Simple method for high average power supercontinuum generation based on Raman mode locking in a quasi-CW fiber laser oscillator

Abstract

A simple generation method for a supercontinuum (SC) based on Raman mode locking (RML) in a quasi-continuous wave (QCW) fiber laser oscillator is demonstrated experimentally and analyzed in this paper. The power of the SC is adjustable by changing the pump repetition rate and duty cycle. Under the pump repetition rate of 1 kHz and duty cycle of 11.5%, an SC output with a spectral range of 1000–1500 nm is obtained at a maximum output power of 791 W. The RML is fully analyzed in terms of the spectral and temporal dynamics. RML plays a major role in this process and further enriches the generation of the SC. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report on directly generating a high and adjustable average power SC using a large-mode-area (LMA)-based oscillator, which provides a proof-of-concept experiment for achieving a high average power SC source and greatly improves the potential application value of the SC source.