Bidirectional pumped high power Raman fiber laser

Amplification of random lasing enables a 10-kW-level high-spectral-purity Yb-Raman fiber laser

By amplifying the cascaded random Raman fiber laser (RRFL) oscillator and ytterbium fiber laser oscillator, we present the first, to the best of our knowledge, demonstration of a 10-kW-level high-spectral-purity all-fiber ytterbium-Raman fiber amplifier (Yb-RFA). With a carefully designed backward-pumped RRFL oscillator structure, the parasitic oscillation between the cascaded seeds is avoided. Leveraging the RRFL with full-open-cavity as the Raman seed, the Yb-RFA realizes 10.7-kW Raman lasing at 1125 nm, which is beyond the operating wavelengths of all the reflection components used in the system. The spectral purity of the Raman lasing reaches 94.7% and the 3-dB bandwidth is 3.9 nm. This work paves a way to combine the temporal stability of the RRFL seed and the power scaling of Yb-RFA, enabling the wavelength extension of high-power fiber lasers with high spectral purity.

More than 6 kW near single-mode fiber amplifier based on a bidirectional tandem pumping scheme

We demonstrate the first all-fiber monolithic bidirectional tandem pumping amplifier, to the best of our knowledge, based on a 30/250 µm conventional ytterbium-doped double-clad fiber. By optimizing the bidirectional pumping power distribution, an output power of 6.22 kW is obtained with near single-mode beam quality (M²=1.53), and no transverse mode instability is observed. This work could provide an excellent reference for high-power, higher-brightness fiber lasers.

Actively Mode Locked Raman Fiber Laser with Multimode LD Pumping

We present our recent experimental results on the pulsed regimes of Raman conversion of highly multimode laser diode (LD) pump radiation into the 1st and higher order Stokes radiation in multimode graded-index fibers. Three different linear cavities of Raman fiber laser with the modulation of losses (by acousto-optic modulator, AOM) or gain (by LD current) are explored and compared. An LD with wavelength of 976 nm is used for pumping enabling Raman lasing at wavelength of the 1st (1018 nm) and 2nd (1064 nm) Stokes orders. At ~27.2-kHz repetition rate corresponding to the laser cavity round-trip frequency (i.e., in the mode-locking regime), nanosecond pulses have been observed for both Stokes orders having the highest peak power of ~300 W in the scheme with bulk AOM and the shortest duration of 5–7 ns in the scheme with fiber-pigtailed AOM. At the same time, the beam quality of generated pulses is greatly improved as compared to that for pump diode (M2 > 20) reaching the best value (M2 = 2.05) for the 2nd order Stokes beam in the scheme with the gain modulation and demonstrating also the most stable regime.

Power Scaling of CW Crystalline OPOs and Raman Lasers

Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) and Raman lasers are two nonlinear-based laser technologies that extend the spectral range of conventional inversion lasers. Power and brightness scaling of lasers are significant for many applications in industry, medicine, and defense. Considerable advances have been made to enhance the power and brightness of inversion lasers. However, research around the power scaling of nonlinear lasers is lacking. This paper reviews the development and progress of output power of continuous-wave (CW) crystalline OPOs and Raman lasers. We further evaluate the power scalability of these two laser technologies by analyzing the cavity architectures and gain materials used in these lasers. This paper also discusses why diamond Raman lasers (DRLs) show tremendous potential as a single laser source for generating exceedingly high output powers and high brightness.

Cascaded vector vortex mode generation from a solid-state Raman laser

Cascaded vector vortex mode generation from a Ba(NO₃)₂ Raman laser cavity pumped by a vector LG_0,2 green laser was demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. The generated Stokes outputs exhibited a second-order vector vortex beam as evidenced by linearly polarized flower-shaped spatial forms with four petals. The achieved optical conversion efficiencies of the first, second, and third Stokes outputs were 6.59%, 4.22%, and 0.11%, respectively, at a maximum pump energy of 3.6 mJ (360 mW).

Comparisons of kilowatt Yb-Raman fiber amplifiers employing a superfluorescent fiber source and fiber oscillator

In this paper, we demonstrate experimental investigations on kilowatt-level Yb-Raman fiber amplifiers (YRFAs) employing a superfluorescent fiber source (SFS) or a multi-longitudinal mode fiber oscillator (OSC) as the Raman-pump laser. Through comparing the output properties of the two YRFAs, the experimental results reveal that the YRFA employing the SFS is superior to the YRFA employing the OSC in the performances of power scalability and narrow-linewidth operation. Meanwhile, about 1.16 kW Raman-signal laser at 1120 nm is obtained through the YRFA employing the SFS as the Raman-pump laser. Overall, the presentation could provide an effective solution for the design of high-power narrow linewidth YRFAs.

