output end of the second fiber laser.

10. The frequency-mixing fiber laser according to claim 6 , wherein the first fiber laser and the second fiber laser are linearly polarized narrow linewidth fiber lasers.

11. The frequency-mixing fiber laser according to claim 6 , wherein a fiber of an input end of the frequency-mixing crystal and a fiber of an output end of the wavelength division multiplexer are polarization-maintaining fibers with same parameters.

Assignees

• Univ Shenzhen

Inventors

• Ruan Shuangchen
• Guo Chunyu
• Du Chenlin
• Ouyang Deqin
• Lin Huaiqin
• Liu Weiqi

Classifications

• H01S3/2391

  emitting at different wavelengths · CPC title

• H01S3/0092

  Nonlinear frequency conversion, e.g. second harmonic generation [SHG] or sum- or difference-frequency generation outside the laser cavity (nonlinear frequency conversion per se G02F1/35) · CPC title

• G02B6/2938

  for multiplexing or demultiplexing, i.e. combining or separating wavelengths, e.g. 1xN, NxM · CPC title

• G02B6/262 Primary

  Optical details of coupling light into, or out of, or between fibre ends, e.g. special fibre end shapes or associated optical elements · CPC title

• G02F1/353

  Frequency conversion, i.e. wherein a light beam is generated with frequency components different from those of the incident light beams · CPC title