LASERS / Optical Fiber Lasers 475

Bridges WB (2000) Ion lasers – the early years. IEEE Dunn MH and Ross JN (1976) The argon ion laser. In:
Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics 6: Sanders JH and Stenholm S (eds) Progress in
885– 898. Quantum Electronics, vol. 4, pp. 233– 269. New York:
Davis CC and King TA (1975) Gaseous ion lasers. In: Pergamon.
Goodwin DW (ed.) Advances in Quantum Electronics, Weber MJ (2000) Handbook of Laser Wavelengths.
vol. 3, pp. 169 – 469. New York: Academic Press. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Optical Fiber Lasers

G E Town, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia discontinuities in the waveguide such as in Bragg
grating filters or at fiber ends. The reader is referred
N N Akhmediev, Australian National University, to Fiber Gratings for more details on fiber Bragg
ACT, Australia gratings.
q 2005, Elsevier Ltd. All Rights Reserved. The main advantages of optical fiber lasers are
derived from the confinement of the pump and signal
in a small optical waveguide. In contrast with bulk
Optical fiber lasers were first demonstrated in the lasers, the pump intensity in the fiber waveguide is
1960s, and since then have developed to become largely independent of the laser length, resulting in
versatile optical sources with many desirable proper- large amplifier gain and low laser threshold, even for
ties. Aided by developments in associated technol- gain media with small absorption and emission cross-
ogies, such as fiber design and fabrication methods, sections. The large gain enables lossy elements such as
semiconductor pump diode technology, and fiber- optical fiber-coupled devices and bulk optical
coupled and in-fiber components such as Bragg elements to be incorporated into the laser cavity,
grating filters, optical fiber lasers now compete providing additional control over the optical signal
with other laser technologies in many applications, being generated. To obtain a large gain optical fiber
from telecommunications to materials processing. amplifiers must usually be relatively long (i.e., from
An optical fiber laser is fundamentally an optical several centimeters to many meters), and so the linear
oscillator, which converts input pump power to and nonlinear properties of the fiber waveguide can
coherent optical output power at one or more well- have a significant influence on the optical signal being
defined wavelengths. Optical oscillators require two generated, resulting in some interesting and useful
basic elements: optical gain, and optical feedback. phenomena, e.g., as in soliton fiber lasers. The reader
For sustained oscillation to occur the round-trip is referred to Fiber and Guided Wave Optics: Optical
gain in the laser cavity must be unity, and the round- Fiber Cables, for fiber-based components, to Fiber
trip phase a multiple of 2p. In optical fiber lasers the and Guided Wave Optics: Dispersion, Light Propa-
optical gain is provided by an optical fiber amplifier gation, and Nonlinear Effects (Basics), for a review of
using one or a combination of fundamental physical the linear and nonlinear properties of optical fibers,
processes, e.g., stimulated emission, stimulated and to Solitons: Soliton Communication Systems, and
scattering, or nonlinear parametric processes. Early Temporal Solitons, for the theory and applications of
fiber amplifiers used stimulated Raman scattering to temporal solitons.
produce optical gain; however, rare-earth-doped Whilst optical fibers may be fabricated in a range of
fiber amplifiers, in which gain is provided by materials, including polymer and crystalline
stimulated emission, are now more common. The materials, most fibers and fiber lasers are currently
reader is referred to Optical Amplifiers: Erbrium made of silica containing rare-earth ion dopants – see
Doped Fiber Amplifiers for Lightwave Systems, for Fiber and Guided Wave Optics: Fabrication of
more details on doped fiber amplifiers, and to Optical Fiber, for details. Lasers in silica optical
Scattering: Stimulated Scattering, Nonlinear Optics, fiber have much in common with other glass-host
Applications: Raman Lasers, Optical Parametric lasers, including a wide range of potential pump and
Devices: Optical Parametric Oscillators (Pulsed), lasing wavelengths, and broadband absorption and
and Scattering: Raman Scattering, for more details gain due to homogeneous and inhomogeneous broad-
on stimulated scattering and parametric gain pro- ening of the lasing energy levels in the amorphous
cesses. Optical feedback may be provided in two glass host. For example, erbium-doped amplifiers in
fundamental ways, e.g., by using a closed ring of alumino-silicate glass fibers at room temperature
fiber, or from reflections from nonuniformities and have lasing transitions with homogeneous and
476 LASERS / Optical Fiber Lasers

Table 1 Commonly used pump and signal transitions in rare-earth doped fiber lasers

Rare earth dopant Pump wavelengths [nm] Signal wavelengths [nm] Excited state lifetime [ms] Energy levels

Praseodymium 480, 585 885, 1080 0.1 4

Neodymium 590, 800 920 (900–950) 0.5 3
1060 (1055–1140) 4
Samarium 488 651 1.5 4
Holmium 455, 650, 1150 2040 0.6 3
Erbium 800, 975, 1480 1550 (1530–1610) 10 3
Thulium 790, 1210 (1060– 1320) 1480 (1460–1520)
1850 (1650–2050) 0.3 3
Ytterbium 920 (840–980) 975 0.8 3
1040 (1010–1160) 4

Figure 1 Example of a simple all-fiber optical oscillator. The rare-earth doped fiber provides optical gain, and the Bragg gratings
provide narrowband optical feedback.

