Low-threshold mode instability in Yb3+-doped few-mode fiber amplifiers

Theory and experiment of transient two-wave mixing in Yb-doped single-frequency fiber amplifiers induced by frequency modulation

This paper presents a theoretical and experimental characterization of an instability phenomenon observed in single-frequency fiber amplifiers when the frequency of the seed laser is modulated. The instability manifests itself as fluctuating elastic back-reflections that occur only when the frequency is decreasing with time. The theory is a generalization of a coupled-mode model developed for a single-frequency fiber amplifier back-seeded with a constant frequency shift relative to the main signal. It can explain most observed features of the experiments in a qualitative and semi-quantitative way. Open questions and directions for further developments are also discussed.

Suppressing transverse mode instability through multimode excitation in a fiber amplifier

High-power fiber laser amplifiers have enabled an increasing range of applications in industry, science, and defense. The power scaling for fiber amplifiers is currently limited by transverse mode instability. Most techniques for suppressing the instability are based on single- or few-mode fibers in order to output a clean collimated beam. Here, we study theoretically using a highly multimode fiber amplifier with many-mode excitation for efficient suppression of thermo-optical nonlinearity and instability. We find that the mismatch of characteristic length scales between temperature and optical intensity variations across the fiber generically leads to weaker thermo-optical coupling between fiber modes. Consequently, the transverse mode instability (TMI) threshold power increases linearly with the number of equally excited modes. When the frequency bandwidth of a coherent seed laser is narrower than the spectral correlation width of the multimode fiber, the amplified light maintains high spatial coherence and can be transformed to any target pattern or focused to a diffraction-limited spot by a spatial mask at either the input or output end of the amplifier. Our method simultaneously achieves high average power, narrow spectral width, and good beam quality, which are required for fiber amplifiers in various applications.

Observation of two-wave mixing in a single-frequency fiber amplifier induced by frequency modulation

We report on the observation of unstable two-wave mixing in a Yb-doped optical fiber amplifier induced by frequency modulation of a single-frequency laser. What is believed to be a reflection of the main signal experiences a gain much higher than that provided by the optical pumping and potentially limits power scaling under frequency modulation. We propose an explanation for the effect based on the dynamic population and refractive index gratings formed by the interference between the main signal and its slightly frequency-detuned reflection.

High-peak-power pump-modulated quasi-CW fiber laser

Quasi-continuous wave (CW) laser output with high peak power and high energy is preferred in some industrial applications. Due to the non-linear effects and transverse mode instability, such high-peak-power laser output is difficult to achieve via monolithic fiber lasers in CW mode. For diode-pumped monolithic fiber lasers, by applying overshoot pulse modulation to the pumping diodes, we obtain a pulse laser output with a peak power much higher than that in CW mode. In this paper, it has been theoretically studied that stable pulses with the width of µs level can be generated with quasi-CW operation without distortion according to our simulation. We also experimentally demonstrate a bi-directional pumped quasi-CW monolithic fiber laser operating in CW and pulse modes. In quasi-CW mode, by applying overshoot pulse modulation to the diodes, with a frequency of 1 kHz and a pulse width of 100 µs, the peak power of the output laser reached 9713 W with an average power of 898 W and M² of 2.4 and 2.3 in the two orthogonal directions, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the very first quasi-CW fiber laser of a 10-kW level with the M² level of 2.

Stokes light induced modulation instability in high power continuous wave fiber amplifiers

In this paper, Stokes light induced modulation instability (MI) in high power continuous wave (CW) fiber amplifiers is observed. The investigation shows that the Stokes light generated by inter-modal four wave mixing (IMFWM) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in high power fiber amplifiers can be modulated by the signal light through XPM and cause MI. Then, a sideband will be generated around the second-order Raman frequency shift, which is amplified by SRS and shown as a train of pulses in time domain. It is shown that the frequency shift of the sideband will be influenced by IMFWM and SRS. In addition, the sideband was found to be blue-shifted with the increase of the power, which indicates that the frequency shift of the sideband is mainly depended on MI, while SRS plays the role of amplification.

Mitigation of mode instability in laser oscillators based on deuterium loading

Ytterbium-doped fiber (YDF) loaded with deuterium is used herein to mitigate mode instability. Experimental results reveal that this method can increase the mode instability threshold in a laser oscillator. Specifically, when the YDF was loaded with deuterium over two- and four-week periods, the mode instability threshold power increased from ∼459 W to ∼533 W (16%) and to ∼622 W (35%), respectively, but the respective laser efficiencies were almost unaffected (71.5% vs. 72.9% and 75.4%). In conclusion, deuterium loading is effective in the mitigation of mode instability. It is envisaged to be applied in the power scaling of high-power fiber lasers.

Modal instabilities in high power fiber laser oscillators

Transverse mode competition and instabilities in high-power fiber oscillators have been studied experimentally by monitoring the dynamic power exchanges and characteristic frequencies of the transmitted fundamental mode (FM) and scattered high-order modes (HOMs) of the fiber laser cavity under CW and pulsed pumping. The FM and HOM power evolution indicates the presence of two competing effective laser cavities which result in rich output dynamics and full chaotic operation. The thermal and inversion related contributions to the observed instabilities have been identified by monitoring the associated characteristic instability frequencies under pulsed pumping. It is shown that in the transient regime, both inversion and thermal effects contribute successively to the observed power instabilities. Increasing the pump power leads to full chaotic response through an interplay between transverse and longitudinal mode instabilities.

Influence of a backward reflection on low-threshold mode instability in Yb3+-doped few-mode fiber amplifiers

An influence of backward reflection on spatio-temporal instability of the fundamental mode in Yb³⁺-doped few-mode polarization maintaining fiber amplifiers with a core diameter of 10 μm was studied experimentally and theoretically. The mode instability threshold was registered to decrease dramatically in the presence of a backward reflection of the signal from the output fiber end; an increase of the signal bandwidth or input power resulted in the increase of the threshold. Numerical simulation revealed a self-consistent growth of the higher-order mode LP₁₁ and a traveling index grating accompanying the population grating induced by the mode interference field (due to different polarizability of the excited and unexcited Yb³⁺ ions). The presence of the backward-propagating wave resulted in four-wave mixing on the common index grating induced by the interference field of pairs of the fundamental LP₀₁ and LP₁₁ modes.

Nonlinear Photonics 2014: introduction

International Conference "Nonlinear Photonics-2014" took place in Barcelona, Spain on July 27-31, 2014. It was a part of the "Advanced Photonics Congress" which is becoming a traditional notable event in the world of photonics. The current focus issue of Optics Express contains contributions from the participants of the Conference and the Congress. The articles in this focus issue by no means represent the total number of the congress contributions (around 400). However, it demonstrates wide range of topics covered at the event. The next conference of this series is to be held in 2016 in Australia, which is the home of many researchers working in the field of photonics in general and nonlinear photonics in particular.