Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) Laser

Forschung und Entwicklung der schnellsten schmalbandig durchstimmbaren Laser der Welt

In „Fourier Domain Mode Locking“ (FDML, dt. Fourier Domänen Moden Kopplung) wird, komplementär zu Standard modengekoppelten Lasern, nicht die Phase oder Amplitude, sondern das Spektrum moduliert. Dadurch wird eine Sequenz spektral sehr reiner optischer Frequenzdurchläufe (engl. sweeps) erzeugt, welche prinzipiell auch zu einem Zug ultrakurzer Lichtimpulse komprimiert werden können. Der Wellenzug eines kompletten Frequenzdurchlaufs wird im Resonator optisch gespeichert.

FDML Laser haben die biomedizinische Bildgebung mittels OCT in Hinblick auf Bildgebungsgeschwindigkeit gerade zu revolutioniert. Außerdem kommen sie unter anderem in der Spektroskopie, zur Erzeugung hochfrequenter Mikrowellen-Frequenzdurchläufe und für schnelle Laser Abtasteinheiten zum Einsatz. Obwohl es bereits kommerzielle FDML Laser gibt, ist der Mechanismus des FDMLs und mögliche auftretende Probleme teilweise noch unverstanden. Ziel des Forschungsthemas ist, ein umfassendes theoretisches Verständnis des FDMLs zu entwickeln, die experimentellen Limitationen und Probleme abzugrenzen und mögliche Anwendungen in der biomedizinischen Bildgebung und der Spektroskopie zu erforschen.

Ziele:

  1. Laserphysik - Untersuchung der relevanten physikalischen Effekte und des Betriebs von realen FDML-Laser-Implementierungen, um ein umfassendes Verständnis und ein validiertes theoretisches Modell zu entwickeln.
  2. Technologie - Weiterentwicklung von bestehenden und neuartigen Betriebarten von FDML-Lasern mit Fokus auf praxisnahe Anwendungen.
  3. Anwendung - Definition und Implementierung von FDML-Lasern auf neue Anwendungen in der Metrologie, Spektroskopie und Bildgebung.