inhomogeneous linewidths of several nanometers, range of possible lasing wavelengths. One grating
and can be optimized to provide around 30 dB gain must have a reflectivity less than unity to allow a
over an 80 nm bandwidth centered around 1570 nm. proportion of the lasing signal to be coupled out of
The large gain-bandwidth is useful for achieving the laser cavity. At threshold, the gain in the amplifier
either wide tunability of the lasing wavelength and/or exactly compensates for the loss in the output coupler.
ultrashort pulse generation. Table 1 summarizes the The optical pump, typically from a semiconductor
most commonly used pump and signal transitions for laser diode, is absorbed as is propagates along the
a range of rare-earth dopants in silicate optical fibers. fiber amplifier, e.g., by rare-earth ion dopants, which
Other desirable properties of silica fiber lasers are raised to an excited state. The absorbed energy is
include high efficiency, excellent thermal dissipation, stored and eventually emitted at a longer wavelength
substantial energy storage, high power capability, and by either spontaneous or stimulated emission. Spon-
compatibility with a wide range of optical fiber taneous emission produces unwanted noise and is
devices and systems. The characteristics of optical associated with a finite excited state lifetime, whilst
fiber lasers can be optimized for some very different stimulated emission produces optical gain provided
applications, ranging from narrow linewidth and the gain medium is ‘inverted’, i.e., with more active
low-noise lasers to broadband pulsed lasers with high ions in the upper lasing energy level than the lower
energy and/or high peak power. In the following lasing energy level. In practice some energy is also lost
sections the fundamentals of laser theory as applied to to nonradiative (thermal) emissions, e.g., in the
fiber lasers will be reviewed, highlighting the reasons transfer of energy between the pump and upper
underlying such versatility. lasing energy levels. In an ideal gain medium the
nonradiative transfer rate between the pump and
upper lasing energy levels is much larger than the
Fiber Laser Fundamentals spontaneous or stimulated emission rates, so the
An example of a simple all-fiber laser is shown inversion may usually be assumed to be independent
schematically in Figure 1. The laser contains the basic of nonradiative transfer rates. Energy level diagrams
elements of optical gain (e.g., a rare-earth doped fiber for three- and four-level atoms are shown in Figure 2.
amplifier) and optical feedback (e.g., a pair of Bragg The local optical gain coefficient (i.e. power gain
grating filters). In the laser shown, the two Bragg per unit length, in nepers2) in a fiber amplifier is
gratings provide optical feedback only over a narrow proportional to the local inversion, i.e., gðzÞ , sS
range of wavelengths, which further restricts the DNðzÞ; where sS is the emission cross-section at the
 LASERS / Optical Fiber Lasers 477

in which the first term corresponds to ground state

absorption of the signal, in which N is the dopant ion
density, and the factor of 2 in the second term is due
to the fact that in an ideal three-level system every
absorbed pump photon increases the inversion, DN;
by two. Equation [3] can be approximated by
multiplying [2] by the factor (PPabs 2 PPsat)/(PPabs þ
PPsat), where PPsat ¼ hn P A=ðsP tÞ is the pump power
Figure 2 Energy level diagrams for three- and four-level laser which must be absorbed to reduce the pump
transitions. W represents the probability of an optical transition per
unit time associated with stimulated absorption or emission, and
absorption coefficient to half its unpumped value
1=t is the rate of spontaneous emission. Dotted lines represent (or the signal absorption coefficient to zero), and sP is
nonradiative transitions (e.g., between the pump and upper lasing the pump absorption cross-section. Unlike four-level
level). lasers in which gain is available as soon as pump
power is applied, three-level lasers require half the
signal wavelength, and DNðzÞ the difference in active ions to be excited before the inversion becomes
population density between the upper and lower positive and gain is produced.
lasing energy levels (DN . 0 if the gain medium is The main advantages of optical fiber amplifiers are
inverted). The local inversion can be calculated by now clear; in an optical fiber waveguide the light is
solving the rate equations including all stimulated confined in a very small cross-sectional area, typically
and spontaneous transitions between the laser energy less than ten microns diameter. Consequently even a
levels. The end-to-end amplifier power gain, small coupled pump power can have a large intensity
G ¼ PS ðLA Þ=PS ð0Þ, in length LA of amplifying fiber and produce a large gain coefficient, or low laser
is then threshold. Even if the pump absorbed per unit length
" # in the fiber amplifier is small (e.g., due to low dopant
ð LA
concentration or low absorption coefficient), this can
G ¼ exp gðzÞ dz ½1
0 often be compensated by using a long length of fiber
with small intrinsic loss. Furthermore, rare-earth
which in decibels is dopants have relatively long metastable state life-
ðLA times, t; which further assists in producing a large
G ¼ 4:34 gðzÞ dz inversion throughout the fiber, and hence large
0 overall gain or low lasing threshold, even at low
A large gain coefficient is desirable for amplifica- pump powers. For example, a typical four-level
tion with minimal added noise (i.e., low noise figure), neodymium doped fiber amplifier providing gain at
and a large gain per unit pump power is desirable for lS ¼ 1:06 mm, pumped at lP ¼ 0:8 mm, with core
low threshold lasing. For a given gain medium the diameter 7 mm, t ¼ 0:5 ms, sS ¼ 1:4 £ 10220 cm2,
only factor usually accessible to control the inversion and sP ¼ 23 £ 10221 cm2, could theoretically provide
and hence gain is the pump rate, i.e., the rate at which a small signal gain of 0.3 dB for every milliwatt of
pump energy is absorbed by the gain medium, which absorbed pump power.
for an unbleached amplifier is proportional to pump Whilst the above analysis highlights the main
intensity. For example, in an ideal four-level unsatu- advantages of fiber amplifiers, it is approximate in a
rated laser medium with uniform pump intensity, the number of respects. For example, eqns [2] and [3]
small signal gain is approximately assume both pump and signal have a uniform
intensity distribution across the gain medium, and
ð LA PPabs t completely overlap. In single mode optical fibers the
gðzÞ dz < sS ½2 intensity distribution across the fiber core is not
0 hn P A
uniform but approximately Gaussian, with a width
in which t is the lifetime of the upper lasing level, and effective area that depends on the numerical
PPabs is the pump power absorbed in the fiber aperture of the waveguide and the wavelength.
amplifier with cross-sectional area A; h is Planck’s Consequently the overlap of the pump and signal
constant, and n P is the pump frequency. beams with the doped fiber core and with each other
For a three-level laser under the same conditions, is less than 100%, and the pump and signal intensities
the small signal gain is are higher in the center of the fiber than at the core-
ð LA cladding boundary. The nonuniform distribution of
2PPabs t pump and signal beams slightly modifies both
gðzÞ dz < 2sS NLA þ sS ½3
0 hn P A the gain efficiency and gain saturation behavior
478 LASERS / Optical Fiber Lasers