Investigation of the pump coupling efficiency of a side-pumping combiner based on tapered-fused method

Side-pumping combiner is used for pumping double-clad fiber in various fiber laser schemes. However, its coupling efficiency and temperature characteristics suffer when pumped via a large numerical aperture (NA) pump light. We investigated the method of optimizing the coupling efficiency of a (2 + 1) ×1 combiner under a large NA pump light injection. After optimization of taper ratio and length of the pump fiber and fusion area between pump and signal fiber, the coupling efficiency increased and the temperature characteristic improved, which could be useful for fabrication of a side-pumping combiner for high-power fiber laser applications.

Experimental analysis of Raman-induced transverse mode instability in a core-pumped Raman fiber amplifier

The effect of transverse mode instability is a limitation for the power scaling of fiber laser systems, that can originate due to heat caused by stimulated Raman scattering. In this contribution, we experimentally investigate the threshold of transverse mode instability caused by stimulated Raman scattering in a passive fiber. Both, the Stokes seed power and the fiber length of a core-pumped Raman fiber amplifier are varied to systematically study this effect. Mode resolved measurements reveal that the threshold occurs at approximately the same Stokes output power for all tested configurations, independent of the total Raman conversion efficiency. These results increase the understanding of this type of mode instability and show which parameters are important for a further power scaling of high-power Raman fiber amplifiers.

2 kW narrow-linewidth Yb-Raman fiber amplifier

In this Letter, we report a high-power narrow-linewidth Yb-Raman fiber amplifier with a high second-order Raman threshold and high intensity stability. By employing two temporally stable seed lasers, over 2 kW output power at 1120 nm is achieved at a pump power of 2.6 kW with an optical-to-optical efficiency of 76.3%. The 3 dB linewidth of the 1120 nm Raman-signal laser varies slightly from 0.41 nm to 0.53 nm, and the power ratio of the second-order Raman Stokes light is only about ${-}{46.3}\;{\rm{dB}}$ at the output power of 2 kW. The results further confirm that the technique of employing temporally stable seed lasers is superior to the power scaling of narrow-linewidth Yb-Raman fiber amplifiers. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first demonstration of an over 2 kW narrow-linewidth fiber laser operating at 1120 nm.

Spectral and RIN properties of a single-frequency Raman fiber amplifier co-pumped by ASE source

Spectral and relative intensity noise (RIN) characteristics of a single-frequency Raman fiber amplifier co-pumped by amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) sources are investigated experimentally. Due to the relatively lower intensity noise of ASE sources compared to usual fiber laser pumps, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) linewidth of the signal laser increases negligibly. But there is significant increase in RIN and spectral wings due to the noise transfer at high frequency from the ASE source during the Raman amplification. The deterioration can be suppressed to some extent with ASE of broader linewidth, which has lower intensity noise.

High power pump and signal combiner for backward pumping structure with two different fused fiber bundle designs by means of pretapered pump fibers

We report on two high power backward (6 + 1) × 1 pump and signal combiners with different optical designs based on end-pumping technique, each achieving more than 95% coupling ratio of signal light, 98% coupling ratio of pump light, and a total pump power of 2.95kW. Both designs solve the problem of non-uniform arrangement in asymmetric fiber bundles by the pretreatment of the pump fibers and signal fiber. Asymmetric fiber bundle in backward pump and signal combiners means the pump input fibers and signal output fiber have different cladding diameters. Two 3D simulation models were built to calculate the parameters of the fused fiber bundles for matching the mode field diameter between the signal input and the output fibers. Both optical designs of backward combiners were developed based on the beam propagation method and confirmed by experimental results.

Power scalability of a continuous-wave high-power Er-Yb co-doped fiber amplifier pumped by Yb-doped fiber lasers

The power scaling of Er-Yb co-doped fiber lasers and amplifiers has been limited by the bottleneck effect of energy-transfer saturation between Yb ions and Er ions. The emerging method of Er-Yb co-doped fiber amplifiers pumped by Yb-doped fiber lasers is considered as an approach to enhance the threshold of the bottleneck effect. In this paper, we quantitatively characterize the threshold of the bottleneck effect via the method of extreme value analysis of the second-order derivative. The method facilitates the optimization of the amplifier configuration. Afterward, we numerically investigate the bottleneck effect of various Er-Yb co-doped fiber amplifiers off-peak cladding-pumped by 10××nm Yb-doped fiber lasers for what we believe, to the best of our knowledge, is the first time. The result shows that the most optimal configuration is long gain fiber over 20 m pumped by a 1020-1025 nm fiber laser, with more than two times the output limit of a conventional laser diode pumping scheme. The essential factors of an amplifier are discussed afterward, including the pump-launching direction, the optimization of large-mode-area fiber, the core-cladding ratio, the concentration of doping ions, the nonlinearity limit, and the distribution of the heat load.