Veröffentlichungen

2023

Marie Klufts, A. Martínez Jiménez, Simon Lotz, Muhammad Asim Bashir, Tom Pfeiffer, Alexander Mlynek, Wolfgang Wieser, Alexander Chamorovskiy, Adrian Bradu, Adrian Podoleanu, and Robert Huber,
828 kHz retinal imaging with an 840 nm Fourier domain mode locked laser, Biomed. Opt. Express , vol. 14, no. 12, pp. 6493-6508, Nov. 2023. Optica Publishing Group.
DOI:10.1364/BOE.504302
Bibtex: BibTeX
@article{Klufts:23,
author = {Marie Klufts and Alejandro Martinez Jimenez and Simon Lotz and Muhammad Asim Bashir and Tom Pfeiffer and Alexander Mlynek and Wolfgang Wieser and Alexander Chamorovskiy and Adrian Bradu and Adrian Podoleanu and Robert Huber},
journal = {Biomed. Opt. Express},
keywords = {Analog to digital converters; Laser beams; Laser imaging; Laser modes; Point spread function; Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers},
number = {12},
pages = {6493--6508},
publisher = {Optica Publishing Group},
title = {828 kHz retinal imaging with an 840\&\#x2005;nm Fourier domain mode locked laser},
volume = {14},
month = {Dec},
year = {2023},
url = {https://opg.optica.org/boe/abstract.cfm?URI=boe-14-12-6493},
abstract = {This paper presents a Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) laser centered around 840 nm. It features a bidirectional sweep repetition rate of 828 kHz and a spectral bandwidth of 40 nm. An axial resolution of ∼9.9 µm in water and a 1.4 cm sensitivity roll-off are achieved. Utilizing a complex master-slave (CMS) recalibration method and due to a sufficiently high sensitivity of 84.6 dB, retinal layers of the human eye in-vivo can be resolved during optical coherence tomography (OCT) examination. The developed FDML laser enables acquisition rates of 3D-volumes with a size of 200 × 100 × 256 voxels in under 100 milliseconds. Detailed information on the FDML implementation, its challenging design tasks, and OCT images obtained with the laser are presented in this paper.},
}
Simon Lotz, Madita Göb, Wolfgang Draxinger, Anneli Dick, and Robert Huber,
13.4 MHz FDML Laser for Intra-Surgical Optical Coherence Tomography, in 2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC) , 072023. pp. 1.
DOI:10.1109/CLEO/Europe-EQEC57999.2023.10231419
Bibtex: BibTeX
@INPROCEEDINGS{10231419,
  author={Lotz, Simon and Göb, Madita and Draxinger, Wolfgang and Dick, Anneli and Huber, Robert},
  booktitle={2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)}, 
  title={13.4 MHz FDML Laser for Intra-Surgical Optical Coherence Tomography}, 
  year={2023},
  volume={},
  number={},
  pages={1-1},
  doi={10.1109/CLEO/Europe-EQEC57999.2023.10231419}}
Marie Klufts, Simon Lotz, Muhammad Asim Bashir, Tom Pfeiffer, Alexander Mlynek, Wolfgang Wieser, Alexander Chamorovskiy, Vladimir Shidlovski, Adrian Podoleanu, and Robert Huber,
Dual Amplification 850 nm FDML Laser, in 2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC) , 072023. pp. 1.
DOI:10.1109/CLEO/Europe-EQEC57999.2023.10232019
Bibtex: BibTeX
@INPROCEEDINGS{10232019,
  author={Klufts, M. and Lotz, S. and Bashir, M. A. and Pfeiffer, T. and Mlynek, A. and Wieser, W. and Chamorovskiy, A. and Shidlovski, V. and Podoleanu, A. and Huber, R.},
  booktitle={2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)}, 
  title={Dual Amplification 850 nm FDML Laser}, 
  year={2023},
  volume={},
  number={},
  pages={1-1},
  doi={10.1109/CLEO/Europe-EQEC57999.2023.10232019}}
Muhammad Asim Bashir, Simon Lotz, Marie Klufts, Christian Jirauschek, and Robert Huber,
1190 nm FDML laser: Challenges and Strategies, in 2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC) , 072023. pp. 1.
DOI:10.1109/CLEO/Europe-EQEC57999.2023.10232661
Bibtex: BibTeX
@INPROCEEDINGS{10232661,
  author={Bashir, M. A. and Lotz, S. and Kluftsa, M. and Jirauschek, C. and Huberab, R.},
  booktitle={2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)}, 
  title={1190 nm FDML laser: Challenges and Strategies}, 
  year={2023},
  volume={},
  number={},
  pages={1-1},
  doi={10.1109/CLEO/Europe-EQEC57999.2023.10232661}}
Philipp Lamminger, Hubertus Hakert, Simon Lotz, Jan Philip Kolb, Tonio Kutscher, Sebastian Karpf, and Robert Huber,
Four-wave mixing seeded by a rapid wavelength-sweeping FDML laser for nonlinear imaging at 900 nm and 1300 nm, Opt. Lett. , vol. 48, no. 14, pp. 3713-3716, 07 2023. Optica Publishing Group.
DOI:10.1364/OL.488181
Bibtex: BibTeX
@article{Lamminger:23,
author = {Philipp Lamminger and Hubertus Hakert and Simon Lotz and Jan Philip Kolb and Tonio Kutscher and Sebastian Karpf and Robert Huber},
journal = {Opt. Lett.},
keywords = {Green fluorescent protein; Laser beam combining; Laser crystals; Laser imaging; Optical amplifiers; Photonic crystal lasers},
number = {14},
pages = {3713--3716},
publisher = {Optica Publishing Group},
title = {Four-wave mixing seeded by a rapid wavelength-sweeping FDML laser for nonlinear imaging at 900 nm and 1300 nm},
volume = {48},
month = {Jul},
year = {2023},
url = {https://opg.optica.org/ol/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-48-14-3713},
doi = {10.1364/OL.488181},
abstract = {Four-wave mixing (FWM) enables the generation and amplification of light in spectral regions where suitable fiber gain media are unavailable. The 1300 nm and 900 nm regions are of especially high interest for time-encoded (TICO) stimulated Raman scattering microscopy and spectro-temporal laser imaging by diffracted excitation (SLIDE) two-photon microscopy. We present a new, to the best of our knowledge, FWM setup where we shift the power of a home-built fully fiber-based master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) at 1064 nm to the 1300-nm region of a rapidly wavelength-sweeping Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) laser in a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) creating pulses in the 900-nm region. The resulting 900-nm light can be wavelength swept over 54 nm and has up to 2.5 kW (0.2 {\textmu}J) peak power and a narrow instantaneous spectral linewidth of 70 pm. The arbitrary pulse patterns of the MOPA and the fast wavelength tuning of the FDML laser (419 kHz) allow it to rapidly tune the FWM light enabling new and faster TICO-Raman microscopy, SLIDE imaging, and other applications.},