(i.e., the dependence of gain on signal power) in fiber gain is produced, and hence the threshold of three-
amplifiers. More accurate analysis would also take level lasers is given approximately by eqn [4]
into account factors such as the rare-earth dopant with aint ¼ sS NLA 2LC , and increases with
distribution (which may not be uniform), the amplifier length. In either case the pump power
variation of pump and signal intensities along the required at the input of the laser to reach threshold,
fiber, spectral variation in the absorption and emis- PP ð0Þ, may be approximated using the relation
sion cross-sections, spatial and spectral hole-burning PPabs ¼ PP ð0Þ 2 PP ðLA Þ < PP ð0Þ½1 2 expð2sP NLA Þ.
in the gain medium, degeneracies in the energy levels, For either three- or four-level lasers pumped above
excited state absorption and other loss mechanisms, threshold, the inversion of the gain medium remains
temperature, and spontaneous emission noise. at its threshold level as the internal round-trip gain
must remain unity; however a coherent optical output
signal at the peak emission wavelength grows from
Continuous Wave Fiber Lasers noise until its amplitude is limited by saturation of the
The ideal continuous wave (cw) laser converts input amplifier gain. Provided the output coupling loss is
pump power with low coherence to a highly coherent not too large (e.g., T , 60%) such that the total
optical output signal which is constant in amplitude signal intensity is constant along the whole length of
and wavelength, with the spectral purity of the output the fiber amplifier, it can be shown that changes in
(i.e., linewidth) limited only by cavity losses. Practical pump power above threshold cause a proportional
continuous wave lasers may be characterized by four change in the signal power coupled out of the
parameters: the pump power required for the onset of Fabry– Perot cavity in one direction, Pþ Sout ; i.e.
oscillation (i.e., threshold); the conversion efficiency
ð1 2 RÞ nS
of pump to signal power above threshold; the peak Pþ
Sout ¼ ðP 2 Pth Þ ½5
wavelength of the optical output; and the spectral d0 nP Pabs
width of the optical output. Continuous wave fiber
in which d0 ¼ 2aint L þ ln 1=R represents the total
lasers often have a low threshold, high efficiency, and
round-trip loss at threshold. The relationship
narrow linewidth relative to other types of laser.
between absorbed pump power and output signal
Output powers approaching 100 watts have been
power is shown schematically in Figure 3. The
achieved using specialized techniques.
constant of proportionality is known as the slope
The threshold power is determined by the total
or conversion efficiency, defined as hS ¼
cavity loss and gain efficiency (i.e., gain per unit of
PSout =ðPPabs 2 Pth Þ: In both three- and four-level fiber
absorbed pump power) of the fiber amplifier. For
lasers with small intrinsic losses aint < 0, and small
example, for the laser shown in Figure 1 the internal
output coupling (i.e., R < 1), the slope efficiency can
losses are minimal, and the pump power required to
approach the intrinsic quantum efficiency, nS =nP :
reach threshold may be calculated by setting the
Sustained oscillation can only occur if the optical
product of the round-trip small-signal gain, and
path length around the cavity is an integral number of
the output mirror reflectivity, G2 R, equal to unity.
wavelengths. Wavelengths satisfying this condition
For the laser configuration shown in Figure 1, and
are called ‘modes’ of the cavity, determined by
using eqns [1] and [2] for a four-level laser, the pump
power which must be absorbed in the amplifier for
the laser to reach threshold is
hn P A
Pth ¼ acav LC ½4
sS t
in which LC is the cavity length, and acav ¼ aint þ
1
2 LC lnð1=RÞ is the total cavity loss per unit length,
comprising both internal losses, aint ; and outcoupling
losses through a mirror with reflectivity R. For
example, if the internal losses were negligible and
the transmittance, T ¼ 1 2 R; of the output reflector
in the laser shown in Figure 1 was 50% (i.e. 3 dB),
and the other fiber parameters were the same as above
(i.e. G ¼ 0:3 dB/mW), then the laser threshold would
be 5 mW. In three-level fiber lasers ground state
absorption of the signal is usually the dominant loss Figure 3 Representative plot of laser output power versus
mechanism which must be overcome before a net absorbed pump power.
 LASERS / Optical Fiber Lasers 479

