Single-Mode ytterbium-doped Large-Mode-Area photonic bandgap rod fiber amplifier

Single-mode regenerative amplification in multimode fiber

The peak power performance of ultrafast fiber lasers scales with fiber mode area, but large fibers host multiple modes that are difficult to control. We demonstrate a technique for single-mode operation of highly multimode fiber based on regenerative amplification. This results in a short-pulse fiber source with, to our knowledge, an unprecedented combination of features: high gain (>55 dB) with negligible amplified spontaneous emission, high pulse energy (>50 μJ), good beam quality (M2 ≤ 1.3), and transform-limited (300 fs) pulses from a single amplification stage. We discuss peak intensity scaling to much higher levels and other opportunities for short-pulse generation in regenerative fiber amplifiers.

Efficiency Enhancing Technique for Rod Fiber Picosecond Amplifiers with Optimal Mode Field Matching

A high power and high quality picosecond laser is crucial in MEMS fabrication regarding micromachines. Optimal seed beam coupling is an important precondition to enhance laser efficiency. However, empirical coupling limits its development. In this paper, the physical parameters related to coupling are determined. The relationships among them are established under optical mode matching constraints to satisfy optimal seed beam coupling. According to a theoretical analysis, the focal length cut-off and the optimal coupling position of the coupling lens are acquired. A maximum transmittance of 87.2% is acquired with a 6 W input seed power in the validation experiment. In further power amplification experiments, a diffraction-limited beam quality is achieved, with M²_X = 1.111, M²_Y = 1.017, an optical efficiency of 60.5% and a slope efficiency of 66%, benefiting from the previous theoretical guidance.

175 W average power from a single-core rod fiber-based chirped-pulse-amplification system

We report on a fiber-based chirped-pulse-amplification laser system with bulk transmission grating compression to a pulse duration of 357 fs, average power of 175 W, and pulse energy of 233μ J. The compressed pulse train has a beam quality factor M² of 1.21. The power amplifier is based on a state-of-the-art single-mode photonic crystal rod-type ytterbium-doped fiber operating at 248 W of average power and a repetition rate of 750 kHz. The long-term stability of the laser system has been tested continuously for more than 4000 hours and shows no sign of transverse mode instability.

Advances in Silica-Based Large Mode Area and Polarization-Maintaining Photonic Crystal Fiber Research

In recent years, photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) have attracted increasing attention. Compared with traditional optical fibers, PCFs exhibit many unique optical properties and superior performance due to their high degree of structural design freedom. Using large-mode area (LMA) fibers with single-mode operation is essential to overcoming emerging problems as the power of fiber lasers scales up, which can effectively reduce the power density and mitigate the influence of nonlinear effects. With a brief introduction of the concept, classification, light transmission mechanism, basic properties, and theoretical analysis methods of PCFs, this paper mainly compiles the worldwide development of large-mode area and polarization-maintaining (PM) PCFs, and finally proposes possible technical routes to realize the single-mode operation of LMA-PCFs and PM-LMA-PCFs. Finally, the future development prospects of the PCFs are discussed.

Observation of dynamical eigenmodes induced by the moving refractive index grating of TMI in a rod amplifier

We report a novel, to the best of our knowledge, analysis of high power rod fiber amplifiers by monitoring the cross-polarization of the output. Spatially and temporally resolved imaging of co- and cross-polarizations at high power amplification reveals dynamic eigenmode behavior of the rod fiber. The dynamic of the eigenmodes is caused by the moving refractive index grating written by the modal interference pattern of transverse mode instability and is the first direct observation of this refractive index grating, to our knowledge.

Pre-compensation of thermally induced refractive index changes in a depressed core fully aperiodic large-pitch fiber for high average power operation

To prevent the thermally induced spatial beam degradation occurring in high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers, index-depressed core "fully aperiodic large-pitch fibers" (FA-LPFs) have been designed and fabricated. In contrast to previous experimental works performed on FA-LPFs, in which the active core and the surrounding cladding material are quasi-index-matched, the core refractive index is in slight depression compared to the surrounding material (Δn≈-3×10^-5). Thus, the index-depressed fiber core tends first to behave as an anti-guide, preventing light from being properly guided into it. However, by increasing the absorbed pump power, the thermal load induces a parabolic refractive index change sufficient to compensate for the -3×10^-5 index depression in the core, enabling a robust single-mode amplification at high average power. As a proof of concept, using a 110 µm depressed core FA-LPF, M² values of 1.3 were demonstrated in amplifier configuration from 60 W to a maximal value of 170 W of emitted average power only limited by the available pump power.

