Methods, apparatus, and systems comprising a fiber-coupled laser and time-varying beam characteristics. A laser may generate an optical beam that is launched into one or more lengths of fiber, at least one of which comprises a confinement region that is optically coupled to an output. A perturbation device may modulate, through action upon the one or more lengths of fiber, a beam characteristic over a time period during which the laser is energized. A controller may cause the perturbation device to act upon the one or more lengths of fiber to impart a time-averaged beam characteristic and/or to induce a continuous variation in one or more beam characteristics during system use. A process monitor may sense a metric external to the optical system, and a feedback signal from the process monitor may be coupled into the controller. Dynamic beam characteristics may be modulated based on the feedback signal.

An optical beam delivery device includes: a first length of fiber having a first refractive index profile (RIP) to enable modification of one or more beam characteristics of an optical beam having a first beam shape; an a second length of fiber having at least one beam-shaping confinement region and situated to receive the optical beam from the first length of fiber, wherein the at least one beam shape-modifying confinement region has a quadrilateral cross-section.

This disclosed subject matter allows short pulses with high peak powers to be obtained from seed pulses generated by a gain-switched diode. The gain-switched diode provides a highly stable source for optical systems such as nonlinear microscopy. The disclosed system preserves the ability to generate pulses at arbitrary repetition rates, or even pulses on demand, which can help reduce sample damage in microscopy experiments or control deliberate damage in material processing.

A novel broadband light source composed of supercontinuum light source and high-power single-wavelength semiconductor laser diodes. It includes an electronics control board, a supercontinuum light source, and a series of single-wavelength semiconductor laser diodes. The frequency of each single-wavelength semiconductor laser diodes is adjusted to integer times or division times of a frequency of the supercontinuum light source by using the electronics control board. Weaknesses of the supercontinuum light source that it is difficult to cover a wavelength less than 400 nm and power density at a wavelength of 400-2400 nm is less than 10 mW/nm are compensated by using the single-wavelength semiconductor lasers. Wavelengths of the single-wavelength semiconductor laser diodes can cover 375-2400 nm, and the highest power density can reach 200 mW/nm, so that the novel broadband light source composed by the single-wavelength semiconductor laser diodes is applicable to a field such as spectral microscopy in a range of 375-400 nm. In addition, by means of electronics clock control on the single-wavelength semiconductor laser diodes and a pulse generation circuit of the supercontinuum light source, same-phase output of the single-wavelength semiconductor laser diodes and the supercontinuum light source can be kept, and relative pulse delays are flexible and adjustable.

An apparatus can be provided which can include a laser arrangement which can be configured to provide a laser radiation, and can include an optical cavity. The optical cavity can include a dispersive optical first arrangement which can be configured to receive and disperse at least one first electro-magnetic radiation so as to provide at least one second electro-magnetic radiation. Such cavity can also include an active optical modulator second arrangement which can be configured to receive and modulate the at least one second radiation so as to provide at least one third electro-magnetic radiation. The optical cavity can further include a dispersive optical third arrangement which can be configured to receive and disperse at least one third electro-magnetic radiation so as to provide at least one fourth electro-magnetic radiation. For example, actions by the first, second and third arrangements can cause a spectral filtering of the fourth electro-magnetic radiation(s) relative to the first electro-magnetic radiation(s). The laser radiation can be associated with the fourth radiation(s), and a wavelength of the laser radiation can be controlled by the spectral filtering caused by the actions by the first, second and third arrangements.

A super continuum light source includes an input light source having semiconductor diodes generating an input beam having a wavelength shorter than 2.5 microns. Optical amplifiers receive the input beam and form an amplified optical beam having a spectral width. The optical amplifiers may include a cladding-pumped fiber amplifier doped with rare-earth materials. A nonlinear element may include mid-infrared fibers to receive the amplified optical beam and to broaden the spectral width of the received amplified optical beam to 100 nm or more through a nonlinear effect forming an output beam, wherein the output beam is pulsed. At least a portion of the output beam is in a mid-infrared wavelength range between 2 microns and 5 microns and at least a portion of the one or more mid-infrared fibers comprises a ZBLAN fluoride fiber coupled to a chalcogenide fiber.

System for converting relatively long pulses from rep-rate variable ultrafast optical sources to shorter, high-energy pulses suitable for sources in high-energy ultrafast lasers. Fibers with positive group velocity dispersion (GVD) and self phase modulation are advantageously employed with the optical sources. These systems take advantage of the need for higher pulse energies at lower repetition rates so that such sources can be cost effective.

The invention relates to a microstructured optical fiber for generating supercontinuum light upon feeding of pump light. The light can be incoherent light. The microstructured optical fiber has a first section and a second section, where the first and second sections have one or more different features. The invention also relates to a supercontinuum source comprising a microstructured optical fiber according to the invention.

The invention relates to a supercontinuum light source comprising a microstructured optical fiber and a pump light source. The microstructured optical fiber comprises a core and a cladding region surrounding the core, as well as a first fiber length section, a second fiber length section and an intermediate fiber length section between said first and second fiber length sections. The first fiber length section comprises a core with a first characteristic core diameter. The second fiber length section comprises a core with a second characteristic core diameter, smaller than said first characteristic core diameter, where said second characteristic core diameter is substantially constant along said second fiber length section. The intermediate length section of the optical fiber comprises a core which is tapered from said first characteristic core diameter to said second characteristic core diameter over a tapered length.

An optical amplifier includes: an optical amplifying fiber; and a pump light source that supplies pump light to the optical amplifying fiber, the pump light being used for parametrically amplifying signal light input to the optical amplifying fiber by using a non-linear optical effect of the optical amplifying fiber. The fluctuation of the zero-dispersion wavelength of the optical amplifying fiber in the longitudinal direction is within the limit of 0.5 nm/100 m.