2nLC ¼ ml0 ; where n is the effective refractive index

seen by light propagating in the cavity, LC is the cavity
length, m is an integer, and l0 is the free-space
wavelength. In Figure 1, the cavity length comprises
the amplifying fiber, and two Bragg grating filters
which may be regarded as having an effective length
(i.e., less than the actual grating length) which depends
on the grating characteristics. In fiber lasers the cavity
is typically between several centimeters and many Figure 4 Schematic of a traveling wave laser, useful for low
meters in length, hence there are usually very many noise continuous wave oscillation. The wavelength selective
potential lasing modes within the gain-bandwidth of coupler (WSC) is required to couple pump power into the laser
the amplifying medium. For example, in the cavity without coupling signal out.
Fabry –Perot cavity of Figure 1, if the cavity length
was 5 meters, the mode spacing would be whilst not coupling the signal wavelength out, and a
nmþ1 2 nm ¼ c=ð2nLC Þ ¼ 20 MHz, i.e. orders of mag- narrowband filter (e.g. a small Fabry– Perot resona-
nitude less than the bandwidth of the optical amplifier. tor) to further stabilize and/or narrow the lasing
Ideally the first mode to reach threshold would linewidth. Rare-earth doped fiber lasers with similar
determine the laser output wavelength and the cavity configurations have been realized with line-
spectral width, or linewidth, of the laser output widths of approximately 10 kHz, limited by environ-
would be Dn L ¼ hn=ð2pt2C PSout Þ; in which tC is the mental (e.g., acoustic) perturbations.
lifetime of photons in the cavity and determined by
cavity losses, including outcoupling, and given by
tC ¼ tR =1; where tR is the cavity round trip time and 1
Pulsed Fiber Lasers
the fractional energy loss in the cavity per round trip. There are two main types of fiber laser useful for
In practice, the linewidth is usually significantly larger generating short high-power pulses: Q-switched
than the latter theoretical limit due to transient lasing lasers, and mode-locked lasers. Q-switched fiber
of different modes within the bandwidth of the lasers are useful for generating large energy pulses
optical amplifier and environmental perturbations (e.g., microjoules) with very high peak power (e.g.,
to the fiber cavity. Fiber amplifiers typically have a kilowatts) with relatively long pulse duration
large homogeneously broadened gain-bandwidth, (e.g., tens of nanoseconds), whilst mode-locked fiber
and being long and flexible are susceptible to acoustic lasers are typically capable of generating ultrashort
and thermal perturbations, hence care must be taken pulses (e.g., sub-picosecond) with moderate energy
to physically stabilize the laser cavity to minimize (e.g., nanojoules) and moderate-to-high peak
both mode-hopping and the output linewidth. power (e.g., tens of watts). Pulsed lasers typically
Whilst the CW laser shown in Figure 1 has the produce less average output power than CW lasers
advantage of simple construction, it would not be (e.g., up to about 10 W). Both types of pulsed laser
ideal for narrow linewidth CW generation. The typically contain an element for loss modulation
reason is that counterpropagating waves in the within the cavity, however the pulse generation
Fabry –Perot cavity form a standing wave, i.e., in mechanisms are very different.
which the local signal intensity varies due to Q-switched lasers operate by rapid switching of the
interference between forward and backward propa- cavity loss. Whilst the intracavity loss is high and
gating waves. The standing wave can cause spatial the laser below threshold, energy is transferred from
hole-burning in the gain medium (i.e., a spatial the pump to the lasing medium. The long excited state
variation in gain, linked to the spatial variation in lifetime and small emission cross-sections of rare-
intensity) which in turn reduces the average gain for earth dopants assists greatly in the latter process, so
the lasing mode and promotes mode-hopping and that a significant amount of energy can be stored in
hence spectral broadening of the output. long fiber amplifiers before amplification of spon-
A preferable arrangement for many fiber lasers is a taneous emission noise begins to deplete the inver-
traveling wave laser, which can be realized using a sion. After the gain medium is fully inverted the cavity
ring configuration, as shown in Figure 4. In this loss is suddenly reduced, and the laser is taken well
configuration the optical isolator ensures uni- above threshold, resulting in a rapid build-up of noise
directional lasing and avoidance of spatial hole- and the formation of a pulse which ideally extracts all
burning. Additional components in the cavity can the stored energy within a few round-trips in the laser
include a wavelength selective coupler (WSC), i.e., to cavity. The situation is shown schematically in
couple the pump wavelength into the laser cavity Figure 5.
480 LASERS / Optical Fiber Lasers

unwanted feedback (e.g., due to the finite extinction

ratio of the Q-switching element) which results in cw
lasing which limits the inversion. Following from
eqns [1] and [2], the unidirectional gain per unit of
stored energy in a fiber laser may be expressed as
G ¼ 4:34=ðAcore Fsat Þ ¼ 4:34=Esat decibels per joule,
where Fsat ¼ hnS =sS is the saturation fluence, and
Esat ¼ Asat Fsat is the saturation energy. For example,
if the maximum gain achievable before the onset of
cw lasing was 30 dB (i.e., even when the Q-switch
introduces a large loss), then the maximum energy
storable in the gain medium would be E ¼ 6:9Esat :
For the same erbium-doped fiber parameters as used
in the previous paragraph, the maximum storable
energy would be E < 70 mJ.
Only a proportion of the energy stored in the gain
medium may usually be converted into a Q-switched
output pulse. The actual Q-switched pulse energy,
duration, and peak power can be calculated by
solving the rate equations for the photon flux and
the population difference between the lasing energy
levels in the gain medium. The equations must usually
be solved numerically, however assuming the Q
changes much more rapidly than the pulse build-up
time, which is in turn much shorter than the time
taken for a significant change in inversion to either
pumping or spontaneous emission, the pulse para-
Figure 5 Pulse generation in a Q-switched laser. Initially the meters may be approximated analytically and are
intracavity loss is high, the laser remains below threshold, and the found to be determined by only two parameters, i.e.,
inversion of the gain medium increases. When the intracavity loss the population inversion (or stored energy) just before
is suddenly reduced, the laser goes well above threshold and
spontaneous emission noise is rapidly amplified into a large pulse
Q-switching, and the lifetime of photons within the
which extracts much of the energy previously stored in the gain cavity, tC, defined previously.
medium. Under the conditions described above, standard
analysis gives the Q-switched pulse duration as