Experimental investigations of seeding mechanisms of TMI in rod fiber amplifier using spatially and temporally resolved imaging

In this work we investigate transverse mode instability (TMI) in the presence of pump intensity noise and a controlled perturbation of the input coupling for a rod-type fiber amplifier using spatially and temporally resolved imaging (ST). We show that inherent pump intensity noise from the power supply can define significant peaks in the resulting TMI spectrum. ST measurements show that the TMI in the transition region consists of different orientations of LP₁₁. This finding indicates that the simple picture of TMI being seeded by the combination of a static initial fraction of LP₁₁ and pump or signal intensity noise is not valid for our measurements. Furthermore we present seeding of TMI by perturbing the input coupling dynamically. ST measurements of the resulting TMI as a function of perturbation frequency provides quantitative information regarding the frequency response of the non-linear coupling coefficient. Finally, ST measurements of the resulting TMI as a function of signal power shows that the TMI experiences an exponential gain long before visible beam fluctuations appear.

Polarization-maintaining Yb-doped large-mode-area fully aperiodic large-pitch fibers

Based on a special large-pitch architecture that has already proved its single-mode single-polarization behavior in a passive configuration, two ytterbium-doped versions of such large-mode-area fibers have been fabricated and tested in both laser and amplification configurations for high-power laser source applications. Due to the high sensitivity of large-pitch fiber design to the active-core-to-passive-cladding index mismatch, the realization of a single-polarization structure is highly challenging. However, we report on the preservation of a polarization-maintaining feature. A linear polarization with an extinction ratio of 17 dB is demonstrated for mode field diameters reaching up to 58 μm as long as the single-modeness of the emitted signal is preserved.

Confined-doped fiber for effective mode control fabricated by MCVD process

A confined-doped fiber was fabricated by a modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) process based on refractive index matching technology. With theory and experiments, we compared the confined-doped fiber and normal-doped fiber. We found that the confined-doped fiber with a core of 35 μm and 0.07 numerical aperture could achieve single-mode output and improve the beam quality from 2.8 to 1.5 in the fiber laser. Meanwhile, it still possesses high laser efficiency and has good stability of beam quality with the increase in pump power. It suggests that the confined-doped fiber with a MCVD process may be the key material for a high-power fiber laser with excellent beam quality.

Experimental study of the mode instability onset threshold in high-power FA-LPF lasers

We report here on an experimental investigation of the temporal behavior of transverse mode instabilities into "fully aperiodic large-pitch fibers" (FA-LPFs) operated in high-power continuous-wave laser configuration. To ensure an effective transverse single-mode emission into FA-LPFs, a perfect index matching between the active core and the background cladding materials (Δn=0) is required. The original design of such fibers enables an effective transverse single-mode emission by strengthening the higher-order mode delocalization out of the gain region, even for high heat load levels, consequently leading to the improvement of the beam spatial quality. The study was conducted over fibers of various gain region diameters, from 58 to 100 μm, for a refractive index mismatch Δn of about +8×10^-5. The emitted beam is characterized using both M² measurements and time traces to study the changeover of a stable temporal behavior to an unstable one.

Reduced-symmetry LMA rod-type fiber for enhanced higher-order mode delocalization

We present a novel design of a micro-structured large-pitch, large-mode-area (LMA) asymmetric rod-type fiber. By reducing the cladding symmetry through six high-refractive index germanium-doped silica inclusions, the fiber features strong higher-order mode (HOM) delocalization, leading to a potentially enhanced preferential gain for the fundamental mode in active fibers. In addition, high resolution spatially and spectrally (S²) resolved mode analysis measurements confirm HOM contributions below 1% and LP_1m-like HOM contributions below the detection limit. This proposed fiber design enables single-mode operation, with near-diffraction-limited beam quality of M²=1.3 and an effective mode area of 2560  μm² at 1064 nm. This design opens new insights into improving the threshold-like onset of modal instabilities in high-power fiber lasers and fiber amplifiers by efficiently suppressing LP₁₁ modes.

Broadband single-mode single-polarization passive fully aperiodic large-pitch fibers

Two evolutions of fully aperiodic large-pitch fiber designs employing few stress-applying parts are presented. The induced elasto-optic stress discriminates the two orthogonal polarization modes (LP_01x and LP_01y) of the fundamental mode, selectively delocalizing one of them into the cladding via a suitable coupling to one or several cladding modes. This ensures the propagation of a single linear polarization mode. For the largest core dimensions, however, the applied stress can strongly influence the intensity distributions of core modes, and a tailored design process must thwart this. The polarization properties are investigated experimentally with core scalability over a large spectral bandwidth into passive structures, leading to the evidencing of a single-mode single polarization over a large span from 1 to 1.6 μm with a core dimension of 80 μm and, notably, at 1400 nm for a core dimension of 140 μm. The polarization extinction ratio is also determined.

