110-pJ and 410-fs pulse at 10 GHz generated by single-stage external fiber compression of optically injection-mode-locked semiconductor optical amplifier fiber laser

Abstract

We demonstrate the high-power amplification and single-stage fiber-based pulse compression of a traveling-wave semiconductor optical amplifier (TWSOA) fiber ring laser (SOAFL), which is optically mode-locked by backward injecting the TWSOA with a dark-optical-comb at repetition frequency of 10 GHz. A negatively chirped SOAFL pulsewidth of 5.4 ps is compensated and shortened to 3.9 ps by a 75-m-long dispersion compensating fiber. With a single-stage pulse compression in a single-mode-fiber spool, the SOAFL pulses with input average power of 1.7 W can further be compressed to a pulsewidth of 410 fs, corresponding to a pulse compressing ratio of nearly ten. The maximum average output power of the amplified SOAFL pulse is up to 1.1 W, corresponding to the peak power and pulse energy of > 0.27 kW and 110 pJ, respectively.