An upper limit on the pulse energy obtainable from tC ðr 2 1Þ

TP < ½6
a Q-switched laser may be determined by assuming ðr 2 1 2 ln rÞ
all active ions in the laser cavity are excited before the
pulse is generated (i.e., at the time the cavity Q is where r is the ratio of the inversion just before Q-
switched high), that no ions remain excited immedi- switching (low Q) to the threshold inversion for cw
ately after the pulse is generated, and that the pulse lasing after Q-switching (Q high). In fiber lasers the
generated is much shorter than the time required to gain can be very high, hence it is common for r q 1
pump all the ions into their excited state. The energy and almost all available energy stored in the gain
stored in the gain medium, and hence the maximum medium is extracted as a Q-switched laser pulse. The
conceivable pulse energy, would then be E ¼ hnS NV; Q-switched pulse duration is then determined pri-
where N is the density of active ions and V is the marily by the cavity lifetime; shorter pulses can be
cavity volume. For example, a typical erbium-doped obtained only by shortening the laser cavity and/or
fiber laser of length 10 m and dopant density increasing the cavity loss. For example, for a 10 m
N ¼ 1019 ions/cm in a single-mode fiber with core long ring cavity in which the sum of cavity and
diameter 7 mm could ideally store up to 500 mJ of outcoupling losses is 10 dB and r q 1; the pulse
energy. duration would be TP tC ¼ 22 ns.
Two things limit the maximum inversion and The exact proportion of energy stored in the gain
energy storage achievable in practice: spontaneous medium that is converted to a Q-switched pulse
emission noise (due to the finite excited-state lifetime) depends on the number of energy levels in the lasing
which is amplified and depletes the inversion, and medium, the degeneracy of those levels, and the rate
 LASERS / Optical Fiber Lasers 481

of nonradiative energy transfer between those levels. harmonic of the cavity mode spacing. There are two
For example, for an ideal three-level gain medium main methods of mode locking:
(e.g., erbium dopant) with no internal cavity losses
the maximum available Q-switched pulse energy is (i) active mode locking (e.g., by an electro-optic
half the stored energy, or Epulse ¼ E=2: It can be modulator), in which amplitude or phase modu-
shown that the peak of the output pulse power occurs lation is driven by an external source; and
as the inversion decreases through threshold, and may (ii) passive mode locking (e.g., by a fast or slow
be approximated by dividing the pulse energy by the saturable absorber), in which an element with
pulse duration. Even for moderate pulse energies the nonlinear gain or loss responds to the optical
peak power is potentially very high. For the erbium- signal in the laser cavity itself.
doped fiber laser parameters used previously, the peak
pulse power would be approximately 1600 W, i.e., In both cases the modulation provided by the
sufficient to cause significant spectral broadening of mode-locking element distributes energy between
the output wavelength due to stimulated Raman neighboring modes, effectively injection-locking
scattering and other nonlinear effects within the them in phase. A variation of mode locking tech-
optical fiber. niques often present in fiber lasers is soliton mode-
Mode-locked lasers generate optical pulses by locking, in which the active or passive modulation is
forcing many cavity modes to be locked in phase. weak, and a balance between nonlinearity and
As per Fourier theory, the pulse repetition rate is dispersion is the dominant process underlying pulse
related to the spacing of the lasing modes, and the formation. Hybrid mode-locking techniques can
more modes that add coherently, the greater the pulse also be used to combine the best aspects of different
bandwidth and the shorter the transform-limited pulse-generation methods.
pulse duration. For example, the relationship Whilst the latter frequency-domain view of mode
between mode spacing and pulse repetition rate, locking is helpful, nonlinear effects are almost always
and between the spectral and temporal envelopes of a significant in mode-locked fiber lasers, and hence the
train of Gaussian pulses is shown in Figure 6. linear concept of a mode is not appropriate for
In mode-locked lasers a nonlinear or time-varying detailed analysis. Hence it is usually preferable to
element must be present which synchronously modu- describe pulse generation in mode-locked fiber lasers
lates the optical signal circulating in the cavity in in the time domain; for stable operation the pulse at
amplitude or phase at a frequency which is a any point in the cavity must self-replicate after each
round-trip, with the net effects of temporal and
spectral loss, gain, dispersion and nonlinearity all
canceling.
An optical pulse propagating in a fiber laser is
usually described by a slowly varying complex
envelope, Cðz; tÞ; where lCðz; tÞl2 is the instantaneous
power in a frame of reference moving at the pulse
group velocity, and arg½Cðz; tÞ is the instantaneous
phase relative to the optical carrier. The various
elements in the laser cavity, such as the passive fiber,
optical fiber amplifier, filters, and mode-locking
devices, each modify the complex pulse envelope as
it propagates around the laser cavity.
For example, in the absence of other effects, group
velocity dispersion (GVD) causes different wave-
lengths to travel at different velocities along the
fiber, resulting in ‘chirping’ and temporal broadening
of optical pulses by an amount proportional to the
distance propagated. The effect can be described
mathematically as the accumulation of a phase shift
which is quadratic in frequency, i.e., Cðz; vÞ ¼
Figure 6 Schematic showing the Fourier-transform relationship
between an infinite train of Gaussian pulses and the lasing modes
Cð0; vÞ expbib2 v2 z=2c: Taking the derivative with
in a mode-locked laser. The temporal and spectral widths are respect to propagation distance, and using ›=›t ¼
measured full width at half the maximum intensity. 2iv; the incremental change in the complex envelope
482 LASERS / Optical Fiber Lasers

