Phase locking and supermode selection in multicore photonic crystal fiber lasers with a large doped area

We report on the laser properties of multicore photonic crystal fiber lasers. A stable phase locking of six- and seven-core structures through evanescent coupling is observed. Effective supermode selection is obtained by using both diffraction losses and the Talbot effect. A pure in-phase supermode is obtained (1.1 times diffraction limited). The laser operating in this mode has a slope efficiency of 70% with up to 44 W of output power. The modal area of the in-phase supermode multicore fiber is 1150 microm2, which makes it, to our knowledge, the single-mode fiber laser with the largest mode field area. In-phase laser action is stable when the fiber is bent.     

Fiber-optic delay line using multicore fiber

A fiber-optic delay line based on a multicore optical fiber is fabricated for the first time. Due to the optical pulse sequential passage over all cores, the time delay of the optical signal of 45.0 μs is obtained at the optical fiber length of only 1300 m. The use of the seven-core optical fiber allows a sevenfold reduction in the used fiber length in comparison with single-core fibers, which is promising for developing lines with long signal delays.     

Photonic crystal fiber for fundamental mode operation of multicore fiber lasers and amplifiers

A mode-selection method based on a single-mode photonic crystal fiber (PCF) in the multicore fiber (MCF) lasers is presented. The designed PCF has a central core region formed by a missing air-hole, and three air-hole rings. With an appropriate choice of the design parameters of the PCF, the power coupling between the fundamental mode (FM) of the PCF and the fundamental MCF mode can be much higher than those between the FM and the other supermodes. As a result, the fundamental MCF mode has the maximum power reflection coefficient on the right-hand side of the MCF laser cavity, and dominates the output laser power. Since the maximum power of the fundamental MCF mode will lead to the desired laser beam profile, higher the fraction of the fundamental MCF mode power contained in the total output power contributes to higher beam quality. The numerical simulations show that the effectiveness of the fundamental MCF mode-selection is higher in the MCF lasers with the PCF as a mode-selection component than in the MCF lasers based on the free-space Talbot cavity method. Additionally, for the MCF amplifiers, an approach is presented to decrease the sensitivity of the amplifier performance to the variation of Gaussian beam waist utilizing the coupling between the Gaussian beam and the FM of the PCF. The numerical results show that this method can effectively increase the design flexibility for a broad range of the Gaussian beam waist.     

Single-polarization in-phase supermode operation in multicore fiber lasers

Two passive cores with elliptical air holes are introduced in the cladding of the active multicore fiber. The birefringence induced by the elliptical air holes lifts the degeneracy between two orthogonal in-phase supermodes, through the coupling between the passive and the active cores. For the proposed multicore fiber with an appropriate choice of the design parameters, the x-polarized in-phase supermode has more mode power in the active cores compared with the other supermodes. That in turn favors competition compared to the other supermodes with the low power density in the active cores. The numerical results show that the multicore fiber lasers can output a pure x-polarized in-phase supermode without using other mode-selective elements.     

锥台光纤的功率转换效率研究

 锥台光纤在激光束到单模光纤以及多模光纤到单模光纤的耦合中,在一些需要质量很高光束的同时有较高功率要求的场合有广泛应用。在这些应用中,锥台光纤的功率转换效率是很重要的一个参数。介绍了锥台光纤的熔拉研磨制作方法,分析了锥台光纤的传输特性。建立了高斯近似模型,采用模场耦合理论,计算了锥台光纤的功率转换效率。在以下参数条件下对细端半径分别为（4±1）μm,(5±1)μm,(6±1)μm,(7±1)μm和(8±1)μm的锥台光纤的功率转换效率进行了实验测定,激光器输出光波长532 nm;多模光纤NA＝0.11,纤芯半径a=12.5 μm;得到了与理论计算吻合的结果。     

Multiwatt octave-spanning supercontinuum generation in multicore photonic-crystal fiber

High-power supercontinuum spanning over more than an octave was generated using a high power femtosecond fiber laser amplifier and a multicore nonlinear photonic crystal fiber (PCF). Long multicore PCFs (as long as 20 m in our experiments) are shown to enable supercontinuum generation in an isolated fundamental supermode, with the manifold of other PCF modes suppressed due to the strong evanescent fields coupling between the cores, providing a robust 5.4 W coherent supercontinuum output with a high spatial and spectral quality within the range of wavelengths from 500 to 1700 nm.     

