@article{10902/18284, year = {2019}, month = {7}, url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10902/18284}, abstract = {A self-started, switchable dual-wavelength allpolarization-maintaining mode-locked (ML) fiber laser for optical parametric generation (OPG) in photonic crystal fiber (PCF) applied to coherent anti-stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy is reported in this paper. The complete laser setup is built in an all-fiber structure composed of commercial elements. It is based on a linear cavity with an active medium-namely, Ytterbium-doped fiber (YDF), a pair of fiber Bragg gratings as switchable partial mirrors between 1031.5 and 1049.7 nm, and a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror functioning also as the mode-locking device. The seed laser is amplified to 650 mW average power by two YDF amplifiers. The source delivers a pulse-train output of 30.9 ps at 1031.5 ps and 31.6 ps at 1049.7, a 3.1-MHz repetition rate, and over 200 nJ pulse energy and 6 kW of peak power at fundamental ML operation. The properties of this switchable dual-wavelength source ensures the correct OPG by degenerated four-wave mixing in PCF fulfilling the phase matching condition which corresponds to CARS resonance of 2850 cm -1 (CH3-O molecular bonds) at 1031.5 nm and 1475 cm -1 (CH2 δ molecular bonds) at 1049.7 nm.}, organization = {This work was supported by the Spanish Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología within project TEC2016-76021-C2—R and Feder funds and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture, within the scholarship FPU14/02196.}, publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.}, publisher = {Journal of Lightwave Technology, 2019, 37(14), 3510-3516}, title = {Switchable dual-wavelength mode-locked fiber laser source for in-PCF parametric frequency conversion applied to CARS microscopy}, author = {Aporta Litago, Iñaki and Quintela Incera, María Ángeles and López Higuera, José Miguel}, }