with propagation distance is A is the effective core area for the guided mode. The
incremental change per unit length in the complex
›C b ›2 C pulse envelope induced by self-phase modulation is
¼ 2i 2 ½7
›z 2 ›t 2 then
If the GVD parameter, b2 ; is positive then long ›C
wavelengths propagate faster than shorter wave- ¼ iglCl2 C ½8
›z
lengths, and the dispersion is called ‘normal’. If the
reverse is true, the dispersion is ‘anomalous’. In For example, self-phase-modulation is used to realize
standard single-mode step index optical fibers the a nonlinear switching element in the passively mode-
dispersion passes through zero at wavelengths around locked laser cavity shown schematically in Figure 7.
1300 nm, and is anomalous for longer wavelengths. It For obvious reasons the laser is called a ‘figure-8’
is often necessary to control the net dispersion in a laser, though it is actually a ring laser into which a
fiber laser, and this can be done by incorporating device known as a nonlinear amplifying loop-mirror
specially designed fibers with wavelength-shifted or (NALM) has been incorporated. The NALM acts as a
otherwise modified dispersion characteristics, or by fast saturable absorber, with transmittance dependent
using chirped Bragg grating reflectors. on the instantaneous optical intensity. The NALM
Whilst silica is not commonly regarded as a operates as follows: light propagating through the
nonlinear medium (i.e., in which the optical proper- optical isolator is divided equally into co- and
ties are a function of the intensity of light), in counter-propagating waves in the loop-mirror on
ultrashort pulsed fiber lasers the peak powers are the right-hand side. The light propagating in a
usually such that nonlinear effects cannot be ignored. clockwise direction is amplified immediately, and
In silica the main nonlinearity is associated with the propagates around the loop with high intensity,
Kerr effect, and is readily observed as an intensity- whilst the counter-clockwise propagating signal has
dependent refractive index, i.e. n ¼ n0 þ n2 I; a low intensity for most of its time in the loop. The
where the nonlinear index, n2 ; is typically difference in intensity means that the co- and counter-
about 3 £ 10220 m2/W in silica fibers. Other non- propagating waves experience different nonlinear
linear effects related to the Kerr nonlinearity which phase shifts. When they are recombined at the
can sometimes be important are cross-phase- coupler, high-intensity light is transmitted back into
modulation and four-wave mixing. In the absence the ring, whilst low-intensity light is reflected back to
of other effects, the nonlinear index results in self- the isolator, and lost. In this way the NALM provides
phase modulation (SPM), or a phase shift in the both gain and a nonlinear transmittance which
optical carrier which is proportional to the depends on the instantaneous power of the input,
instantaneous intensity of the signal. Mathe- described by
matically, Cðz; tÞ ¼ Cð0; tÞexpbiglCð0; tÞl2 zc; in which    
g ¼ n2 v0 =ðcAÞ is the nonlinear coefficient of the fiber, 1 1
T <G 12 1 þ cos gLPin G ½9
v0 is the radian frequency of the optical carrier, and 2 2

Figure 7 Schematic of a ‘figure-8’ fiber laser. The laser is passively mode-locked by the nonlinear amplifying loop mirror on the right,
which acts as a fast saturable absorber, transmitting and amplifying high-power optical signals whilst reflecting low optical power signals.
 LASERS / Optical Fiber Lasers 483