Mode dynamics in high-power Yb-Raman fiber amplifier

Yb-Raman fiber amplifier (YRFA) is a compact setup that can be applied to achieve high-power narrow linewidth or special wavelength lasers. In this Letter, we realized a high-power YRFA with seed wavelengths of 1090 nm and 1150 nm, tandem-pumped by a 1018 nm fiber laser. The dynamic of mode interaction has been carefully studied. The beam cleanup effect in the large mode area, step-index fiber has been observed for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, when the pump power ranges from 800 W to 1700 W. A model taking into account the Raman mode interaction is proposed to explain this phenomenon, which agrees well with the experiments. The mode instability (MI) effect is also observed in the amplifier, and the threshold is about 2 kW, which is lower than the conventional Yb-doped fiber amplifier. Stimulated Raman scattering is attributed to the onset of MI. Finally, the 1338 W 1150 nm laser is achieved by this YRFA, which we believe to be the highest power reported at this wavelength.

Kilowatt-level ytterbium-Raman fiber amplifier with a narrow-linewidth and near-diffraction-limited beam quality

By focusing on a typical emitting wavelength of 1120 nm as an example, we present the first, to the best of our knowledge, demonstration of a high-efficiency, narrow-linewidth kilowatt-level all-fiber amplifier based on hybrid ytterbium-Raman (Yb-Raman) gains. Notably, two temporally stable, phase-modulated single-frequency lasers operating at 1064 nm and 1120 nm, respectively, were applied in the fiber amplifier, to simultaneously alleviate the spectral broadening of the 1120 nm signal laser and suppress the stimulated Brillouin scattering effect. An over 1 kW narrow-linewidth 1120 nm signal laser was obtained with slope efficiency of ${\sim}{77}\% $∼77% and beam quality of ${\rm M}_x^2\sim {1.25}$Mx2∼1.25, ${\rm M}_y^2 \sim {1.17}$My2∼1.17. The amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise in the fiber amplifier was effectively suppressed by incorporating an ASE-filtering system between the seed laser and the main amplifier. Furthermore, the experimental results demonstrate that the spectral linewidth broadening effect is tightly related to the injected power ratios between the two seed lasers. Overall, this setup could provide a reference on obtaining and optimizing high-power narrow-linewidth fiber lasers operating in the long wavelength extreme of the Yb gain spectrum.

High peak-power and narrow-linewidth all-fiber Raman nanosecond laser in 1.65 µm waveband

A high peak-power and narrow-linewidth all-fiber Raman pulsed laser operating around 1.65 µm is introduced. A 1541 nm laser seed is modulated into pulse trains, which will be used as the Raman pump laser, by driving a reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) with a continuous periodic square-wave voltage. A homemade high peak-power 1541 nm pulsed laser is employed to modulate and amplify a 1653.7 nm distributed feedback laser (DFB) seed synchronously in a segment of the 52-meter-long highly germania-doped fiber (HGDF). The repetition-rate and the pulse-width of the 1653.7 nm pulsed laser are 100 kHz and 31 ns, respectively. The peak power is estimated to be as high as about 30.85 W, and a 3-dB linewidth as narrow as less than 0.08 nm is achieved when the average power of 1541 nm pump is 3.1 W. The wavelength of Raman pulsed laser can be tuned from 1652.0 nm to 1654.0 nm continuously with an optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of more than 35 dB.

