2 W Yb-doped double-clad fiber superfluorescent source with 42 nm 3 dB bandwidth

The output spectrum of Yb-doped double-clad fiber superfluorescent source (SFS) is tailored by placing a broadband dichroic mirror in the pump end of conventional single-pass forward configuration, which constitutes double-pass forward configuration. The 3 dB bandwidth is increased from 11 to 42 nm. A maximum output SFS power of 2.12 W and a slope efficiency of 43.2% are obtained. The double-clad fiber is 25 m and the pump power is adequate to saturate the fiber as far as the feedback-induced lasing appears.     

Dual-core ytterbium fiber amplifier for high-power 1060 nm swept source multichannel optical coherence tomography imaging

A novel (to our knowledge) dual-core ytterbium (Yb(3+)) doped fiber, as an optically pumped amplifier, boosts the output power from a 1060 nm swept source laser beyond 250 mW, while providing a wavelength tuning range of 93 nm, for optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. The design of the dual-core Yb-doped fiber amplifier and its multiple wavelength optical pumping scheme to optimize output bandwidth are discussed. Use of the dual-core fiber amplifier showed no appreciable degradation to the coherence length of the seed laser. The signal intensity improvement of this amplifier is demonstrated on a multichannel in vivo OCT imaging system at 1060 nm.     

A 980 nm Yb-doped single-mode fibre laser with 946 nm Nd:YAG laser as pump source

Based on rate equations,this paper gives expressions of the output power,the pump power threshold,the slope efficiency,the fibre optimal length and the laser gain of a quasi-three-level Yb-doped fibre laser.The gain relationship between quasi-three-level system and four-level system is also given,which provides a theoretical basis for suppressing the four-level transmissions.In the experiment,we adopt the backward pumping configuration and use a linear cavity.The Yb-doped fibre laser has an output power of 372 mW of single-mode laser emission at 980 nm with a slope efficiency of 21.2% when the fibre length is 29.5 cm close to an optimal fibre length in theory.The experimental results accord well with the theoretical analyses.     

110 W double-ended ytterbium-doped fiber superfluorescent source with M2 = 1.6

High-power operation of a broadband superfluorescent fiber source has been achieved via the process of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) in a double-clad Yb-doped multimode-offset-core fiber by using a novel fiber-end termination geometry to suppress lasing. The fiber was cladding pumped by a high-power diode source at 976 nm and yielded a maximum ASE output of 63 and 47 W from the two ends of the fiber, respectively. The maximum combined ASE output was 110 W with slope efficiency with respect to launched pump power of up to 68%. The wavelength spectrum of the ASE source spanned the range from approximately 1032 to 1120 nm, and the bandwidth (FWHM) of the emission spectrum was 40 nm. The output beam was slightly multimode with a beam-quality factor (M2) of 1.6. The prospects for further improvement in performance are considered.     

Pulsed dual-stage fiber MOPA source operating at 1550 nm with arbitrarily shaped output pulses

In this paper we present an effective method of pulse distortion pre-compensation in saturated high-power fiber amplifiers by arbitrarily shaping the input pulse. We derive a simple expression which allows us to generate user-defined pulse shapes at the output of the amplifier chain consisting of more than one stage. The numerical results were verified experimentally using a diode-seeded all-fiber two-stage master oscillator–power amplifier (MOPA) source based on Er³⁺/Yb³⁺-doped double-clad fiber. Several examples of obtained output shapes are presented, including high-energy 100-ns-long rectangular pulses.     

Narrow-linewidth ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier system with 45 nm tuning range and 133 W of output power

We report on a master-oscillator ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier system with up to 133 W of continuous-wave output power using a tunable narrow-linewidth external-cavity diode laser seed source. Stable tunable high-power operation was demonstrated from 1040 nm to 1085 nm with more than 12 dB suppression of amplified spontaneous emission.     

