Abstract

Although there are numerous techniques for the manufacture of chirped Bragg-fiber-grating reflectors (Ref. 1 and references therein), each with its own merits, the step-chirp phase-mask technique allows for the production of highly reproducible gratings with large selectable reflectivity and well-defined predetermined characteristics. The nature of the construction allows complete reciprocal action of the grating without distortion or the introduction of asymmetrical loss, such that a single grating may be used to broaden and recompress a pulse with high efficiency, depending on the direction of propagation. Such a characteristic can be used to good effect in all-fiber chirped-pulse amplification schemes or in fiber-laser systems.

© 1995 Optical Society of America