Title :
Timing jitter and pump-induced amplitude modulation in the colliding-pulse mode-locked (CPM) laser
Author :
Harvey, George T. ; Heutmaker, Michael S. ; Smith, Peter R. ; Nuss, Martin C. ; Keller, Ursula ; Valdmanis, Janis A.
Author_Institution :
AT&T Bell Labs., Princeton, NJ, USA
fDate :
2/1/1991 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The timing jitter and spurious amplitude modulation of colliding-pulse mode-locked (CPM) lasers were measured. The absolute jitter (the jitter of the laser alone) varied between 5 and 10 ps RMS in a 50-500-Hz bandwidth. The smallest measured relative jitter (timing fluctuations between the CPM and a radio-frequency (RF) synthesizer synchronized to the CPM) was 1.8 ps RMS in a 2-Hz to 1-kHz bandwidth. Separate from the jitter, spurious modulation in the CW pump laser mixes with the CPM pulse train to produce a set of discrete amplitude-modulated sidebands in the power spectrum of the CPM output. The frequencies of these sidebands change with cavity length, and the sidebands can be eliminated by operating the pump laser in a single longitudinal mode
Keywords :
high-speed optical techniques; laser mode locking; optical pumping; absolute jitter; bandwidth; cavity length; colliding pulse mode-locked laser; continuous wave pump laser; discrete amplitude-modulated sidebands; power spectrum; pump laser; pump-induced amplitude modulation; radiofrequency synthesizer; single longitudinal mode; spurious amplitude modulation; timing fluctuations; timing jitter; Amplitude modulation; Bandwidth; Fluctuations; Laser excitation; Laser mode locking; Laser modes; Pulse modulation; Pump lasers; Radio frequency; Timing jitter;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