}
Muhammad Asim Bashir, Simon Lotz, Marie Klufts, Igor Krestnikov, Christian Jirauschek, and Robert Huber,
1190 nm Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) laser for optical coherence tomography (OCT), in Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedicine XXVII , Joseph A. Izatt and James G. Fujimoto, Eds. SPIE, 032023. pp. 1236707.
DOI:10.1117/12.2652884
Bibtex: BibTeX
@inproceedings{10.1117/12.2652884,
author = {M. A. Bashir and S. Lotz and M. Klufts and I. Krestnikov and C. Jirauschek and R. Huber},
title = {{1190 nm Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) laser for optical coherence tomography (OCT)}},
volume = {12367},
booktitle = {Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedicine XXVII},
editor = {Joseph A. Izatt and James G. Fujimoto},
organization = {International Society for Optics and Photonics},
publisher = {SPIE},
pages = {1236707},
abstract = {We demonstrate a Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) laser centered at 1190 nm with 2×410 kHz sweep repetition rate, a sweeping range of 100 nm and 2.5 mW output power. The laser is based on a quantum dot-semiconductor optical amplifier with small linewidth enhancement factor. The laser could be used as a probe laser in stimulated Raman scattering microscopy and it may be attractive for optical coherence tomography due to low water absorption and the spectral signature of lipids around 1200nm. Moreover, it is ideal to close the gap between FDML lasers at 1064 nm and 1300 nm. Combining these three lasers can enable ultrawideband sweeping to improve the axial OCT resolution down to 2 μm. },
keywords = {FDML, Swept source, laser, SS-OCT, OCT, Tunable lasers},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1117/12.2652884},
URL = {https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2652884}
}
Philipp Lamminger, Hubertus Hakert, Simon Lotz, Jan Philip Kolb, Tonio Kutscher, Sebastian Karpf, and Robert Huber,
900 nm swept source FDML laser with kW peak power, in Fiber Lasers XX: Technology and Systems , V. R. Supradeepa, Eds. SPIE, 032023. pp. 124001I.
DOI:10.1117/12.2649663
Bibtex: BibTeX
@inproceedings{10.1117/12.2649663,
author = {Philipp Lamminger and Hubertus Hakert and Simon Lotz and Jan Philip Kolb and Tonio Kutscher and Sebastian Karpf and Robert Huber},
title = {{900 nm swept source FDML laser with kW peak power}},
volume = {12400},
booktitle = {Fiber Lasers XX: Technology and Systems},
editor = {V.  R. Supradeepa},
organization = {International Society for Optics and Photonics},
publisher = {SPIE},
pages = {124001I},
abstract = {A wavelength agile 900 nm 2.5 kW peak power fiber laser is created by four-wave mixing (FWM) in a photonic crystal fiber (PCF), while amplifying a 1300 nm Fourier-domain mode-locked (FDML) laser. The FWM process is pumped by a home-built 1064 nm master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) laser and seeded by a home-built 1300 nm FDML laser, generating high power pulses at wavelengths, where amplification by active fiber media is difficult. The 900 nm pulses have a spectral linewidth of 70 pm, are tunable over 54 nm and have electronic pulse-to-pulse tuning capability. These pulses can be used for nonlinear imaging like two-photon or coherent anti-Stokes Raman microscopy (CARS) microscopy including spectro-temporal laser imaging by diffracted excitation (SLIDE) and time-encoded (Tico) stimulated Raman microscopy.},
keywords = {Fourier domain mode locking,  FDML, Raman, two photon microscopy, SLIDE, 900 nm, fiber laser, photonic crystal fiber, swept source},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1117/12.2649663},
URL = {https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2649663}
}
Marie Klufts, Simon Lotz, Muhammad Asim Bashir, Tom Pfeiffer, Alexander Mlynek, Wolfgang Wieser, Alexander Chamorovskiy, Vladimir Shidlovski, and Robert Huber,
850 nm FDML: performance and challenges, in Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedicine XXVII , Joseph A. Izatt and James G. Fujimoto, Eds. SPIE, 032023. pp. 1236705.
DOI:10.1117/12.2649646
Bibtex: BibTeX
@inproceedings{10.1117/12.2649646,
author = {M. Klufts and S. Lotz and M. A. Bashir and T. Pfeiffer and A. Mlynek and W. Wieser and A. Chamorovskiy and V. Shidlovski and R. Huber},
title = {{850 nm FDML: performance and challenges}},
volume = {12367},
booktitle = {Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedicine XXVII},
editor = {Joseph A. Izatt and James G. Fujimoto},
organization = {International Society for Optics and Photonics},
publisher = {SPIE},
pages = {1236705},
abstract = {We demonstrate a Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) laser centered around 850 nm with a sweeping range of 50 nm, a fundamental repetition rate of 2×416 kHz and an output power of 2 mW. A new cavity design using three chirped Fiber Bragg gratings is required to overcome sweeping limitations caused by high dispersion. Other solutions to address challenges such as high loss and high polarization mode dispersion will be discussed along with performance. A main application of this laser will be retinal imaging, but it might also be applicable for TiCo-Raman and SLIDE microscopy. },
keywords = {Swept source, FDML, Laser, Ophthalmic imaging, OCT, 800 nm, retinal imaging, light sources},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1117/12.2649646},
URL = {https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2649646}
}

