Flexible high-repetition-rate ultrafast fiber laser

High-repetition-rate pulses have widespread applications in the fields of fiber communications, frequency comb and optical sensing. Here, we have demonstrated high-repetition-rate ultrashort pulses in an all-fiber laser by exploiting an intracavity Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) as a comb filter. The repetition rate of the laser can be tuned flexibly from about 7 to 1100 GHz by controlling the optical path difference between the two arms of the MZI. The pulse duration can be reduced continuously from about 10.1 to 0.55 ps with the spectral width tunable from about 0.35 to 5.7 nm by manipulating the intracavity polarization controller. Numerical simulations well confirm the experimental observations and show that filter-driven four-wave mixing effect, induced by the MZI, is the main mechanism that governs the formation of the high-repetition-rate pulses. This all-fiber-based laser is a simple and low-cost source for various applications where high-repetition-rate pulses are necessary.