Attosecond timing jitter from high repetition rate femtosecond “solid-state fiber lasers”

Abstract

Compact, high repetition rate ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mo>∼</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">G</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">H</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">z</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> level) femtosecond fiber lasers are attractive for high-precision, high-speed scientific and engineering fields. However, the noise of such a laser seems far higher than low repetition rate ones, which limits its application. Motivated by this challenge, we combined the solid state and the fiber laser into a novel and highly stable “solid-state fiber laser” operating at 840 MHz repetition rate. Benefitting from the robust architecture of “optical cubes,” the laser shows an ultralow timing jitter (130 as) in free-running operation. This is the first time the timing jitter of a high repetition rate fiber laser has been brought to the attosecond level, to the best of our knowledge. This breakthrough makes an impact on the concept that the high repetition rate is associated with high timing jitter in fiber lasers and opens the way for real-world applications of these lasers.