Frequency tuning and doubling in Yb-doped fiber lasers

A compact Yb-doped fiber laser (YDFL) based on a tunable fiber Bragg grating (FBG) with ～6 W output power and ～45 nm tuning around 1080 nm has been developed. The laser output power and its spectral width (～0.15 nm) do not change significantly at the tuning, while the FBG reflection coefficient increases with an increase in FBG compression. It has been shown that this increase is due to stress-induced changes in the FBG’s refractive-index modulation amplitude. Intracavity frequency doubling in the YDFL has also been performed. About 0.4 W of green radiation with tuning in the range 540–548 nm has been achieved with a KTP nonlinear crystal.     

High-power diode-pumped Yb-doped fiber laser at 1150 nm

A model of steady-state rate equations including amplified spontaneous emission for long-wavelength Yb doped fiber laser is set up, which provides design principle for a practical laser system. We demonstrate a diode-pumped all-fiber Yb-doped fiber laser at 1150 nm with an output power of 33.6 W, the optical efficiency is 60%.     

Frequency doubling of narrow-linewidth pulsed fiber laser

A pulsed master oscillator power amplifier system is constructed using a double-cladding polarized Ybdoped fiber and an all-fiber Q-switched narrow-linewidth pulsed laser used as seed laser.This system has a high repetition rate and provides a nanosecond pulsed laser with a narrow linewidth and linear polarization.Moreover,it generates amplified radiation with up to 14 W of average power,narrow linewidth(full-width at half-maximum is smaller than 0.12 nm),linear polarization at 1 080-nm wavelength,repetition rate of 51 kHz,and pulse duration of approximately 50 ns.Based on this pulsed amplified radiation,3.5 W of green laser,with an optical-to-optical efficiency of 27.3%,is obtained via single-pass frequency doubling using a noncritical phase matching KTP crystal.     

Frequency doubling of a Raman fiber laser

655 nm laser radiation with power of >60 mW is generated by frequency doubling of a broadband randomly-polarized 1.31-μm phosphosilicate Raman fiber laser (RFL). The red power appears to grow linearly with increasing RFL power up to 7 W at efficiency comparable with that for single-frequency lasers. It has been shown that multiple sum-frequency mixing processes involving different RFL modes provide the main contribution to the output, which is enhanced by 2 times due to the modes stochasticity.     

Generation of 520 mW pulsed blue light by frequency doubling of an all-fiberized 978 nm Yb-doped fiber laser source

Pulsed blue light at 489 nm has been generated by second-harmonic-generation of a nanosecond pulsed master-oscillator power amplifier system based on a short Yb(3+) doped single-mode fiber amplifier at 978 nm and an external-cavity diode laser as seed source. The Yb(3+)-doped fiber was core-pumped by a W type Nd(3+) doped double-clad fiber laser operating on the transition near 930 nm ((4)F(3/2)→(4)I(9/2)). 520 mW of average power was generated at 489 nm using a periodically poled MgO:LiNbO(3), corresponding to a conversion efficiency of 34%.     

Frequency doubling of a fibre-amplified 1083 nm DBR laser

A good frequency standard is required at 1083 nm for measurements on the fine structure of helium and of the fine structure constant. Several milliwatts of CW frequency-doubled light offers the prospect of stabilisation to a Doppler-free hyperfine transition in molecular iodine. The 1083 nm emission of an extended-cavity DBR diode laser has been amplified using an ytterbium-doped fibre amplifier, and applied to a type-I phase matched Mg:LiNbO₃ crystal in a high-Q fundamental-resonant cavity for frequency doubling. The amplifier gain at 1083 nm under typical operating conditions was 13.8 dB, with a coherent output power up to 63 mW, limited by the maximum signal input power. The doubling cavity Q was , and about 70% of the incident power was coupled in. The maximum 2nd-harmonic conversion efficiency exceeded 20% and provided an output power of 3.7 mW for making continuous frequency scans of up to 600 MHz in the green. An optical spectrum analyser at 541.5 nm showed fringes of 4.6 MHz full width half maximum, close to the instrumental width. Received: 25 February 1998 / Revised and Accepted: 28 May 1998     

980 nm Yb-doped double-clad photonic crystal fiber amplifier and its frequency doubling

In this paper, we report on a large-mode-area double-clad 980 nm Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber (PCF) amplifier. In the experiment, an output power of 1.21 W at 980 nm with 2.5 nm bandwidth has been yielded when the PCF length was 40 cm. Through frequency doubling the 980 nm amplified laser with a BIBO crystal, an output power of 51 mW at 490 nm has been generated.     

60-W green output by frequency doubling of a polarized Yb-doped fiber laser

The frequency doubling of a 110-W linearly polarized diffraction-limited Yb-doped fiber oscillator power amplifier (FOPA) has generated 60-W near-diffraction-limited (M2 < or = 1.33) linearly polarized green output. The FOPA produces as much as 2.4 kW of peak power and less than 20-pm linewidth at a 10-MHz repetition rate and 5-ns pulse duration without the onset of nonlinear effects. With two lithium triborate crystals at noncritical phase matching, a maximum of 54.5% doubling efficiency has been demonstrated. The overall electrical efficiency to the green portion of the spectrum is 10%.     

