# High-power femtosecond pulses without a modelocked laser

## TL;DR

This paper presents a fiber-based system that amplifies and compresses gain-switched diode pulses to produce high-power, nearly transform-limited femtosecond pulses with significantly improved peak power, robustness, and control.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel fiber system combining Mamyshev regeneration and parabolic pre-shaping to generate high-power femtosecond pulses without a modelocked laser.

## Key findings

- Achieved 140-fs pulses with 13-MW peak power
- Demonstrated nearly transform-limited pulse generation
- Reduced fluctuations in pulse energy to 2%

## Abstract

We demonstrate a fiber system which amplifies and compresses pulses from a gain-switched diode. A Mamyshev regenerator shortens the pulses and improves their coherence, enabling subsequent amplification by parabolic pre-shaping. As a result, we are able to control nonlinear effects and generate nearly transform-limited, 140-fs pulses with 13-MW peak power---an order-of-magnitude improvement over previous gain-switched diode sources. Seeding with a gain-switched diode results in random fluctuations of 2% in the pulse energy, which future work using known techniques may ameliorate. Further development may allow such systems to compete directly with sources based on modelocked oscillators in some applications while enjoying unparalleled robustness and repetition rate control.