2022

Paul Strenge, Birgit Lange, Wolfgang Draxinger, Christin Grill, Veit Danicke, Dirk Theisen-Kunde, Christian Hagel, Sonja Spahr-Hess, Matteo M. Bonsanto, Heinz Handels, Ralf Brinkmann, and Robert Huber,
Differentiation of different stages of brain tumor infiltration using optical coherence tomography: Comparison of two systems and histology, Frontiers in Oncology , 08 2022.
DOI:10.3389/fonc.2022.896060
Bibtex: BibTeX
@article{Strenge-2022,
   author = {Strenge, P.;Lange, B.;Grill,C.;Danicke,V.;Theisen-Kunde, D.;Hagel, C.;Spahr-Hess, S.;;Bonsanto, Matteo M.;Handels, H.; and Huber, R.;Brinkmann, R.},
   title = {Differentiation of different stages of brain tumor infiltration using optical coherence tomography: Comparison of two systems and histology},
   journal = {Frontiers in Oncology},
Keywords = {AG-Huber_FDML, AG-Huber_OCT, brain, tumor, glioblastoma multiforme, OCT, neural network, attenuation (absorption)
coefficient, optical coherence tomography},
   DOI = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2022.896060},
   url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2022.896060/full},
   year = {2022},
   type = {Journal Article}
}
Christin Grill, Torben Blömker, Mark Schmidt, Dominic Kastner, Tom Pfeiffer, Jan Philip Kolb, Wolfgang Draxinger, Sebastian Karpf, Christian Jirauschek, and Robert Huber,
Towards phase-stabilized Fourier domain mode-locked frequency combs, Communications Physics , vol. 5, no. 1, 08 2022. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
DOI:10.1038/s42005-022-00960-w
Bibtex: BibTeX
@article{Grill2022,
  doi = {10.1038/s42005-022-00960-w},
  year = {2022},
  publisher = {Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}},
  volume = {{5}},
  number = {{1}},
  author = {C. Grill, T. Bl\"{o}mker, M. Schmidt, D. Kastner, T. Pfeiffer, J.P. Kolb, W. Draxinger, S. Karpf, C. Jirauschek and R. Huber},
  title = {Towards phase-stabilized Fourier domain mode-locked frequency combs},
  journal = {{Communications Physics}},
keywords={AG-Huber_FDML, FDML, Fourier domain mode locking, phase, frequency comb, coherence, beating}
}
Madita Göb, Sazgar Burhan, Simon Lotz, and Robert Huber,
Towards ultra-large area vascular contrast skin imaging using multi-MHz-OCT, in Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedicine XXVI , Joseph A. Izatt and James G. Fujimoto, Eds. SPIE, 032022. pp. 27 -- 31.
DOI:10.1117/12.2612171
Bibtex: BibTeX
@inproceedings{10.1117/12.2612171,
author = {Madita G{\"o}b and Sazgar Burhan and Simon Lotz and Robert Huber},
title = {{Towards ultra-large area vascular contrast skin imaging using multi-MHz-OCT}},
volume = {11948},
booktitle = {Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedicine XXVI},
editor = {Joseph A. Izatt and James G. Fujimoto},
organization = {International Society for Optics and Photonics},
publisher = {SPIE},
pages = {1194807},
abstract = {We demonstrate ultra-large field of view OCT scanning using standard optics, a X-Y-galvanometer scanner and a synchronously driven motorized XYZ-positioning stage. The integration of a movable stage into our self-built 3.3 MHz- OCT system allows acquiring coherent ultra-large area images, fully leveraging the high speed potential of our system. For fast OCT-angiography, one galvanometer axis scanner is driven in a repetitive sawtooth pattern, fully synchronized to the movement of the linear stage, to obtain multiple measurements at each position. This technique requires exact synchronization, precise repositioning, and uniform movements with low tolerances to ensure a minimum revisitation error. We analyze error and performance of our setup and demonstrate angiographic imaging.},
keywords = {Optical Coherence Tomography, Fourier Domain Mode Locking, FDML, Optical Coherence Angiography, OCTA, Medical optics and biotechnology, Medical imaging, Three-dimensional image acquisition, Scanners, Microscopy},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1117/12.2612171},
URL = {https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2612171}
}
Marie Klufts, Simon Lotz, Muhammad Asim Bashir, Sebastian Karpf, and Robert Huber,
Ultra-high-accuracy chromatic dispersion measurement in optical fibers, in Optical Components and Materials XIX , Shibin Jiang and Michel J. F. Digonnet, Eds. SPIE, 032022. pp. 119970L.
DOI:10.1117/12.2608773
Bibtex: BibTeX
@inproceedings{10.1117/12.2608773,
author = {M. Klufts and S. Lotz and M. Bashir and S. Karpf and R. Huber},
title = {{Ultra-high-accuracy chromatic dispersion measurement in optical fibers}},
volume = {11997},
booktitle = {Optical Components and Materials XIX},
editor = {Shibin Jiang and Michel J. F. Digonnet},
organization = {International Society for Optics and Photonics},
publisher = {SPIE},
pages = {119970L},
abstract = {The chromatic dispersion in optical fibers is a key property for applications where a broadband light source is used and the timing of each individual wavelength is crucial. Counteracting the timing offset introduced by the fiber is a challenge in many applications especially in mode locked lasers. The dispersion parameters need to be measured with high precision. The length of the fiber, the temperature, and the used wavelength will highly impact the amount of dispersion and the accuracy of the measurement. We developed an ultra-high-accuracy dispersion measurement setup at 1080 ± 50 nm considering all the parameters that may influence the measurement. It is based on a home-built wavelength tunable laser where the output is modulated by an electro-optical modulator connected to a 24 GSamples/s arbitrary waveform generator to a complex pattern consisting of pulses and a 4 GHz sine wave. After passing through the fiber the signal is measured with an 80 GSamples/s real time oscilloscope. The fiber’s temperature is controlled to allow for reproducible measurements over several days and we achieve timing measurement accuracies down to ~200 fs. We also present the performance of the setup at ~850 nm. We will discuss and quantify all effects which can negatively impact the system accuracy and we will report on more cost-effective options using lower performance equipment.},
keywords = {Dispersion measurement, Chromatic dispersion, fiber dispersion measurement, optical component characterization, tunable laser, FDML},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1117/12.2608773},
URL = {https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2608773}
}
Madita Göb, Tom Pfeiffer, Wolfgang Draxinger, Simon Lotz, Jan Philip Kolb, and Robert Huber,
Continuous spectral zooming for in vivo live 4D-OCT with MHz A-scan rates and long coherence, Biomed. Opt. Express , vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 713--727, 02 2022. OSA.
DOI:10.1364/BOE.448353
Bibtex: BibTeX
@article{Gob:22,
author = {Madita G\"{o}b and Tom Pfeiffer and Wolfgang Draxinger and Simon Lotz and Jan Philip Kolb and Robert Huber},
journal = {Biomed. Opt. Express},
keywords = {High speed imaging; Image processing; Image quality; In vivo imaging; Range imaging; Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers},
number = {2},
pages = {713--727},
publisher = {Optica Publishing Group},
title = {Continuous spectral zooming for in vivo live 4D-OCT with MHz A-scan rates and long coherence},
volume = {13},
month = {Feb},
year = {2022},
url = {https://opg.optica.org/boe/abstract.cfm?URI=boe-13-2-713},
doi = {10.1364/BOE.448353},
abstract = {We present continuous three-dimensional spectral zooming in live 4D-OCT using a home-built FDML based OCT system with 3.28 MHz A-scan rate. Improved coherence characteristics of the FDML laser allow for imaging ranges up to 10 cm. For the axial spectral zoom feature, we switch between high resolution and long imaging range by adjusting the sweep range of our laser. We present a new imaging setup allowing for synchronized adjustments of the imaging range and lateral field of view during live OCT imaging. For this, a novel inline recalibration algorithm was implemented that enables numerical k-linearization of the raw OCT fringes for every frame instead of every volume. This is realized by acquiring recalibration data within the dead time of the raster scan at the turning points of the fast axis scanner. We demonstrate in vivo OCT images of fingers and hands at different resolution modes and show real three-dimensional zooming during live 4D-OCT. A three-dimensional spectral zooming feature for live 4D-OCT is expected to be a useful tool for a wide range of biomedical, scientific and research applications, especially in OCT guided surgery.},
}