Intracavity frequency doubling with a Yb:YAG/LBO laser at 515 nm

We, for the first time, report the intracavity frequency doubling at 1030 nm in an LBO nonlinear optical crystal, at a type-I phase-matching direction of (θ, Φ) = (90°, 13.6°), performed with a double-LD polarization coupled system. With an incident power of 2 W, the maximum output power of 5.62 mW at 515 nm was obtained using a 2 × 2 × 10 mm³ LBO crystal. The threshold was 726 mW. The optical conversion efficiency was 0.28%.     

Frequency doubling and tripling in a Q-switched fiber laser

The frequency doubling and tripling in a Q-switched all-fiber laser are studied. It is demonstrated that the main limitations on the efficiency of the harmonic generation are related to the random polarization that is nonuniform with respect to axes, the asymmetric pulse shape with a flat trailing edge, and the significant spectral broadening of the multimode radiation of the fiber master oscillator in the fiber amplifier. The methods to increase the efficiency are proposed. For an IR pulse energy of about 0.3 mJ, duration of about 40 ns, and repetition rate of 1 kHz, the second- and third-harmonic pulse energies are greater than 60 and about 10 μJ, respectively.     

High-power Yb-doped multicore ribbon fiber laser

A highly elongated double-clad ribbon fiber that comprises a pure-silica inner cladding with transverse dimensions of approximately 1.4 mm by 0.23 mm with a linear array of ten ytterbium-doped cores has been fabricated and operated in a simple laser configuration pumped by two diode stacks. The fiber laser yielded 320 W of output power at a center wavelength of 1045 nm in a combined beam with beam propagation factors of approximately 2 (perpendicular to the array) and approximately 150 (parallel to the array) for 576 W of launched pump power. The slope efficiency with respect to absorbed pump power was 62%. The prospects for further power scaling and improved beam quality and efficiency are discussed.     

国产30/600μm掺镱光纤实现4.1kW激光输出

采用化学气相沉积结合气相/液相复合掺杂方式制备30/600 μm掺镱双包层光纤,石英纤芯中的掺杂组分为Yb₂O₃, Al₂O₃,P₂O₅。基于976 nm发光二极管反向抽运方式,构建全光纤化的主控振荡器功率放大器结构对增益光纤进行测试。实验中,种子源功率为189 W,当泵浦总功率为4747 W时,激光输出功率为4120 W,放大级光光效率为85%,3 dB带宽为1.6 nm。激光器连续工作1 h,激光功率稳定在4100 W,未发生明显的功率衰退现象。     

Multi-coupler side-pumped Yb-doped double-clad fiber laser

The side-coupler of angle polished method, using angle-polished multimode fiber and optical adhesive, is used to efficiently pump an Yb-doped double-clad fiber laser. The maximum coupling efficiency of 78.6% is achieved by the side-coupler for a multimode fiber with a circular core of 200 μm and a double-clad fiber with a 350/400 μm D-shaped inner cladding. While laser diodes (LDs) with three side-couplers are simultaneously used as pump sources, maximum output power of 1.38 W and slope efficiency of 48.9% are demonstrated in the fiber laser system.     

国产有源光纤成功实现6 kW激光输出

光纤激光是继气体激光、化学激光和固体激光之后的新一代激光技术,是近年来世界各国科学研究的热点领域。制约光纤激光功率提升的主要技术瓶颈是系统集成技术和光纤材料制备技术。目前,我国科研工作者成功掌握了千瓦级光纤激光系统集成技术并实现了产业化,但是所用的光纤激光材料与核心器件还严重依赖进口。相较于比较成熟的系统集成技术,我国光纤激光材料的科学研究和产业化进程相对滞后,尚无法提供成熟稳定的有源光纤产品。 2016年6月,中国工程物理研究院激光聚变研究中心的研究人员经过近三年科研攻关,成功研发了30/900规格（纤芯30 m/包层900 m）镱掺杂铝磷硅（Yb-APS）三元体系激光光纤并实现了6.03 kW最高功率输出,在5 kW功率水平下可长期稳定工作。光纤激光材料综合测试平台采用了传统的1+1型MOPA放大结构（即信号种子源与一级主放）：信号光种子源的功率为40 W,光束质量M2=1.1;第二级MOPA放大级使用的976 nm LD泵浦光总功率9.95 kW,经过CPS功率剥离器激光净化处理后,最终安全地实现了6.03 kW最大功率输出。如图1所示,最高输出功率时斜率效率为61.25%,源于1∶30的芯包比和20 m以上的光纤使用长度;激光输出光谱中心波长1080 nm,3 dB带宽为1.89 nm,受激拉曼抑制比＞15 dB;5 kW稳定工作时,光束质量M2=2.38,未发现光子暗化效应。中物院激光聚变研究中心所研制的镱掺杂铝磷硅三元体系有源光纤(30/900 Yb-APS fiber)成功实现了6.03 kW激光输出,是我国高功率光纤激光材料研究领域的重要进步,为制备低损耗、高掺杂、高吸收、高增益、无光子暗化效应的商业激光光纤产品奠定了坚实的技术基础。     