Improving fiber to waveguide coupling efficiency by use of a highly germanium-doped thermally expanded core fiber

Possessing a gradient refractive index (RI), thermally expanded core (TEC) fibers have been studied to be able to improve coupling efficiency of waveguide-fiber or LD-fiber according to the qualitative analysis of geometrical optics. The experiments show that the mode field radius (MFR) expansion of single-mode fiber with highly Germanium-doped (HGD) is more effective than that of conventional single-mode fiber (SMF). The coupling efficiency of a fabricated TEC fiber with HGD can enhance 5%–6% compared with that of a conventional-SMF. So the TEC fiber with HGD is a good candidate for the coupling of waveguide-fiber or LD-fiber.     

Mechanism of mode coupling in multicore fiber lasers

We present what is believed to be the first experimental demonstration of a new mechanism of mode coupling in multicore fibers (MCFs) based on their indirect interaction inside the fiber via intermediate mode, analogous to the Bragg mode, which is very sensitive to bending of the fiber. Very strong coupling between the core modes regardless of large spacing (approximately 28 microm) between them has been demonstrated in the MCF laser as well as in the probe beam schemes. 70% of power conversion from one core to another with beating length of tens of centimeters in 4-core MCF is measured.     

Coupled-mode theory of a fiber laser-amplifier

The behavior of a fiber laser-amplifier is considered, including the effects of mode coupling, radiation losses, and noise. In the linear regime, a competitive effect between mode coupling and losses is present, in the sense that mode coupling tends to equalize the gains of different modes, while radiation losses favor low-order modes. Thus, single-mode amplification and collective amplification are predominant, respectively, in the weak and strong coupling case. In the saturated regime a mode coupling effect is found that is independent of fiber imperfections and relies on the nonlinear nature of the process.     

Measurement of modal dispersion in optical fiber by means of acousto-optic coupling

We show that frequency-wavelength tuning characteristics of acousto-optic coupling can be used for measuring the difference of effective index, group index, and chromatic dispersion between core and cladding modes in single-mode fibers. Chromatic dispersion measurements of a 30-cm-long conventional single-mode fiber, a nonzero dispersion-shifted fiber, and a dispersion-compensating fiber with this new method are presented for the wavelength range 1500-1600 nm. Qualitative agreement with independently measured data is obtained.     

Coupled-mode theory of a fiber laser-amplifier

Abstract

The behavior of a fiber laser-amplifier is considered, including the effects of mode coupling, radiation losses, and noise. In the linear regime, a competitive effect between mode coupling and losses is present, in the sense that mode coupling tends to equalize the gains of different modes, while radiation losses favor low-order modes. Thus, single-mode amplification and collective amplification are predominant, respectively, in the weak and strong coupling case. In the saturated regime a mode coupling effect is found that is independent of fiber imperfections and relies on the nonlinear nature of the process.     

Large-effective-area ten-core fiber with cladding diameter of about 200 μm

A multicore fiber with two-pitch layout is proposed to overcome the trade-off between core number and a cladding diameter of a standard hexagonal layout with a single-core pitch. A fabricated ten-core fiber simultaneously realizes effective area of about 120 μm(2) at 1550 nm, small crosstalk, and cladding diameter of 204 μm. The crosstalk between the center core and outer cores is about 30 dB smaller than that between outer cores. The small crosstalk of the center core would help to keep the transmission quality of the center core at the same level as that of the outer cores.     

Bending dependence of optical delay difference between multicore fiber cores

The group delay difference between modes of multicore optical fiber cores is studied by the interference method using a Mach–Zehnder interferometer and a low-coherence radiation source. The data obtained show that the group delay difference between multicore optical fiber cores is caused by optical fiber bending and increases with decreasing winding radius.     

Sensitivity-variable fiber optic pressure sensors using microbend fiber gratings

We report on sensitivity control of fiber optic sensors using microbend long-period fiber gratings. By tuning the phase difference between a pair of periodically aligned rod arrays that sandwiches a single-mode fiber, we can change the coupling strength of the core mode with radiating cladding modes, resulting in variable pressure sensitivity of the transmission power through the fiber. This technique enables control of the measurable range of pressure. When the phase difference is shifted from π toward 0, the measurable range is expanded from 1.7 to 3.3 N/cm and higher using a light-emitting diode as an input light source.     