2021

Christin Grill, Simon Lotz, Torben Blömker, Mark Schmidt, Wolfgang Draxinger, Jan Philip Kolb, Christian Jirauschek, and Robert Huber,
Superposition of two independent FDML lasers, in 2021 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC) , 062021. pp. 1-1.
DOI:10.1109/CLEO/Europe-EQEC52157.2021.9542126
Bibtex: BibTeX
@INPROCEEDINGS{9542126,
  author={Grill, Christin and Lotz, Simon and Blömker, Torben and Schmidt, Mark and Draxinger, Wolfgang and Kolb, Jan Philip and Jirauschek, Christian and Huber, Robert},
  booktitle={2021 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)}, 
  title={Superposition of two independent FDML lasers}, 
  year={2021},
  volume={},
  number={},
  pages={1-1},
  abstract={Fourier domain mode locking (FDML) is a laser operating regime, which was developed in 2005 [1] . The output of this laser is a train of optical wavelength sweeps, equivalent to extremely chirped pulses with an optical bandwidth of up to 25 THz and frequency tuning rates of >10 19 Hz/s. This laser type was developed for optical coherence tomography [2] , but found recently more and more applications like LiDAR [3] , Raman microscopy [4] or two-photon microscopy [5] . The laser’s coherence properties are relevant for a better understanding of the FDML laser itself and its applications. Because of the wide sweep range and high tuning rate, the laser linewidth cannot be measured with an RF spectrometer. Superposition with a narrowband continuous wave laser only yields phase information for small fractions of the sweep [6] . However, beat signal measurements between two independent FDML lasers with equal sweep range and direction can give information about the complete sweep.},
  keywords={},
  doi={10.1109/CLEO/Europe-EQEC52157.2021.9542126},
  ISSN={},
  month={June}
}
Tom Pfeiffer, Thomas Klein, Alexander Mlynek, Wolfgang Wieser, Simon Lotz, Christin Grill, and Robert Huber,
High finesse tunable Fabry-Perot filters in Fourier-domain modelocked lasers, in Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedicine XXV , Joseph A. Izatt and James G. Fujimoto, Eds. SPIE, 062021.
DOI:10.1117/12.2583501
Bibtex: BibTeX
@inproceedings{Pfeiffer2021,
author = {T. Pfeiffer, T. Klein, A. Mlynek, W. Wieser, S. Lotz, C. Grill and R. Huber},
title = {{High finesse tunable Fabry-Perot filters in Fourier-domain modelocked lasers}},
volume = {11630},
booktitle = {Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedicine XXV},
editor = {Joseph A. Izatt and James G. Fujimoto},
organization = {International Society for Optics and Photonics},
publisher = {SPIE},
abstract = {We demonstrate that the coherence roll-off and dynamic range of OCT systems using Fourier-domain mode-locked (FDML) lasers can be significantly improved by a fiber Fabry-Perot tunable filter (FFP-TF) with a finesse of more than 3000, a more than fivefold improvement over previous designs. In contrast to previous work, standard resampling using a pre-acquired signal (as in SD-OCT) with no k-clocking is sufficient for 20 nm and 100 nm sweep range, significantly reducing the system complexity. 3D-OCT imaging at 20 cm imaging range is demonstrated.},
keywords = {AG-Huber_FDML, AG-Huber_OCT, optical coherence tomography, FDML laser, swept source laser, high finesse, Fabry-Perot, MHz-OCT, OCT, tunable laser},
year = {2021},
URL = {hhttps://doi.org/10.1117/12.2583501}
}
Simon Lotz, Christin Grill, Madita Göb, Wolfgang Draxinger, Jan Philip Kolb, and Robert Huber,
Cavity length control for Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) lasers with µm precision, Biomedical Optics Express , vol. 12(5), pp. 2604-2616, 03 2021.
DOI:10.1364/BOE.422898
Bibtex: BibTeX
@article{Lotz2021,
   author = {S. Lotz, C. Grill, M. Göb, W. Draxinger, J.P. Kolb and R. Huber},
   title = {Cavity length control for Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) lasers with µm precision},
   journal = {Biomedical Optics Express},
   volume = {12(5)},
   keywords={AG-Huber_FDML},
   pages = {2604-2616},
   url = {https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.422898},
   year = {2021},
   type = {Journal Article}
}
Christin Grill, Torben Blömker, Mark Schmidt, Dominic Kastner, Tom Pfeiffer, Jan Philip Kolb, Wolfgang Draxinger, Sebastian Karpf, Christian Jirauschek, and Robert Huber,
A detailed analysis of the coherence and field properties of an FDML laser by time resolved beat signal measurements, in Fiber Lasers XVIII: Technology and Systems , Michalis N. Zervas, Eds. SPIE, 032021. pp. 242 -- 247.
DOI:10.1117/12.2578293
Bibtex: BibTeX
@inproceedings{Grill2021,
author = {C. Grill, T. Blömker, M. Schmidt, D. Kastner, T. Pfeiffer, J.P. Kolb, W. Draxinger, S. Karpf, C. Jirauschek and R. Huber},
title = {{A detailed analysis of the coherence and field properties of an FDML laser by time resolved beat signal measurements}},
