Passively mode-locked erbium-doped double-clad fiber laser operating at the 322nd harmonic

We report passive mode locking of a soliton erbium-doped double-clad fiber laser operating at the 322nd harmonic of the fundamental cavity frequency. Repetition rates up to 3 GHz have been obtained with pulses of 1 ps duration and 18 pJ of energy. The supermode suppression at the 322nd harmonic is better than 25 dB. In addition, the transition dynamics from a bunched state of pulses to stable harmonic mode locking is presented, revealing a very long time scale. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America