A 980 nm Yb-doped single-mode fiber laser pumped by a 946 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

We demonstrate a 980 nm single-mode Yb-doped fiber laser with a 946 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser used as the pump source. The experimental arrangement exploited a 36.5 cm length of fiber and used the output from both ends of the cavity, providing a total average output power of 100 mW with a slope efficiency of 38%. In order to increase the coupling efficiency and the practicability of the fiber laser, another experimental setup with single ended output was studied, producing an average output power of 80 mW from a fiber length of 23.5 cm. The pulse duration is 10 ns at a repetition frequency of 16 kHz. The linewidth of the laser is 4 nm, ranging from 977 to 981 nm.     

Output power improvement in an Yb-doped fiber laser with an additional unpumped Yb-doped fiber

Master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) technology has been widely used in high-power or ultrashort-pulse fiber laser systems because the shape of the laser pulse can be easily adjusted. Usually, the first amplification stage of a 1064 nm fiber laser uses the core-pumped Yb-doped fiber amplifier (YDFA); however, the gain or output power is limited owing to the strong amplifier spontaneous emission (ASE) in the 1030 nm band. This paper presents the improved output power in an YDFA by inserting an additional unpumped Yb-doped fiber, which absorbs the lost backward ASE emitted from the pump end. We achieved an output power increase of more than 10% in a low-power signal, and the increase in output power decreased as the signal power increased. Moreover, the insertion of an additional unpumped Yb-doped fiber restricted the unwanted 1030 nm lasing in a low-power signal.     

Ultrawide tunable Er soliton fiber laser amplified in Yb-doped fiber

A Raman-shifted and frequency-doubled high-power Er-fiber soliton laser for seeding an efficient high-power Yb fiber femtosecond amplifier is demonstrated. The Raman-shifted and frequency-doubled Er-soliton laser is tunable from 1.00 to 1.070microm and produces bandwidth-limited 24-pJ pulses at a repetition rate of 50 MHz with a FWHM pulse width of 170 fs at 1.040microm . The Yb(3+) amplifier has a slope efficiency of 52% and generates 3-ps linearly chirped pulses with an average power of 0.8 W at 1.05microm . After pulse compression, 74-fs bandwidth-limited pulses with an average power of 0.4 W and a pulse energy of 8 nJ are generated.     

1137 nm长波掺镱光纤激光器的出光实验

分别使用976 nm半导体激光器和1040 nm光纤激光器作为泵浦源,实现了1137 nm长波光纤激光器的出光,输出功率均超过百mW。激光器采用相同的线性腔结构,高反光栅和低反光栅的反射率分别为99.6%和39.7%,增益介质是一段8 m长的掺镱光纤,纤芯直径5 m。当976 nm半导体泵浦功率为912 mW时,1137 nm激光输出功率为182 mW,对应的斜率效率为28.5%;当1040 nm激光功率为1.59 W时,输出的1137 nm激光功率为278 mW,斜率效率约为25%。在此基础上对两种泵浦方式进行了对比分析。     

全正色散多波长被动锁模耗散孤子掺镱光纤激光器

报道了一种带有周期性双折射光纤滤波器的全正色散多波长被动锁模耗散孤子掺镱光纤激光器. 通过数值模拟发现加入滤波器后激光器能输出多波长耗散孤子脉冲, 调节滤波器带宽大小可以得到不同波长个数和波长间隔的多波长锁模耗散孤子脉冲. 在激光器产生的四波长和五波长耗散孤子脉冲中观察到了耗散孤子分子, 并且通过调节滤波器参数和饱和功率可以改变多波长脉冲中耗散孤子分子的个数和波长. 这是在被动锁模光纤激光器中首次实现包含有耗散孤子分子的多波长脉冲. 另外还在实验上实现了全正色散双波长被动锁模耗散孤子的产生. 关键词： 全正色散 耗散孤子 多波长脉冲 孤子分子     

11-mJ pulse energy wideband Yb-doped fiber laser

We report a wide bandwidth (Δλ=8 nm) optical pulsed MOPA (master oscillator power amplifier) source emitting 11.23 mJ pulses (1.25 MW peak power) in the wavelength centered at (λ=1064 nm). Pulse duration and repetition rate were 9 ns and from 10 Hz to 100 Hz, respectively. In order to suppress amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), multi-stage pulse pump technology is applied. And the large core diameter (90 μm) and wide bandwidth ensures the high peak power and energy output.