Experimental and theoretical studies of a high repetition rate fiber laser, mode-locked by external optical modulation

An experimental and theoretical study of a high repetition rate Baser sourc e operating on a novel mode-locking technique is presented. This technique relies on the fast saturation and recovery of a semiconductor optical ampli fier induced by an external optical pulse and has been used to obtain 4.3 p s pulses at 20 GHz. A complete mathematical model of the fiber ring laser i s presented describing the mode-locking process in the laser oscillator and providing solutions for the steady-state mode-locked pulse profile. The cr itical parameters of the system are defined and analyzed and their impact o n the formation of the mode-locked pulses is examined. The comparison betwe en the theoretical results and the experimental data reveals very good agre ement and has allowed the optimization of the performance of the system in terms of its critical parameters. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B. V. All rights reserved.