Compact Ultrafast Fiber Lasers

Lasers emitting very short optical pulses (on the timescale of femtoseconds, i.e., 10<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">–15</sup> s) are indispensable for a wide range of scientific applications, like electro-optical sampling [1], attosecond pulse generation [2], THz generation [3], ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy [4], and others. Single-cycle pulses represent the ultimate temporal compression of an optical waveform, where the electric field undergoes only one oscillation per pulse [5]. Traditionally, ultrafast laser systems are associated with complex, bulky, and expensive architectures. However, advancements in mature telecom fiber technology have enabled the development of compact, cost-effective, and robust femtosecond pulse sources in the near-infrared spectral region. Their turn-key operation and environmental stability make them accessible to users without specialized expertise in laser technology, such as medical professionals, as well as attractive in field-deployable applications.