FIbre Broad-band Energetic high repetition Rate AMPlifier – FIBER-AMP

The project aims to investigate new kinds of ultra-broad band and high repetition rate photonic amplifiers with concepts based on nonlinear photonics and ultra-short pulse control. In this JCJC-ANR proposal, we describe several breakthroughs that we will use to create unique photonic sources with the capabilities required to underpin the next generation of ultra-fast technological and scientific experiments. The systems will give opportunity to reach sub-50 fs high-energy pulses with limited distortion in the visible to the infrared at high repetition rate, opening new horizon for the scientific and industrial communities. Ultra-broad band nonlinear optical techniques will elegantly circumvent the bandwidth limitation of traditional material while exotic fibres will allow to reach high energy level. The project will explore wide and extreme potentialities of parametric amplification focusing on the optical properties rather than the fibre characteristics. The ultra-broad band properties will enable to amplify ultra-short pulses toward the few cycle regime in photonic crystal fibre and spectral tunability will be highlighted for close matching to demanding applications. Scaling to high energy up to 10-100 µJ will be mainly performed in gas filled hollow core fibres that own damage threshold much higher than bulk silica. These ICT based photonic sources will benefit from the fibre inherent properties not only to develop robust and compact systems with high quality spatial profile but also to reach repetition rates well above “standard” techniques, up to few 100 kHz compared to the ~1kHz rates common in laboratories today. The new amplification schemes should be of prime interest for data processing, detection and communication involving analog-to-digital conversion, fast continuous single-shot measurements with dispersive Fourier transformation and chirp pulse lidar. The spectral versatility, ultra-short pulse duration and high repetition rate are also very interesting properties for “health and wellness” (medicine, biology, environment sensing), nanomachining and fundamental investigations in laser-matter interaction.

The Fibre-Amp/JCJC-ANR project is organized in 4 main workpackages (WP) that should closely interact during the three-year duration of the project. The general strategy is to investigate different parts (WP1, WP2, WP3) and combine them together at the end of the project (WP4). WP1 is dedicated to find and study several methods to broaden the spectral bandwidth of amplifiers at high repetition rate. They are based on controlling the pulse shape as respect to the fibre characteristics. Preliminary but important numerical results have already shown great potentiality with sub-30 fs pulse amplification. WP2 aims to demonstrate the spectral versatility of the methods developed in WP1. More precisely, we expect to generate and amplify sub-ps pulse in the visible and near infrared with spectral tunability for demanding applications. WP3 is dedicated to the amplification of ultra-short pulse (<200 fs) at high energy toward 100 µJ level at high repetition rate in gas filled hollow core fibre. At the end of the proposal, all the know-how acquired during the course of the project will be gathered to develop the outstanding photonic source with potential industrial interest. WP4 combines both extreme conditions (high energy at high repetition rate and ultra-broad band) and makes this part technologically challenging. The complete architecture must be well controlled and understood to realize the reliable, versatile and robust source.