Q-switching of an all-fiber laser by acousto-optic modulation of a fiber Bragg grating

We report active Q-switching of an all-fiber laser using a Bragg grating based acousto-optic modulator. Q-switching is performed by modulating a fiber Bragg grating with an extensional acoustic wave. The acoustic wave modulates periodically the effective index profile of the FBG and changes its reflection features. This allows controlling the Q-factor of the cavity. Using 1 m of 300 ppm erbium-doped fiber and a maximum pump power of 180 mW, Q-switch pulses of 10 W of peak power and 82ns wide were generated. The pulse repetition rate of the laser can be continuously varied from few Hz up to 62.5 kHz.(c) 2006 Optical Society of America.