Effects of four-wave-mixing in high-power Raman fiber amplifiers

In this work, we derive and present the coupled amplitude equations to describe the evolutions of different spectral components in different transverse modes for Raman fiber amplifiers (RFAs). Both the effects of the four-wave-mixing in the fundamental mode (FM FWM) and the inter-modal four-wave-mixing (IM FWM) on high-power RFAs are demonstrated through numerical simulations. Specifically, effective FM FWM interaction could occur and lead to a drop of the 2nd order Raman limit for RFAs by over 50%, despite that the corresponding wave-vector mismatch is rather big. In addition, the IM FWM could also impact the 2nd order Raman limit for RFAs with additional generation of the first order Raman Stokes light in the higher-order mode. We also investigate the effects of the intensity fluctuations in the initial inserted pump and seed lasers on high-power RFAs. It reveals that the temporal stability of the initial inserted pump laser has much more significant impacts on high-power RFAs than that of the initial inserted seed laser. Notably, through applying temporal stable laser as the initial inserted pump laser, both the FM FWM and IM FWM effects could be effectively suppressed, and the 2nd order Raman limit for high-power RFAs could be increased by over twice.

Theoretical study of narrow-linewidth hybrid rare-earth-Raman fiber amplifiers

In this paper, the spectral evolution properties and gain dynamics in hybrid rare-earth-Raman fiber amplifiers (H-RFAs) are demonstrated theoretically. Spectral broadening mechanisms and design strategies are given for H-RFAs based on two different types of pump schemes for generating the pump laser of Raman gain. As for the diode-pumped scheme, only a temporal stable pump laser of Raman gain is required to achieve the narrow-linewidth operation of an ultimate Raman fiber laser. As for the tandem-pumped scheme, both temporal stable pump lasers of rare-earth gain and Raman gain are required to achieve narrow-linewidth operation. The physical mechanism behind the phenomenon is the diversity of the pump-to-signal noise transfer property when applying different pump sources of rare-earth gain.

910-MHz, watt-level, signal-power-enhanced, compact femtosecond optical parametric oscillator based on bidirectional pumping technique

We propose a high-efficiency and compact 910-MHz femtosecond optical parametric oscillator, which is harmonically pumped by a ∼101  MHz Yb doped fiber laser system. The OPO is capable of delivering watt-level, power-enhanced signals across the telecommunication waveband. The signal power enhancement is realized by exploiting the bidirectional pumping technique. A maximum signal power of 1.04 W at 1502 nm is obtained for an input pump power of 3.8 W. Tunable near-infrared signal pulses with a wavelength range between 1350 and 1610 nm are measured, and the pulse durations vary from 193 to 464 fs. This compact and economic design provides a solution for efficient high repetition rate pulse generation over a large wavelength span, which will be beneficial for a variety of practical applications.

2.19 kW narrow linewidth FBG-based MOPA configuration fiber laser

In this paper, we demonstrated a monolithic fiber-Bragg-grating-based (FBG-based) master oscillator power amplification configuration fiber laser with a narrow linewidth at high-power level. Several approaches were implemented to reduce the seed laser linewidth and the magnification of spectrum broadening in order to achieve a narrow output linewidth. The narrow seed laser linewidth was obtained by restricting the reflection bandwidth of the FBG. To reduce the magnification of spectrum broadening, a backward pumping scheme was employed in the amplifier stage after its capacity to suppress laser spectrum broadening was preliminarily investigated experimentally. Further, by intentionally shortening the length of the active fiber in the amplifier and sharing the backward pumping power with the oscillator, the spectrum broadening was further inhibited without sacrificing optical efficiency. A maximum output power of 2.19 kW was achieved with a 3 dB spectrum bandwidth of only 86.5 pm. The beam quality at the maximum power was measured to be M²~1.46. No sign of transverse mode instability was shown during the experiments.

2nd-order random lasing in a multimode diode-pumped graded-index fiber

Raman lasing in a graded-index fiber (GIF) attracts now great deal of attention due to the opportunity to convert high-power multimode laser diode radiation into the Stokes wave with beam quality improvement based on the Raman clean-up effect. Here we report on the cascaded Raman generation of the 2nd Stokes order in the 1.1-km long GIF with 100-μm core directly pumped by 915-nm diodes. In the studied all-fiber scheme, the 1st Stokes order is generated at 950-954 nm in a linear cavity formed at GIF ends by two fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) securing beam quality improvement from M2 ≈ 30 to M2 ≈ 2.3 due to special transverse structure of FBGs. The 2nd Stokes wave is generated either in linear (two FBGs) or half-open (one FBG) cavity with random distributed feedback via Rayleigh backscattering. Their comparison shows that the random lasing provides better beam quality and higher slope efficiency. Nearly diffraction limited beam (M2 ≈ 1.6) with power up to 27 W at maximum gain (996 nm), and 17 W at the detuned wavelength of 978 nm has been obtained, thus demonstrating that the 2nd-order random lasing in diode-pumped GIF with FBGs provides high-efficiency high-quality beam generation in a broad wavelength range within the Raman gain spectral profile.

