Fiber lasers and amplifiers: Practical light sources for femtosecond science


There is rapidly growing scientific and commercial interest in ultrafast optics. Ultrafast lasers producing intense femtosecond pulses have diverse applications such as time-resolved studies in chemistry, novel imaging techniques in medicine and optical communications. However, to date, these systems remain complicated, of limited stability and large in size.

Fiber lasers and amplifiers offer important advantages with their compact size, simplicity, and high stability, but higher-energy and shorter pulses are required. Both of these aspects are ultimately limited by the optical nonlinearity of fiber. The quest for better fiber lasers and amplifiers ranges from the fundamental physics of nonlinear dynamical systems to the experimental application of latest technology solutions. This talk will be an introductory level review of our studies.