Flexible cross-correlated (C2) imaging method for the modal content characterization in a broad range of wavelengths

We demonstrate a flexible cross-correlated (C²) imaging method in the time domain by application of a tunable and highly flexible light source. An advantage of the flexible C² method is shown by characterization of the step-index fiber (SMF28) over a broad range of wavelengths from 870nm to 1090nm and by the modal analysis of the distributed modal filtering (DMF) rod fiber within a wavelength range from 1050nm to 1090nm. Also, the influence of the spectral shape and bandwidth on the imaging trace is investigated by deliberately adjusting the input spectrum of the light source. The modal intensity as well as the phase distribution are extracted by the alternative method of 2D FT filtering. Being exceptionally tunable the flexible C² method gives an ability to adapt the system's parameters in a desired manner satisfying even measurements of very specific fiber designs opening up new possibilities for advanced modal characterization of fibers over broad range of wavelengths.

Precompensation of the thermal-induced refractive index changes into a fully aperiodic LPF for heat load resilience

In this paper, a strategy consisting of precompensating the thermal-induced transverse refractive index changes is undertaken to push further the appearance threshold of a multimode regime. First, a standard air-silica large pitch fiber (LPF) and a fully aperiodic large pitch fiber are confronted in regard to their heat load resilience and capabilities for single-mode emission. Thereafter, slight refractive index depressions are judiciously introduced into the active core area. This approach enhances the delocalization of the high-order modes even under severe heat load levels. This combination of aperiodic cladding microstructuration and index-precompensation theoretically increases the multimode regime threshold while preserving large mode field areas. This investigation is performed at 1.03 and 2 μm operating wavelengths.

87 W, narrow-linewidth, linearly-polarized 1178 nm photonic bandgap fiber amplifier

High-power narrow-linewidth photonic bandgap fiber amplifier was demonstrated. In order to suppress stimulated Brillouin scattering, the seed linewidth was broadened by applying a random phase noise with an electro-optical modulator. A factor of 15 in terms of Brillouin gain suppression can be theoretically expected. An 87 W linearly-polarized (11 dB PER) and narrow-linewidth (780 MHz FWHM) output was obtained.

Generation of 167 W infrared and 124 W green power from a 1.3-GHz, 1-ps rod fiber amplifier

We report on the direct amplification of 1-ps pulses at 1.3 GHz repetition rate by using a large mode area rod fiber amplifier. An average power of 167 W at 1040 nm with nearly transform-limited duration is generated and converted into 124 W average green power through second harmonic generation. Both infrared and green pulses exhibit diffraction-limited beam quality. A frequency doubling efficiency of 75% and a pump-to-green efficiency of 45% have been achieved, which are to our knowledge the highest reported for fiber laser systems.

Frequency resolved transverse mode instability in rod fiber amplifiers

Frequency dynamics of transverse mode instabilities (TMIs) are investigated by testing three 285/100 rod fibers in a single-pass amplifier setup reaching up to ~200W of extracted output power without beam instabilities. The pump power is increased well above the TMI threshold to uncover output dynamics, and allowing a simple method for determining TMI threshold based on standard deviation. The TMI frequency component is seen to appear on top of system noise that may trigger the onset. A decay of TMI threshold with test number is identified, but the threshold is fully recovered between testing to the level of the pristine fiber by thermal annealing the fiber output end to 300°C for 2 h.

530 W, 1.3 mJ, four-channel coherently combined femtosecond fiber chirped-pulse amplification system

We report on a femtosecond fiber laser system comprising four coherently combined large-pitch fibers as the main amplifier. With this system, a pulse energy of 1.3 mJ and a peak power of 1.8 GW are achieved at 400 kHz repetition rate. The corresponding average output power is as high as 530 W. Additionally, an excellent beam quality and efficiency of the combination have been obtained. To the best of our knowledge, such a parameter combination, i.e., gigawatt pulses with half a kilowatt average power, has not been demonstrated so far with any other laser architecture.

Estimating modal instability threshold for photonic crystal rod fiber amplifiers

We present a semi-analytic numerical model to estimate the transverse modal instability (TMI) threshold for photonic crystal rod amplifiers. The model includes thermally induced waveguide perturbations in the fiber cross section modeled with finite element simulations, and the relative intensity noise (RIN) of the seed laser, which seeds mode coupling between the fundamental and higher order mode. The TMI threshold is predicted to ~370 W - 440 W depending on RIN for the distributed modal filtering rod fiber.