1.2 kW clad pumped Raman all-passive-fiber laser with brightness enhancement

An all-fiber clad pumped Raman fiber laser (FL) oscillator with a CW power of 1.2 kW and an efficiency of 85% is presented. To the best of our knowledge, this laser is the highest power and the highest efficiency Raman FL demonstrated in any configuration with brightness enhancement (BE). To the best of our knowledge, it is also the first greater than kilowatt FL of any kind that does not utilize rare-earth doping in the oscillator fiber (all passive fiber). The beam quality (BQ) of the Raman laser was M²=2.75 at 1 kW, and the pump-Stokes BE factor was approximately 7. The laser consists of a specially designed triple-clad fiber which confines the low BQ pump power into the multi-mode inner clad, while generating the Raman signal in the large-mode-area core. The second Stokes is inhibited by selecting the appropriate inner clad-to-core area ratio and by the oscillator's selective fiber Bragg grating reflectors.

A novel high-power all-fiberized flexible spectral filter for high power linearly-polarized Raman fiber laser

Power scaling of linearly polarized Raman fiber laser (LPRFL), which has wide application potentials, is mainly limited by the generation of high-order Stokes light. In this paper, we propose a novel flexible spectral filter with all-fiberized configuration and high-power handling. Combining with the polarization-dependence of Raman gain, the filter could be used to efficiently suppress high-order Stokes light in LPRFL and thus help further power scaling. The filter is fabricated by two 45° cross-splice of three pieces of polarization maintaining (PM) passive fibers. The bandwidth and central wavelength of transmission spectrum of the spectral filter could be flexibly tuned through changing the length and temperature of the cross-spliced fiber. The insertion loss of the filter fabricated in the lab is measured to be as low as 0.07 dB. The filter is employed in a LPRFL, and the maximum output power of the LPRFL is increased by 48.7%.

Highly efficient all-fiber continuous-wave Raman graded-index fiber laser pumped by a fiber laser

We report for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, an all-fiber Raman graded-index (GRIN) fiber laser pumped by a fiber laser. This configuration points to potential future power and brightness increases. Continuous-wave power of 135 W with an M² value of 2.5 was obtained at a wavelength of 1081 nm with an optical-to-optical efficiency of 68%. A commercial GRIN core fiber acts as the Raman fiber in a power oscillator configuration that includes fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) written onto the GRIN fiber. The efficiency and brightness demonstrated here are, to the best of our knowledge, the highest reported in any Raman GRIN fiber laser. A brightness enhancement of the pump beam by a factor of 5.6 is attained due to the transverse profiles of Raman gain and FBG reflection in the GRIN fiber.

250 W clad pumped Raman all-fiber laser with brightness enhancement

We report a strictly all-fiber clad pumped Raman fiber laser with a CW power of 250 W. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest power Raman fiber laser demonstrated in any configuration allowing brightness enhancement. In addition, this is the first report of a Raman clad pumped all-fiber laser. The brightness of the pump source was enhanced by a factor of ∼3.8. This result was achieved by the design of a novel triple-clad fiber, with tight pump power inner confining clad that both maximized the Raman gain and inhibited the second Stokes radiation. We discuss power-increase effects on the beam quality, efficiency, and brightness enhancement.

Wavelength diversification of high-power external cavity diamond Raman lasers using intracavity harmonic generation

We report a high power quasi-continuous-wave (QCW) 620 nm laser from an external cavity diamond Raman laser utilizing intracavity frequency doubling in lithium triborate. Output power of 30 W for durations of 0.25 ms at 15% conversion efficiency was achieved with a beam quality factor M² = 1.1 from a free-running Nd:YAG pump laser of M² = 1.5. The critical design parameters that affect conversion efficiency and power were analysed with the aid of an analytical model. By adaptation to other pump technologies, the diamond approach provides a novel pathway towards high brightness CW beam generation in the visible and ultraviolet regions.

Generating high-quality beam in a multimode LD-pumped all-fiber Raman laser

We report on the first demonstration of an all-fiber CW Raman laser based on a multimode graded-index fiber directly pumped by multimode fiber-coupled laser diodes. A joint action of Raman clean-up effect and mode-selection properties of special fiber Bragg gratings inscribed in the central part of the graded-index fiber core, results in high-efficiency conversion of a multimode (M²~26) pump at 915 nm into a high-quality (M²~2.6) output beam at 954 nm. About 50 W output power has been obtained with slope efficiency of 67%. The proposed development and integration of key multimode fiber technologies opens the door to new type of LD-pumped high-power high-beam-quality fiber lasers that may operate at almost any wavelength defined by available LDs.

