Noise-like pulse fiber lasers

Noise-like pulses (NLPs) are relatively long (nanosecond or sub-nanosecond) wave packets exhibiting a fine inner structure of sub-picosecond pulses with varying amplitude and duration. The spectral domain of the NLPs has a wide wavelength envelope that exhibits highly variable wavelength emission intensity. An optical spectrum analyzer provides pseudo-stable, low-coherence, flat, and broadband spectral information of NLP, which then superimposed recording hundreds of thousands of NLP spectra. Therefore, NLPs can be widely applied in optical metrology, low-coherence spectral interferometry, spectral-domain optical coherent tomography, optical sensing and measurement, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and ablation threshold analysis, micro machining, and supercontinuum. This report mainly introduces some recent achievements in NLP fiber lasers. The research mainly includes the influence of reverse saturable absorption on the formation of NLPs, the generation of wide-spectrum NLP, the splitting of NLP, and the controllable generation of NLPs.