Cross-correlated imaging of single-mode photonic crystal rod fiber with distributed mode filtering

Photonic crystal bandgap fibers employing distributed mode filtering design provide near diffraction-limited light outputs, a critical property of fiber-based high-power lasers. Microstructure of the fibers is tailored to achieve single-mode operation at specific wavelength by resonant mode coupling of higher-order modes. We analyze the modal regimes of the fibers having a mode field diameter of 60 µm by the cross-correlated (C(2)) imaging method in different wavelength ranges and evaluate the sensitivity of the modal content to various input-coupling conditions. As a result, we experimentally identify regimes of resonant coupling between higher-order core modes and cladding band. We demonstrate a passive fiber design in which the higher-order modal content inside the single-mode guiding regime is suppressed by at least 20 dB even for significantly misaligned input-coupling configurations.

Femtosecond fiber CPA system based on picosecond master oscillator and power amplifier with CCC fiber

Results of numerical and experimental investigations of the simple fiber CPA system seeded by nearly bandwidth-limited pulses from the picosecond oscillator are presented. We utilized self-phase modulation in a stretcher fiber to broaden the pulse spectrum and dispersion of the fiber to stretch pulses in time. During amplification in the ytterbium-doped CCC fiber, gain-shaping and self-phase modulation effects were observed, which improved pulse compression with a bulk diffraction grating compressor. After compression with spectral filtering, pulses with the duration of 400 fs and energy as high as 50 µJ were achieved, and the output beam quality was nearly diffraction-limited.

Optimizing single mode robustness of the distributed modal filtering rod fiber amplifier

High-power fiber amplifiers for pulsed applications require large mode area (LMA) fibers having high pump absorption and near diffraction limited output. Photonic crystal fibers allow realization of short LMA fiber amplifiers having high pump absorption through a pump cladding that is decoupled from the outer fiber diameter. However, achieving ultra low NA for single mode (SM) guidance is challenging, thus different design strategies must be applied. The distributed modal filtering (DMF) design enables SM guidance in ultra low NA fibers with very large cores, where large preform tolerances can be compensated during the fiber draw. Design optimization of the SM bandwidth of the DMF rod fiber is presented. Analysis of band gap properties results in a fourfold increase of the SM bandwidth compared to previous results, achieved by utilizing the first band of cladding modes, which can cover a large fraction of the Yb emission band including wavelengths of 1030 nm and 1064 nm. Design parameters tolerating refractive index fabrication uncertainties of ± 10⁻⁴ are targeted to yield stable SM bandwidths.

Distributed mode filtering rod fiber amplifier delivering 292W with improved mode stability

We demonstrate a high power fiber (85 μm core) amplifier delivering up to 292 Watts of average output power using a mode-locked 30 ps source at 1032 nm. Utilizing a single mode distributed mode filter bandgap rod fiber, we demonstrate 44% power improvement before the threshold-like onset of mode instabilities by operating the rod fiber in a leaky waveguide regime. We investigate the guiding dynamics of the rod fiber and report a distinct bandgap blue-shifting as function of increased signal power level. Furthermore, we theoretically analyze the guiding dynamics of the DMF rod fiber and explain the bandgap blue-shifting with thermally induced refractive index change of the refractive index profile.

Thermally induced waveguide changes in active fibers

Thermally induced waveguide changes become significant for very large mode area fibers. This results in a reduction of the mode-field diameter, but simultaneously in an improvement of the beam quality. In this work the first systematic experimental characterization of the reduction of the mode-field diameter in various fibers during high-power operation is carried out. It is shown that the reduction of the mode-field diameter shows a characteristic behavior that scales with the core size but that is independent of the particular fiber design. Furthermore, the strength of the actual index change is experimentally estimated, and its use to overcome avoided crossings is discussed and experimentally demonstrated.

Q-switching and efficient harmonic generation from a single-mode LMA photonic bandgap rod fiber laser

We demonstrate a Single-Mode (SM) Large-Mode-Area (LMA) ytterbium-doped PCF rod fiber laser with stable and close to diffraction limited beam quality with 110W output power. Distributed-Mode-Filtering (DMF) elements integrated in the cladding of the rod fiber provide a robust spatial mode with a Mode-Field-Diameter (MFD) of 59μm. We further demonstrate high pulse energy Second-Harmonic-Generation (SHG) and Third Harmonic Generation (THG) using a simple Q-switched single-stage rod fiber laser cavity architecture reaching pulse energies up to 1mJ at 515nm and 0.5mJ at 343nm.