Kilowatt-level cladding light stripper for high-power fiber laser

We designed and fabricated a high-power cladding light stripper (CLS) by combining a fiber-etched CLS with a cascaded polymer-recoated CLS. The etched fiber reorganizes the numerical aperture (NA) distribution of the cladding light, leading to an increase in the leakage power and a flatter distribution of the leakage proportion in the cascaded polymer-recoated fiber. The index distribution of the cascaded polymer-recoated fiber is carefully designed to ensure an even leakage of cladding light. More stages near the index of 1.451 are included to disperse the heat. The CLS is capable of working consistently under 1187 W of cladding light with an attenuation of 26.59 dB, and the highest local temperature is less than 35°C.

High-efficiency, 154 W CW, diode-pumped Raman fiber laser with brightness enhancement

We demonstrate a high-power, high-efficiency Raman fiber laser pumped directly by laser diode modules at 978 nm. 154 W of CW power were obtained at a wavelength of 1023 nm with an optical to optical efficiency of 65%. A commercial graded-index (GRIN) core fiber acts as the Raman fiber in a power oscillator configuration, which includes spectral selection to prevent generation of the second Stokes. In addition, brightness enhancement of the pump beam by a factor of 8.4 is attained due to the Raman gain distribution profile in the GRIN fiber. To the best of our knowledge this is the highest power and highest efficiency Raman fiber laser demonstrated in any configuration allowing brightness enhancement (i.e., in either cladding-pumped configuration or with GRIN fibers, excluding step-index core pumped), regardless of pumping scheme (i.e., either diode pumped or fiber laser pumped).

Mitigating transverse mode instability in all-fiber laser oscillator and scaling power up to 2.5 kW employing bidirectional-pump scheme

Transverse mode instability (TMI) is one of the main limiting factors in kW-level fiber lasers. Unlike fiber amplifiers, TMI in fiber laser oscillators attracts less attention from researchers. In this work, we construct an all-fiber ytterbium-doped laser oscillator and investigate the performance in co-pumping and bidirectional-pumping configurations, respectively. In the co-pumping scheme, TMI occurs at ~1.6kW and restricts further output power scaling. Different from the characteristic of dynamic TMI in fiber amplifiers, quasi-static TMI is observed in the laser oscillator. Details of the temporal characteristic around the TMI threshold are provided. In the bidirectional-pumping scheme, experimental results validate that the TMI is mitigated notably by employing bidirectional-pumping instead of co-pumping. The output laser power is further scaled to 2.5kW with a slope efficiency of 74.5% and good beam quality (M²~1.3). At the maximum power, the FWHM bandwidth of optical spectra is 5.2nm, and the Raman stokes light is ~20dB below the signal.

Evaluating the beam quality of double-cladding fiber lasers in applications

We put forward a new β_FL factor, which is used exclusively in fiber lasers and is suitable to assess beam quality and choose the LP₀₁ mode as the new suitable ideal beam. We present a new simple measurement method and verify the reasonability of the β_FL factor in experiment in a 20/400 μm fiber laser. Furthermore, we use the β_FL factor to evaluate the beam quality of a 3-kW-level fiber laser. It can be concluded that β_FL is a key factor not only for assessing the performance of the high-power fiber laser that is our main focus, but also for the simple measurement.

Theoretical and numerical treatment of modal instability in high-power core and cladding-pumped Raman fiber amplifiers

Raman fiber lasers have been proposed as potential candidates for scaling beyond the power limitations imposed on near diffraction-limited rare-earth doped fiber lasers. One limitation is the modal instability (MI) and we explore the physics of this phenomenon in Raman fiber amplifiers (RFAs). By utilizing the conservation of number of photons and conservation of energy in the absence of loss, the 3 × 3 governing system of nonlinear equations describing the pump and the signal modal content are decoupled and solved analytically for cladding-pumped RFAs. By comparing the extracted signal at MI threshold for the same step index-fiber, it is found that the MI threshold is independent of the length of the amplifier or whether the amplifier is co-pumped or counter-pumped; dictated by the integrated heat load along the length of fiber. We extend our treatment to gain-tailored RFAs and show that this approach is of limited utility in suppressing MI. Finally, we formulate the physics of MI in core-pumped RFAs where both pump and signal interferences participate in writing the time-dependent index of refraction grating.