volume = {11665},
booktitle = {Fiber Lasers XVIII: Technology and Systems},
editor = {Michalis N. Zervas},
organization = {International Society for Optics and Photonics},
publisher = {SPIE},
pages = {242 -- 247},
keywords = {AG-Huber_FDML, Fourier domain mode locking, FDML laser, laser beating , tunable laser, optical coherence tomography, OCT},
year = {2021},
URL = {hhttps://doi.org/10.1117/12.2578293}
}
Mark Schmidt, Christin Grill, Simon Lotz, Tom Pfeiffer, Robert Huber, and Christian Jirauschek,
Intensity pattern types in broadband Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) lasers operating beyond the ultra-stable regime, Applied Physics B , vol. 127, no. 5, pp. 60, 02 2021.
DOI:10.1007/s00340-021-07600-1
Bibtex: BibTeX
@Article{Schmidt2021,
  author   = {M. Schmidt, C. Grill, S. Lotz, T. Pfeiffer, R. Hubert and C. Jirauschek},
  journal  = {Applied Physics B},
  title    = {Intensity pattern types in broadband Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) lasers operating beyond the ultra-stable regime},
  year     = {2021},
  issn     = {1432-0649},
  number   = {5},
  pages    = {60},
  volume   = {127},
keywords={AG-Huber_FDML},
  abstract = {We report on the formation of various intensity pattern types in detuned Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) lasers and identify the corresponding operating conditions. Such patterns are a result of the complex laser dynamics and serve as an ideal tool for the study of the underlying physical processes as well as for model verification. By numerical simulation we deduce that the formation of patterns is related to the spectral position of the instantaneous laser lineshape with respect to the transmission window of the swept bandpass filter. The spectral properties of the lineshape are determined by a long-term accumulation of phase-offsets, resulting in rapid high-amplitude intensity fluctuations in the time domain due to the narrow intra-cavity bandpass filter and the fast response time of the semiconductor optical amplifier gain medium. Furthermore, we present the distribution of the duration of dips in the intensity trace by running the laser in the regime in which dominantly dips form, and give insight into their evolution over a large number of roundtrips.},
  doi      = {10.1007/s00340-021-07600-1},
  refid    = {Schmidt2021},
}
Simon Lotz, Christin Grill, Madita Göb, Wolfgang Draxinger, Jan Philip Kolb, and Robert Huber,
Characterization of the dynamics of an FDML laser during closed-loop cavity length control, in Fiber Lasers XVIII: Technology and Systems , Michalis N. Zervas, Eds. SPIE, 2021. pp. 236 -- 241.
DOI:10.1117/12.2578514
Bibtex: BibTeX
@inproceedings{LotzLASE2021,
author = {S. Lotz, C. Grill, M. Göb, W. Draxinger, J. P. Kolb and R. Huber},
title = {{Characterization of the dynamics of an FDML laser during closed-loop cavity length control}},
volume = {11665},
booktitle = {Fiber Lasers XVIII: Technology and Systems},
editor = {Michalis N. Zervas},
organization = {International Society for Optics and Photonics},
publisher = {SPIE},
pages = {236 -- 241},
abstract = {In Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) lasers, extremely precise and stable matching of the filter tuning period and light circulation time in the cavity is essential for ultra-low noise operation. During the operation of FDML lasers, the ultra-low noise mode can be lost due to temperature drifts of the already temperature stabilized cavity resulting in increased intensity noise. Until now, the filter frequency is continuously regulated to match the changing light circulation time. However, this causes the filter frequency to constantly change by a few mHz and leads to synchronization issues in cases where a fixed filter frequency is desired. We present an actively cavity length controlled FDML laser and a robust and high precision feedback loop algorithm for maintaining ultra-low noise operation. Instead of adapting the filter frequency, the cavity length is adjusted by a motorized free space beam path to match the fixed filter frequency. The closed-loop system achieves a stability of ~0.18 mHz at a sweep repetition rate of ~418 kHz which corresponds to a ratio of 4×10<sup>-10</sup>. We investigate the coherence properties during the active cavity length adjustments and observe no noise increase compared to fixed cavity length. The cavity length control is fully functional and for the first time, offers the possibility to operate an FDML laser in sweet spot mode at a fixed frequency or phase locked to an external clock. This opens new possibilities for system integration of FDML lasers.},
keywords = {AG-Huber_FDML, FDML, Fourier domain mode locking, laser beating, tunable laser, optical coherence tomography, OCT},
year = {2021},
URL = {hhttps://doi.org/10.1117/12.2578514}
}

