Mamyshev Oscillators: Shaping the Future of Ultrafast Fiber Lasers

High peak-power ultrafast fiber lasers are pivotal in numerous industrial and scientific applications, with ongoing efforts to enhance their peak power by achieving higher pulse energy and shorter pulse durations. Among the various approaches, fiber-based Mamyshev oscillators (MOs) have emerged as a transformative technology, delivering an order of magnitude improvement in performance compared to traditional mode-locked fiber oscillators. MOs offer the unique advantage of being fully fiber-integrated with polarization-maintaining fibers, ensuring exceptional environmental stability without compromising performance.

In this talk, I will review recent advancements in Mamyshev oscillators, highlighting high-performance examples and the underlying principles of Mamyshev regeneration. I will discuss the innovations that have elevated MOs to the forefront of ultrafast fiber laser technology, enabling environmentally stable, self-starting systems. Additionally, I will discuss unconventional MO designs and propose potential pathways to achieve gigawatt-level peak power pulses using standard single-mode fiber oscillators.