101-MHz all-fiber polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber laser based on a biased nonlinear amplifying loop mirror

We experimentally demonstrate a special architecture for robust erbium-doped mode-locked fiber laser using a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror with all polarization-maintaining fiber. In order to obtain high repetition rate, the pigtails of components were precisely controlled while the wavelength division multiplexer was placed outside the cavity. The total cavity length was reduced to ~2 m, corresponding to a repetition rate of 101 MHz. In addition, a numerical simulation based on Ginzburg-Landau equation was built to follow the real pulse evolution process in the cavity, instead of introducing an ideal saturable absorption model. The results of the simulation were consistent with the experiment, which verify the guidance of this model for experimental designs. We believe that this fiber laser with high repletion rate and robust structure has great potential as an oscillator of optical frequency comb and could also be an outstanding ultrafast seed laser for industrial applications.