2020

Mark Schmidt, Christin Grill, Robert Huber, and Christian Jirauschek,
Coherence of Fourier Domain Mode-Locked (FDML) Lasers in the Ultra-Stable Regime, in 2020 International Conference Laser Optics (ICLO) , Nov.2020. pp. 1-1.
DOI:10.1109/ICLO48556.2020.9285488
Bibtex: BibTeX
@INPROCEEDINGS{Schmidt2020ICLO,
  author={M. {Schmidt}, C. {Grill}, R. {Huber} and C. {Jirauschek}},
  booktitle={2020 International Conference Laser Optics (ICLO)}, 
  title={Coherence of Fourier Domain Mode-Locked (FDML) Lasers in the Ultra-Stable Regime}, 
  year={2020},
keywords={AG-Huber_FDML},
  volume={},
  number={},
  pages={1-1},
  doi={10.1109/ICLO48556.2020.9285488},
}
Mark Schmidt, Tom Pfeiffer, Christin Grill, Robert Huber, and Christian Jirauschek,
Self-stabilization mechanism in ultra-stable Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) lasers, OSA Continuum , vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 1589--1607, 06 2020. Optical Society of America.
DOI:10.1364/OSAC.389972
Bibtex: BibTeX
@article{schmidt2020self,
  title={Self-stabilization mechanism in ultra-stable Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) lasers},
  author={M. {Schmidt}, T. {Pfeiffer}, C. {Grill}, R. {Huber} and C. {Jirauschek}},
  journal={OSA Continuum},
  volume={3},
  number={6},
  pages={1589--1607},
  year={2020},
keywords={AG-Huber_FDML},
url={https://doi.org/10.1364/OSAC.389972}, 
  publisher=  {Optical Society of America}
}
Christin Grill, Simon Lotz, Torben Blömker, Dominic Kastner, Tom Pfeiffer, Mark Schmidt, Wolfgang Draxinger, Christian Jirauschek, and Robert Huber,
Beating of two FDML lasers in real time, in Fiber Lasers XVII: Technology and Systems , Liang Dong, Eds. SPIE, 022020. pp. 132 -- 138.
DOI:10.1117/12.2545794
Bibtex: BibTeX
@inproceedings{Grill2020,
author = {C. {Grill}, S. {Lotz}, T. {Blömker}, D. {Kastner}, T. {Pfeiffer}, S. {Karpf}, M. {Schmidt}, W. {Draxinger}, C. 
 {Jirauschek} and R. {Huber}},
title = {{Beating of two FDML lasers in real time}},
volume = {11260},
booktitle = {Fiber Lasers XVII: Technology and Systems},
editor = {Liang Dong},
organization = {International Society for Optics and Photonics},
publisher = {SPIE},
pages = {132 -- 138},
keywords = {AG-Huber_FDML, FDML laser, fiber lasers, beat signal, OCT, Optical Coherence Tomography, Fourier domain mode locking},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1117/12.2545794},

