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Title: Relative timing jitter in a counterpropagating all-normal dispersion dual-comb fiber laser

The counterpropagating all-normal dispersion (CANDi) fiber laser is an emerging high-energy single-cavity dual-comb laser source. Its relative timing jitter (RTJ), a critical parameter for dual-comb timing precision and spectral resolution, has not been comprehensively investigated. In this paper, we enhance the state-of-the-art CANDi fiber laser pulse energy from 1 nJ to 8 nJ. We then introduce a reference-free RTJ characterization technique that provides shot-to-shot measurement capability at femtosecond precision. The measurement noise floor reaches1.6×<#comment/>10−<#comment/>7fs2/Hz, and the corresponding integrated measurement precision is only 1.8 fs (1 kHz, 20 MHz). With this characterization tool, we are able to study the physical origin of the CANDi laser’s RTJ in detail. We first verify that the cavity length fluctuation does not contribute to the RTJ. Then we measure the integrated RTJ to be 39 fs (1 kHz, 20 MHz) and identify the pump relative intensity noise (RIN) to be the dominant factor responsible for it. In particular, pump RIN is coupled to the RTJ through the Gordon–Haus effect. Finally, solutions to reduce the free-running CANDi laser’s RTJ are discussed. This work provides a general guideline to improve the performance of compact single-cavity dual-comb systems such as the CANDi laser, benefitting various dual-comb applications.

 
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Award ID(s):
2048202
NSF-PAR ID:
10369552
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Optical Society of America
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Optica
Volume:
9
Issue:
7
ISSN:
2334-2536
Page Range / eLocation ID:
Article No. 717
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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