We demonstrate a 3 GHz repetition rate, femtosecond Raman soliton source with its wavelength tunable from 1.15 to 1.35 μm. We investigate the dependence of Raman soliton formation on different photonic-crystal fibers (PCFs), input powers, and fiber lengths. To produce a Raman soliton peaking at the same wavelength, shorter PCFs demand higher input average powers and consequently generate stronger Raman soliton pulses. Using 30 cm PCF NL-3.2-945, the resulting Raman soliton pulse at 1.35 μm has 0.9 W average power. The integrated relative intensity noise of the Raman soliton pulse at 1.35 μm generated from the 54-cm PCF NL-3.2-945 is as low as 0.33% from 100 Hz to 10 MHz.
© 2014 Optical Society of America
Lasers and Laser Optics
Original Manuscript: January 10, 2014
Revised Manuscript: February 27, 2014
Manuscript Accepted: February 27, 2014
Published: March 27, 2014
Jinkang Lim, Hung-Wen Chen, Shanhui Xu, Zhongmin Yang, Guoqing Chang, and Franz X. Kärtner, "3 GHz, watt-level femtosecond Raman soliton source," Opt. Lett. 39, 2060-2063 (2014)