in which G is the linear gain of the amplifier, and L lumped, such that the envelope of any pulse generated
the loop length, Pin is the input power, and T the ratio in the laser does not change shape significantly as it
of transmitted power to input power. The nonlinear propagates around the cavity, then the master
transmittance of the NALM promotes pulse for- differential equation describing propagation of an
mation and shortening in the laser cavity, and hence optical signal within a fiber laser which is passively
passively mode-locks the laser. The polarization mode-locked by a fast saturable absorber can be
controllers are to compensate for unwanted bire- written
fringence in the optical fiber, and to control the
  2
transmittance of the loop-mirror at low input powers. ›U D › U
The fiber dispersion and nonlinearity, together with i þ 2 ib þ ð1 2 i1ÞlUl2 U
›z 2 ›t 2
other factors, further influence the pulses generated in
the laser, as described in the following paragraphs. ¼ idU 2 ðn 2 imÞlUl4 U ½11
The combined effects of dispersion and self-phase-
modulation can give rise to some interesting and Equation [11] is known as the Ginzburg – Landau
useful physical phenomena. In lossless optical fibers, equation, which describes propagation of the normal-
or fiber lasers in which loss is balanced by gain, pulse ized pulse envelope, Uðz; tÞ; as a function of delayed
propagation is described by the nonlinear Schrödinger time, t, and normalized distance, z, and under the
equation (NLSE), i.e., a nonlinear wave equation combined influence of group velocity dispersion
including the effects of both group velocity dispersion (D ¼ ^1 for anomalous or normal group velocity
and intensity-dependent refractive index. The NLSE dispersion, respectively), dispersion due to band-
may be derived by combining eqns [8] and [9], i.e. limiting by amplification in a homogeneously broad-
ened gain medium ðb . 0Þ; nonlinear refractive
›C b ›2 C index, nonlinear gain or loss (1), linear gain (d), and
i 2 2 þ glCl2 C ¼ 0 ½10
›z 2 ›t 2 quintic terms, m and n, which if less than zero relate to
saturation of the nonlinear gain and refractive index,
It can be shown that if the dispersion is anomalous respectively. Note that if the right-hand side of
ðb2 , 0Þ then for a particular shape of pulse envelope the equation is set to zero, and 1 ¼ b ¼ 0; then the
the distributed effects of dispersion and nonlinearity equation reduces to the normalized form of the
can exactly cancel, so ›C=›z ¼ 0, and the pulse nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Stable pulses gener-
propagates without changing shape. Such pulses are ated within the laser are solutions of the above
called fundamental solitons, the solution for which is equation with ›U=›z ¼ 0; and hence the effect of all
Cðz; tÞ ¼ C0 sechðt=T0 Þ exp½iz=ð2L
pffiffiffiffiffiffiD Þ, in which the terms must balance. Consequently it is possible for
peak amplitude is C0 ¼ 1= gLD ; T0 is the pulse stable pulses to be generated even with normal
width parameter, and LD ¼ T02 =b2 is known as the dispersion in the cavity, though the pulses are then
dispersion length. For example, in a standard silica generally strongly chirped, and have an envelope
fiber at l ¼ 1:55 mm, b2 < 220 ps 2/km and which is approximately Gaussian shaped rather than
g < 10 W21km21, hence a soliton with T0 ¼ 1 ps the hyperbolic secant shape expected with anomalous
would have peak power 2 W and energy dispersion. Stable soliton-like pulses can be found by
E0 ¼ 2lb2 l=ðgT0 Þ ¼ 4 pJ. The energy of a soliton is solving the Ginzburg –Landau equation for specific
quantized, in that pulses with initial energy between ranges of parameters. There are many numerical
0.5 and 1.5 times E0 can evolve into a fundamental solutions, and some analytical solutions, but in
soliton during propagation. Consequently solitons general the dynamics of pulse formation and propa-
behave somewhat like particles, and are robust even in gation in passively mode-locked fiber lasers can be
the presence of significant perturbations. The pulses quite complex, and for some sets of parameters
which form spontaneously in the figure-8 fiber laser remarkable and unexpected numerical solutions can
have many of the properties of solitons. be found. One such example which has been observed
Mode-locked fiber lasers, such as that shown in experimentally is the ‘exploding’ soliton, which
Figure 7, can often be described by a generalized unlike the usual soliton is periodically unstable, as
nonlinear Schrödinger equation, in which extra terms shown in the plot of pulse evolution in Figure 8.
are included in eqn [10] to account for the average
effects of an excess linear gain or loss, nonlinear gain
and loss (e.g., due to a saturable absorber), spectral
Other Fiber Lasers
filtering, and temporal modulation, etc. Assuming the The lasers discussed in the previous sections are
effects of the added elements can be regarded as indicative of the main types of fiber laser in terms of
distributed over the length of the cavity rather than their output characteristics; however it should be
484 LASERS / Optical Fiber Lasers

scattering and parametric effects, can also be realized

(e.g., as in fiber Raman lasers, and fiber Brillouin
lasers). In the latter cases the lasing wavelength is
limited only by available pump wavelengths. The
reader is referred to the references in the Further
Reading for information on the wide range of fiber
lasers that are possible in practice.

List of Units and Nomenclature

Absorption cross-section sa [m22]
Amplifier length LA [m]
Area A [m2]
Cavity length LC [m]
Complex amplitude C [W0.5]
Figure 8 Two periods of the evolution of an exploding soliton Dispersion length LD [m]
found by numerical solution of the quintic Ginzburg–Landau Distance z [m]
equation with normalized parameters 1 ¼ 1:0; d ¼ 0:1; b ¼ 0:125;
Emission cross-section se [m22]
m ¼ 0:1; and n ¼ 0:6: The process never repeats itself exactly in
successive ‘periods’; however the pulse always returns to the Frequency v [Hz]
same shape. Such solutions cannot be found in analytic form; Gain coefficient g [m21]
nevertheless they are as common as stationary pulse solutions Group velocity dispersion b2 [s2m21]
and exist for a wide range of parameters. Inversion ratio r
Lifetime t [s]
noted that there is a wide range of other fiber laser Loss coefficient a [m21]
configurations with similar behaviors incorporating a Nonlinear coefficient g [m21W21]
variety of other fiber and/or bulk elements. For Nonlinear refractive index n2 [m2W21]
example, specially designed fibers in which the Number density N [m23]
pump and/or signal has a large cross-sectional area Power gain G
can be used to realize fiber lasers with a high output Pump power PP [W]
power, comparable to that in many bulk laser Pump wavelength lP [m]
systems. Linear and/or nonlinear processing of the Reflectivity R
output of fiber lasers can be used to increase their Saturation energy Esat [J]
peak output power and/or pulse energy, or to change Saturation fluence Fsat [J.m22]
their output wavelength (i.e., by harmonic gener- Signal power PS [W]
ation) from that achievable in the laser cavity itself. In Signal wavelength lS [m]
mode-locked fiber lasers it is now common to include Threshold power Pth [W]
passive semiconductor devices which provide a slow
saturable absorber action to initiate and stabilize
soliton mode-locking.
See also
It should also be noted that there are a number of Fiber and Guided Wave Optics: Dispersion; Fabrication
fiber lasers which generate optical outputs using of Optical Fiber; Light Propagation; Nonlinear Effects
different or modified physical processes compared to (Basics); Optical Fiber Cables. Fiber Gratings. Lasers:
those described in previous sections. For example, it is Up Conversion Lasers. Nonlinear Optics, Applications:
Raman Lasers. Optical Amplifiers: Basic Concepts;
possible to realize up-conversion fiber lasers in which
Erbrium Doped Fiber Amplifiers for Lightwave Systems.
the output wavelength is shorter than the pump Optical Parametric Devices: Optical Parametric
wavelength, multiwavelength fiber lasers (pulsed and Oscillators (Pulsed). Solitons: Temporal Solitons. Scat-
cw) which produce outputs at several wavelengths tering: Raman Scattering; Stimulated Scattering. Ultra-
simultaneously, and lasers with limited output coher- Fast Laser Techniques: Generation of Femtosecond
ence such as chaotic fiber lasers and broadband Pulses.
superfluorescent sources, etc. Lastly, whilst the rare-
earth doped fiber lasers dealt with in previous sections
have some very desirable properties, it should be Further Reading
recognized that optical fiber lasers based on other Agrawal GP (2001) Nonlinear Fiber Optics, 3rd edn.
optical gain mechanisms, such as stimulated San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
 LASERS / Organic Semiconductors and Polymers 485

