A tunable optical comb generator having a source laser configured to generate a continuous wave (CW) light at a first wavelength; and a microresonator coupled to the source laser and configured to receive the CW light and generate an optical signal having a plurality of output wavelengths corresponding to the first wavelength. the generator includes a microresonator tuning device coupled to the microresonator and configured to tune the microresonator to compensate the microresonator for wavelength shifts. A control circuit iscoupled to the microresonator tuning device and configured to generate a control signal to control the microresonator tuning device based on the optical signal. Multiple microresonators in the form of microrings may be included to tune the generator. A heater coupled to the microresonators may be used to adjust the microresonators.

A surface-emitting semiconductor laser system contains at least one MQW unit of at least three constituent QWs, axially separated from one another substantially non-equidistantly. The MQW unit is located within the axial extent covered, in operation of the laser, by a half-cycle of the standing wave of the field at a wavelength within the gain spectrum of the gain medium; immediately neighboring nodes of the standing wave are on opposite sides of the MQW unit. So-configured MQW unit can be repeated multiple times and/or complemented with individual QWs disposed outside of the half-cycle of the standing wave with which such MQW unit is associated. The semiconductor laser further includes a pump source configured to input energy in the semiconductor gain medium and a mode-locking element to initiate mode-locking.

A method and system for generating a Raman second Stokes light to a source light comprising generating a Raman first Stokes light from the source light by a Raman interaction in a nonlinear optical medium disposed in an optical resonator, and resonating the Raman first Stokes light in the optical resonator; generating a seed light at the frequency of the Raman second Stokes light from the source light and the Raman first Stokes light by a four wave mixing process which is not phase matched in the nonlinear medium; amplifying the seed light by transferring power from the first Stokes light resonating in the optical resonator to the seed light using a Raman amplification process in the nonlinear medium; and extracting from the optical resonator a majority of the power of the seed light so amplified.

A method and system for generating a Raman second Stokes light to a source light comprising generating a Raman first Stokes light from the source light by a Raman interaction in a nonlinear optical medium disposed in an optical resonator, and resonating the Raman first Stokes light in the optical resonator; generating a seed light at the frequency of the Raman second Stokes light from the source light and the Raman first Stokes light by a four wave mixing process which is not phase matched in the nonlinear medium; amplifying the seed light by transferring power from the first Stokes light resonating in the optical resonator to the seed light using a Raman amplification process in the nonlinear medium; and extracting from the optical resonator a majority of the power of the seed light so amplified.

A surface-emitting semiconductor laser system contains at least one MQW unit of at least three constituent QWs, axially separated from one another substantially non-equidistantly. The MQW unit is located within the axial extent covered, in operation of the laser, by a half-cycle of the standing wave of the field at a wavelength within the gain spectrum of the gain medium; immediately neighboring nodes of the standing wave are on opposite sides of the MQW unit. So-configured MQW unit can be repeated multiple times and/or complemented with individual QWs disposed outside of the half-cycle of the standing wave with which such MQW unit is associated. The semiconductor laser further includes a pump source configured to input energy in the semiconductor gain medium and a mode-locking element to initiate mode-locking.

The present invention relates to compact, low noise, ultra-short pulse sources based on fiber amplifiers, and various applications thereof. At least one implementation includes an optical amplification system having a fiber laser seed source producing seed pulses at a repetition rate corresponding to the fiber laser cavity round trip time. A nonlinear pulse transformer, comprising a fiber length greater than about 10 m, receives a seed pulse at its input and produces a spectrally broadened output pulse at its output, the output pulse having a spectral bandwidth which is more than 1.5 times a spectral bandwidth of a seed pulse. A fiber power amplifier receives and amplifies spectrally broadened output pulses. A pulse compressor is configured to temporally compress spectrally broadened pulses amplified by said power amplifier. Applications include micro-machining, ophthalmology, molecular desorption or ionization, mass-spectroscopy, and/or laser-based, biological tissue processing.

The present invention relates to compact, low noise, ultra-short pulse sources based on fiber amplifiers, and various applications thereof. At least one implementation includes an optical amplification system having a fiber laser seed source producing seed pulses at a repetition rate corresponding to the fiber laser cavity round trip time. A nonlinear pulse transformer, comprising a fiber length greater than about 10 m, receives a seed pulse at its input and produces a spectrally broadened output pulse at its output, the output pulse having a spectral bandwidth which is more than 1.5 times a spectral bandwidth of a seed pulse. A fiber power amplifier receives and amplifies spectrally broadened output pulses. A pulse compressor is configured to temporally compress spectrally broadened pulses amplified by said power amplifier. Applications include micro-machining, ophthalmology, molecular desorption or ionization, mass-spectroscopy, and/or laser-based, biological tissue processing.

A chip-scale mode-locked laser including a cavity including a gain medium for amplifying signal electromagnetic radiation (signal) through stimulated emission, the signal comprising a signal wavelength; and a passive or active mode-locking device to enforce pulse formation in the laser. The mode-locking device includes a thin-film waveguide having a thickness on the order of the signal wavelength so as to confine and guide the signal along the thin-film waveguide, and a material comprising a second-order nonlinear susceptibility to enable active or passive mode-locking of the signal. The mode-locking device leads to generation of pulses of the signal outputted from the mode-locked laser.

An optical emission array includes an optical input portion configured to provide a parent laser source for the optical emission array, and an optical output portion including a plurality of child laser emitters. Each child laser emitter of the plurality of child laser emitters is injection-locked to the parent laser source. The optical emission array further includes at least two optical distribution branches (i) disposed between the optical input portion and the optical output portion, and (ii) optically connecting at least two child laser emitters of the plurality of child laser emitters, respectively, to the parent laser source.

A chip-scale mode-locked laser including a cavity including a gain medium for amplifying signal electromagnetic radiation (signal) through stimulated emission, the signal comprising a signal wavelength; and a passive or active mode-locking device to enforce pulse formation in the laser. The mode-locking device includes a thin-film waveguide having a thickness on the order of the signal wavelength so as to confine and guide the signal along the thin-film waveguide, and a material comprising a second-order nonlinear susceptibility to enable active or passive mode-locking of the signal. The mode-locking device leads to generation of pulses of the signal outputted from the mode-locked laser.