Timing jitter and phase noise of mode-locked fiber lasers

The noise properties of mode-locked fiber lasers differ in various respects from those of bulk lasers. The reasons for this are both quantitative and qualitative differences concerning the pulse formation. The underlying theoretical aspects are discussed in detail. It is found that the achievable noise level and the limiting effects depend strongly on the type of fiber laser. Depending on the pulse formation mechanism, noise levels may be much higher than predicted by simplified models. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America