Peak-power-clamping in an all-polarization-maintaining Q-switched mode-locking fiber laser

Opt Express. 2019 Dec 23;27(26):37614-37621. doi: 10.1364/OE.27.037614.

Abstract

We report the peak-power-clamping (PPC) effect in a polarization-maintaining (PM) Q-switched mode locking fiber laser. The laser cavity with a compact and stable all-PM fiber configuration can clearly demonstrate three different output states including normal Q-switching, PPC Q-switching, and PPC Q-switched mode-locking (QML) with the increasing pump power. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that PPC effect is successfully obtained and analyzed from the Q-switching to QML. This research extends the theory of PPC in pulsed lasers and reveals the potential to achieve ultra-high pulse energy.