Patent ID: 7907645

Claim:
An all fiber, mode locked fiber laser comprising: a pump laser; and a ring cavity comprising: a pump/signal coupler comprising an input and an output, wherein the pump laser is coupled to the input of the pump/signal coupler; a cladding pumped or double cladding fiber comprising a doped gain medium and an input and an output, wherein the input of the doped fiber is coupled to the output of the pump/signal coupler; a first fiber comprising an input and an output, wherein the input of the first fiber is coupled to the output of the doped fiber; a bandpass filter comprising an input and an output, wherein the input of the bandpass filter is coupled to the output of the first fiber; a second fiber comprising an input and an output, wherein the input of the second fiber is coupled to the output of the bandpass filter; a first in-line polarization controller comprising an input and an output, wherein the input of the first in-line polarization controller is coupled to the output of the second fiber; an in-line polarization beam splitter comprising an input, a polarization maintaining output configured to emit a laser pulse out of the ring cavity, and a non-polarization maintaining fiber output, wherein the input of the in-line polarization beam splitter is coupled to the output of the first in-line polarization controller; a polarization insensitive isolator comprising an input and an output, wherein the input of the polarization insensitive isolator is coupled to the non-polarization maintaining fiber output of the in-line polarization beam splitter; a second in-line polarization controller comprising an input and an output, wherein the input of the second in-line polarization controller is coupled to the output of the polarization insensitive isolator; a third fiber comprising an input and an output, wherein the input of the third fiber is coupled to the output of the second in-line polarization controller and the output of the third fiber is coupled to the input of the pump/signal coupler; and wherein the ring cavity is configured to have no components at anomalous dispersion.