PATENT
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`Atty. Docket No. 9578139900
`Customer No. 30734
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`AMENDMENTS TO THE CLAIMS
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`This listing of claims replaces all prior versions, and listings of claims in the application:
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`1.
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`(Currently Amended) A femtosecond laser source comprising:
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`an injecting laser oscillator (2—1—1) based on optical fiber doped with a given dopant,
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`suitable for delivering, via an exit optical fiber (2—1—2), a first picosecond pulse, at a first
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`wavelength X1,
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`a power amplifier (2—20) based on amplifying optical fiber (2—29) for producing, from
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`the first pulse, a second pulse, at the first wavelength, with an energy that is amplified
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`with respect to the first pulse, the amplifying optical fiber (2—29) being doped with the
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`same dopant as the optical fiber 62—1—2) of the injecting oscillator, and having a length
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`smaller than or equal to the distance of the soliton compression point and larger than
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`the distance from which the amplifying optical fiber (2—29) operates in non-linear
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`regime, and
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`a frequency-shifting fiber (23—2) suitable for receiving the second pulse and generating
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`by Raman self-shifting a fundamental soliton at a second wavelength X2 strictly longer
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`than the first wavelength X1.
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`2. (Currently Amended) The femtosecond laser source as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
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`amplifying optical fiber (2—29) has a modal area larger than or equal to 200%12.
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`3. (Currently Amended) The femtosecond laser source as claimed in claim 1 er—Z,
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`wherein the frequency-shifting fiber (23—2) has a modal area larger than that of the
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`amplifying fiber (2—29).
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`
`
`PATENT
`
`Atty. Docket No. 9578139900
`Customer No. 30734
`
`4. (Currently Amended) The femtosecond laser source as claimed in claim 1: any—ene—ef
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`el-ai-ms—l—teé; wherein the injecting laser oscillator is a fiber oscillator with chromatic
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`dispersion management and that is configured to generate frequency-chirped pulses.
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`5. (Currently Amended) The femtosecond laser source as claimed in claim 1: any—ene—ef
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`el-ai-ms—l—teé; wherein the injecting laser oscillator comprises a soliton oscillator that
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`delivers pulses that are not frequency chirped.
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`6. (Original) The femtosecond laser source as claimed in claim 4, wherein the soliton
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`oscillator is followed by a normal-dispersion optical fiber configured to temporally
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`stretch the pulses generated by the injecting laser oscillator.
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`7. (Currently Amended) The femtosecond laser source as claimed in claim 1: any—ene—ef
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`the—preeed-i-ng—el-ai-ms; wherein the dopant is chosen from the group comprising ytterbium,
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`praseodymium, erbium, thulium, holmium and bismuth.
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`—1
`8. (Currently Amended) The femtosecond laser source as claimed in claim 1 any—ene—ef
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`the—preeed-i-ng—el—ai-ms; wherein the amplifying optical fiber 6242-9) and the frequency-
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`shifting fiber 6132) are spliced to each other.
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`—1
`9. (Currently Amended) The femtosecond laser source as claimed in claim 1 any—ene—ef
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`the—preeed-i-ng—el-ai-ms; furthermore comprising a high-pass filter @349 for removing pulse
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`residues at the first wavelength X1.
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`10. (Currently Amended) An imaging system comprising a femtosecond laser source as
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`claimed in claim 1 wane-aflthe—preeed-i-ng—el-ai-ms; said source being suitable for
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`
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`PATENT
`
`Atty. Docket No. 9578139900
`Customer No. 30734
`
`emitting pulses toward an object located at depth in a biological medium, and a
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`microscope 61699 for forming and acquiring an image of the object from fluorescence
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`light backscattered by the object.
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`11. (Original) A method for generating femtosecond laser pulses, comprising
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`producing, with an injecting oscillator based on optical fiber doped with a given
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`dopant, a first picosecond pulse, at a first wavelength X1,
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`producing, with a power amplifier based on amplifying optical fiber, from the first
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`pulse, a second pulse, at the first wavelength, with an energy that is amplified with
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`respect to the first pulse, the amplifying optical fiber being doped with the same
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`dopant as the optical fiber of the injecting oscillator, and having a length smaller
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`than or equal to the distance of the soliton compression point and larger than the
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`distance from which the amplifying optical fiber operates in non-linear regime, and
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`producing, by Raman self-shifting, by means of a frequency-shifting fiber suitable
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`for receiving the second pulse, a fundamental soliton at a second wavelength X2
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`strictly longer than the first wavelength k1.
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