Tm:fiber laser in-band pumped Ho:LuAG laser with over 18 W output at 2124.5 nm

We describe efficient operation of a Ho:LuAG laser in-band pumped by a cladding-pumped narrow linewidth Tm fiber laser at ∼1907 nm. With 1.0 at % Ho³⁺-doped LuAG and an output coupler of 6% transmission, the laser had a threshold pump power of ∼0.85 W and generated 18.04 W of continuous-wave output power at 2124.5 nm for 35 W of incident pump power, corresponding to an average slope efficiency with respect to incident pump power of 53.4%.     

Bismuth-doped silica-based fiber lasers operating between 1389 and 1538 nm with output power of up to 22 W

An efficient CW bismuth fiber laser operating around 1.46 μm with an efficiency of >50% and an output power of >20 W has been developed on a bismuth-doped GeO(2)-SiO(2) fiber. The laser demonstrates weak dependence of the output power on temperature in comparison with bismuth lasers operating near 1.15 and 1.3 μm. The laser generation has been obtained in the range 1.39 to 1.54 μm. The first linearly polarized bismuth-doped fiber laser at 1.46 μm based on a PANDA-type fiber has been demonstrated.     

The analytical investigation of the super-Gaussian pump source on the thermal, stress and thermo-optics properties of double-clad Yb:glass fiber lasers

Fiber lasers have attracted considerable attention when their power can realistically be scaled to kilowatt level and beyond. In this paper, we assumed that the fiber core and first clad are exposed to a pump source with a super-Gaussian profile of order four. The effects of this non-uniform heat deposition on thermal, stress and thermooptics properties such as temperature-dependent change of refractive index and thermally induced stress have been comprehensively studied and their equations analytically derived.     

Single-frequency, single-mode, plane-polarized ytterbium-doped fiber master oscillator power amplifier source with 264 W of output power

We present a single-frequency, single-mode, plane-polarized ytterbium-doped all-fiber master oscillator power amplifier source at 1060 nm generating 264 W of continuous-wave output power. The final-stage amplifier operated with a high gain of 19 dB and a high conversion efficiency of 68%. There was no evidence of rollover from stimulated Brillouin scattering even at the highest output power, and the maximum output was limited only by the available pump power.     

Tuning high-power laser diodes with as much as 0.38 W of power and M(2) = 1.2 over a range of 32 nm with 3-GHz bandwidth

Gain-guided diode lasers usually have emission wavelengths determined by the manufacturing process, with typically 0.5-1-nm bandwidth. Furthermore, their beam quality is rather poor. We show that external cavities allow for tunable narrow-bandwidth operation of gain-guided diode lasers. At the same time the beam quality is drastically improved; almost diffraction-limited light of more than 200 mW has been achieved over the whole tuning range from 910 to 942 nm with narrow bandwidth.     

High efficiency, high repetition rate, all-fiber picoseconds pulse MOPA source with 125?W output in 15?μm fiber core

A passive mode-locked fiber laser-delivered 13?ps pulse is saturatedly amplified with a four-stage amplifier chain. 125?W high power all-fiber picoseconds pulse laser is demonstrated in a 15-??m fiber core, and the optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of the main amplifier is up to 86.12?%. A home-made (6?+?1)?×?1 fiber combiner is used to couple the pump light and signal light into the gain double cladding fiber. In order to suppress the nonlinear effects in high-power picosecond fiber amplifiers, the repetition rate of the seed pulse is increased from 60?MHz to?~1?GHz; also the gain fibers are advisably selected. The amplified output spectrum is symmetrically broadened to several nanometers due to self-phase modulation (SPM). No stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and residual pump light are observed and the optical signal-to-noise ratio is more than 30?dB. The all-fiber picoseconds MOPA laser in this report can be easily performed with the conventional fiber handing equipments, and it has great potential to be applied as pump source in the fields of optical parametric oscillator, laser frequency-doubling and supercontinuum generation.