Repetition rate continuously reconfigurable supercontinuum generation using an all-fiber non-mode-locked source

Abstract

This paper presents a cost-effective, all-fiber, non-mode-locked supercontinuum (SC) source with continuously reconfigurable repetition rates of up to 10 GHz, utilizing a time-lens mechanism. The time-lens applies temporal quadratic phase modulation to a continuous wave laser, effectively broadening its spectral bandwidth through fiber-integrated electro-optic phase modulators. Dispersion compensation is employed to generate picosecond pulses, with the repetition rate independently controlled by an electro-optic intensity modulator. These pulses are injected into highly nonlinear fibers (HNLFs) to generate SC pulse trains through nonlinear optical effects. The SC source achieves flat spectral ranges across 1660–1800 nm, 1435–1520 nm, and 1351–1463 nm by employing different HNLFs, each with unique dispersion characteristics. Within each HNLF, the spectral shapes and relative intensity distributions remain consistent under varying repetition rates. The SC source also exhibits low noise and excellent beam quality, ensuring reliable and versatile performance for applications requiring tunable temporal and spectral parameters, such as nonlinear microscopy and high-precision vibration detection.