We characterize the timing jitter of passively mode-locked, femtosecond, erbium fiber lasers with unprecedented resolution, enabling the observation of quantum-origin timing jitter up to the Nyquist frequency. For a pair of nearly identical $79.4\mathrm{MHz}$ dispersion-managed lasers with an output pulse energy of $450\mathrm{pJ}$ , the high-frequency jitter was found to be $2.6\mathrm{fs}$ [ $10\mathrm{kHz}$ , $39.7\mathrm{MHz}$ ]. The results agree well with theoretical noise models over more than three decades, extending to the Nyquist frequency. It is also found that unexpected noise may occur if care is not taken in optimizing the mode-locked state.

© 2010 Optical Society of America

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Citation lists with outbound citation links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article level metrics are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

Related Journal Articles

• Observation of quantum-limited timing jitter in an active, harmonically mode-locked fiber laser (OL)
• Intensity noise of mode-locked fiber lasers (OL)
• Quantum-limited noise performance of a femtosecond all-fiber ytterbium laser (OE)
• Impact of pulse dynamics on timing jitter in mode-locked fiber lasers (OL)
• Timing jitter optimization of mode-locked Yb-fiber lasers toward the attosecond regime (OE)

Related Conference Papers

• Environmental Noise on a Qubit Through Entanglement with a Quantum Circuit
• Environmental Noise on a Qubit Through Entanglement with a Quantum Circuit
• Maximum-likelihood estimation of quantum processes
• Maximum-likelihood estimation of quantum processes
• Saturable absorbers with large area broadband Bragg reflectors for femtosecond pulse generation
• Saturable absorbers with large area broadband Bragg reflectors for femtosecond pulse generation
• Passively Mode-Locked Yb-Doped Large-Mode-Area Microstruture Fiber Laser
• Sub-femtosecond timing jitter optical pulse trains from mode-locked Er-fiber lasers