}

2019

Mark Schmidt, Tom Pfeiffer, Christin Grill, Robert Huber, and Christian Jirauschek,
Coexistence of Intensity Pattern Types in Broadband Fourier Domain Mode Locked (FDML) Lasers, in 2019 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC) , 2019. pp. 1--1.
DOI:10.1109/CLEOE-EQEC.2019.8872381
Bibtex: BibTeX
@inproceedings{schmidt2019coexistence,
  title={Coexistence of Intensity Pattern Types in Broadband Fourier Domain Mode Locked (FDML) Lasers},
  author={Schmidt, M; Pfeiffer, T; Grill, C; Huber, R and Jirauschek, C},
  booktitle={2019 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe \& European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)},
  pages={1--1},
  year={2019},
  organization={IEEE},
keywords= { AG-Huber_FDML},
url={  https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8872381}

}
Dominic Kastner, Torben Blömker, Tom Pfeiffer, Christin Grill, Mark Schmidt, Christian Jirauschek, and Robert Huber,
Measurement of Inter-Sweep Phase Stability of an FDML Laser with a 10 kHz Tunable Ring Laser, in 2019 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe and European Quantum Electronics Conference , Optical Society of America, 2019. pp. 1-1.
DOI:10.1109/CLEOE-EQEC.2019.8872860
Bibtex: BibTeX
@inproceedings{Kastner:19,
author = {Kastner, D; Bl\"{o}mker, T; Pfeiffer, T; Grill, C; Schmidt, M; Jirauschek, C and Huber, R},
booktitle = {2019 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe and European Quantum Electronics Conference},
journal = {2019 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe and European Quantum Electronics Conference},
keywords = {Fourier domain mode locking; Image quality; Optical coherence tomography; Phase noise; Ring lasers; Tunable lasers},
pages = {cj_7_5},
publisher = {Optical Society of America},
title = {Measurement of Inter-Sweep Phase Stability of an FDML Laser with a 10 kHz Tunable Ring Laser},
year = {2019},
keywords = {AG-Huber_FDML, AG-Huber_OCT},
doi = { 10.1109/CLEOE-EQEC.2019.8872860},
abstract = {Fourier Domain Mode Locking (FDML) lasers are light sources that generate a sequence of narrowband optical frequency sweeps at the fundamental or harmonic of the cavity repetition rate \[1\]. This frequency swept output can also be considered as a sequence of strongly chirped, long pulses. FDML lasers are mainly used in swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT), a medical imaging technique. The coherence length of the source, i.e. the intra-sweep phase stability of an FDML sweep, is decisive for the image quality and performance of OCT imaging \[2\].},
}

2018

Tom Pfeiffer, Markus Petermann, Wolfgang Draxinger, Christian Jirauschek, and Robert Huber,
Ultra low noise Fourier domain mode locked laser for high quality magahertz optical coherence tomography, Biomed. Opt. Express , vol. 9, no. 9, pp. 4130-4148, 09 2018. Optica Publishing Group.
DOI:10.1364/BOE.9.004130
Bibtex: BibTeX
@article{Pfeiffer:18,
author = {Tom Pfeiffer and Markus Petermann and Wolfgang Draxinger and Christian Jirauschek and Robert Huber},
journal = {Biomed. Opt. Express},
keywords = {Fiber optics imaging; Lasers, fiber; Optical coherence tomography; Laser stabilization ; Lasers, frequency modulated ; Analog to digital converters; Dark solitons; Image quality; Laser modes; Mode locking; Optical coherence tomography},
number = {9},
pages = {4130--4148},
publisher = {Optica Publishing Group},
title = {Ultra low noise Fourier domain mode locked laser for high quality megahertz optical coherence tomography},
volume = {9},
month = {Sep},
year = {2018},
url = {https://opg.optica.org/boe/abstract.cfm?URI=boe-9-9-4130},
doi = {10.1364/BOE.9.004130},
abstract = {We investigate the origin of high frequency noise in Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) lasers and present an extremely well dispersion compensated setup which virtually eliminates intensity noise and dramatically improves coherence properties. We show optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging at 3.2 MHz A-scan rate and demonstrate the positive impact of the described improvements on the image quality. Especially in highly scattering samples, at specular reflections and for strong signals at large depth, the noise in optical coherence tomography images is significantly reduced. We also describe a simple model that suggests a passive physical stabilizing mechanism that leads to an automatic compensation of remaining cavity dispersion in FDML lasers.},
}