Study of mode propagation with 632.8-nm laser in tapered fiber

The material dispersion of a tapered fiber is described by Sellmeier＇s equation. The dependence of refractive index on wavelength and doping concentration is discussed. A He-Ne laser with the output wavelength of 632.8 nm is used in the experiment. When the cutoff frequency of the fiber is less than the laser frequency, the guiding modes of a singl~-mode fiber （at 1550 am） are investigated. The results show that the original single-mode fiber becomes a multi-mode waveguide. The propagation and mode coupling of the light in the taper region are analyzed. By controlling the taper end size of the fiber, the unique tapered fiber can convert a multi-mode beam into a single-mode one.     

多芯光纤激光器中共相位模式功率的提高

 以七芯光纤激光器为例,提出一种提高多芯光纤激光器总输出光功率中共相位模式所占比例的方法,即把多芯光纤激光器作为种子光源,输出信号光再经过多芯光纤放大器进行放大。基于速率方程组对激光器和放大器中的模式竞争进行了数值分析。计算表明：激光器输出端与放大器输入端之间距离存在一个最佳值,以使得放大器输出信号中低阶模式功率占总输出功率的比例最低,可以下降到小于1%。研究表明：级联放大系统可以有效增强共相位模式同时抑制低阶模式,比传统的塔耳博特腔激光器具有更好的光束质量。     

Splice-free interfacing of photonic crystal fibers

We report a new method for making low-loss interfaces between conventional single-mode fibers and photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). Adapted from the fabrication of PCF preforms from stacked tubes and rods, this method avoids the need for splicing and is versatile enough to interface to virtually any type of index-guiding silica PCF. We illustrate the method by forming interfaces to two problematic types of PCF, highly nonlinear and multicore. In particular, we believe this to be the first method capable of individually coupling light into and out of all the cores of a fiber with multiple closely spaced cores, without input or output cross talk.     

Mismatch considerations in laser diode to monomode fiber excitation via a hemispherical lens on the elliptical core fiber tip

We present what, as per our knowledge, is the first theoretical investigation of the coupling efficiency of a laser diode to a single-mode fiber via a hemispherical microlens on the elliptical core fiber tip in presence of possible transverse and angular misalignments. Using the ABCD matrix for refraction by a hemispherical lens on the tip of an elliptical core single-mode fiber, we present analytical expressions of such coupling efficiencies and investigate the corresponding losses due to possible transverse and angular misalignments. The concerned calculations involve little computations. Our analysis takes into consideration the limited aperture provided by the hemispherical lens. The results should be useful in optimum launch optics for designing suitable hemispherical microlenses on the tip of elliptical core fibers or circular core fibers which suffer from noncircularity.     

Application of fiber interferometer in coherent Doppler lidar

A novel coherent Doppler lidar (CDL) system based on single-mode fiber (SMF) components and instruments is presented to measure the speed of target. A fiber interferometer used in CDL system is reported.This fiber mixer is employed as a coherent receiver to resolve the shifts of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and mixing efficiency induced by backscattered field's wavefront error. For a certain wavelength, the maximum coupling efficiency between signal and SMF is determined by the ratio of pupil diameter to focal length of the coupling lens. The legible interference patterns and spectrum signals show that fiber interferometer is suitable to compensate for amplitude and phase vibrations. This robust coherent receiver can achieve improved CDL system performance with less transmitter power.     

Signal beating elimination using single-mode fiber to multimode fiber coupling

We experimentally demonstrate an all-passive fiber-based approach to prevent undesired beating during signal merging and detection. Beating occurs when optical signals of very close or the same wavelength are combined at a coupler and detected using a photodetector. Our approach is based on signal coupling from several single-mode fibers to a single piece of multimode fiber without interference, such that different signals propagate in different modes with different spatial positions inside the multimode fiber. We have investigated signal beating when the signals are coherent, partially coherent, or incoherent with each other. The measured results for single-mode to multimode coupling show signal beating is substantially reduced, resulting in widely opened eye diagrams and error-free bit error rate performance.