Agrawal GP (2001) Applications of Nonlinear Fiber Duling IN (ed.) (1995) Compact Sources of Ultrashort
Optics. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Pulses. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Akhmediev NN and Ankiewicz A (1997) Solitons. London: France PW (ed.) (1991) Optical Fibre Lasers and Ampli-
Chapman and Hall. fiers. Glasgow, UK: Blackie.
Becker PC, Olsson NA and Simpson JR (1999) Erbium- Jeunhomme LB (1990) Single-Mode Fiber Optics: Prin-
Doped Fiber Amplifiers: Fundamentals and Technology. ciples and Applications, 2nd edn. New York: Dekker.
San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Kashyap R (1999) Fiber Bragg Gratings. San Diego, CA:
Desurvire E (1994) Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers: Academic Press.
Principles and Applications. New York: Wiley. Siegman AE (1986) Lasers. Oxford, UK: Oxford University
Digonnet MJF (ed.) (2001) Rare-Earth-Doped Fiber Press.
Lasers and Amplifiers, 2nd edn. New York: Marcel Weber MJ (ed.) (1995) CRC Handbook of Laser Science
Dekker. and Technology. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Organic Semiconductors and Polymers

G A Turnbull, University of St Andrews, Fife, UK of the molecule is a chain of carbon atoms joined
q 2005, Elsevier Ltd. All Rights Reserved. by alternating single and double covalent bonds.
The simplest example is illustrated in Figure 1a,
which shows the chemical structure of the polymer
Introduction poly(acetylene). Structural integrity of the polymer is
provided by a string of single s-bonds between
Organic semiconductors, and conjugated polymers in
particular, are emerging as an interesting new class of adjacent carbon atoms. The additional bonding
visible laser media. The polymers are electrolumines- electrons in the double bonds are located in p-orbitals
cent, broadband visible emitters and exhibit large oriented perpendicular to the polymer chain. Adjacent
optical gain coefficients. As plastics, they are amen- p-orbitals overlap, and their electrons can be widely
able to simple processing, and can be shaped into delocalized along the polymer backbone. The deloca-
complex structures. This combination of photonic, lized electrons can move relatively freely along the
electronic, and processing properties make these chain, giving the electronic properties of the material.
materials extremely well suited to forming novel The p-orbitals can be transformed between bonding
microlasers, with future prospects as inexpensive, and anti-bonding states by the absorption or emission
plastic diode lasers operating throughout the visible of light, leading to strong optical transitions. While
spectrum. poly(acetylene) is a very inefficient light emitter, other
conjugated polymers, notably those that include
phenyl rings in the backbone (Figure 1b – d), can
Conjugated Polymers be highly emissive. Photoluminescence quantum
Plastics are widely used in low-cost optical com-
ponents such as lenses, diffraction gratings, optical
fibers, and adhesives. Their common use derives from (a) n

a combination of qualities: good optical transmission, C10H21

a wide range of mechanical properties and simple
fabrication via molding: extrusion or solution proces- C6H13
sing. Functional optical polymers, including liquid O
crystals and photorefractives, have also been widely
applied to polarization control and for nonlinear- and n
n C6H13
electro-optics. Conjugated polymers are a remarkable (b) O
class of functional plastics that exhibit some unusual
properties. Firstly, they are plastics that can conduct (c) C10H21
n
electricity; and in fact are electrically semiconducting.
Secondly, they are plastics that can be stimulated (d) C8H17 C8H17
either optically or electrically to emit visible light.
Figure 1 Chemical structures of several conjugated polymers.
These two unusual properties derive from a (a) poly[acetylene]; (b) poly[2-methoxy-5-(20 -ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-
particular chemical structure specific to this family phenylene vinylene], (MEH-PPV); (c) ladder-type poly[1,4-
of plastics. In all conjugated polymers, the backbone phenylene], (MeLPPP); (d) poly[9,9-dioctylfluorene], (PFO).