An interrogator for a fiber Bragg sensor array based on a tunable erbium fiber laser

An interrogator of Bragg sensors based on a narrow-band tunable erbium laser is developed. The laser characteristics enable one to interrogate up to 45 temperature sensors in a range of 100°C with an error of no greater than 1°C.     

Tunable fiber Bragg gratings for application in tunable fiber lasers

The resonance wavelength of the fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) is tuned using two methods. Tunable FBGs are used as the selecting elements in the cavities of tunable lasers. An ytterbium-doped fiber laser with a wavelength tuning range of 1063–1108 nm and an output power of 6 W, a Raman fiber laser with a wavelength tuning range of 1252–1303 nm and an output power of 3 W, and an erbium-doped fiber laser with a wavelength tuning range of 1530–1580 nm are realized, and their characteristics are studied.     

Distributed-feedback fiber laser with optical amplifier

A single-frequency all-fiber laser source operating at 1093 nm with an output power of more than 1 W is developed. A master oscillator-power amplifier configuration that comprises a distributed-feedback fiber laser and an ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier is implemented. Some aspects of the stimulated Brillouin scattering specific to active fiber are discussed.     

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.     

Intracavity frequency doubling of Yb-doped fiber laser with 540–550 nm tuning

The intracavity doubling of a tunable Yb-doped fiber laser is studied. The phase effects are observed, analyzed and compensated. A smooth wavelength dependence of the second harmonic is obtained in the wavelength interval 540–550 nm. The second-harmonic output is greater than 300 mW at an LD pump power of 18 W.     

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.     

Broadening of the intracavity and output spectra of a raman fiber laser with a low-Q cavity

Intracavity and output spectra broadened in a Raman fiber laser with a low-Q cavity are measured and theoretically described. It is demonstrated that the previously developed approach of optical-wave turbulence can be used to describe the spectral broadening owing to the multiple four-wave mixing processes that involves numerous longitudinal modes of the low-Q cavity. The theoretically calculated spectra are in good agreement with the experimental data for various output reflection coefficients of the fiber Bragg gratings across the entire power range.     

Nonlinear interference effect in the Zeeman ion laser

A narrow interference resonance in the power of a single-mode ion laser as a function of the magnetic field is recorded and investigated. The nonlinear interference effect in the Zeeman laser is calculated taking account of Coulomb diffusion in velocity space. The two-photon resonance is found to differ substantially from the diffusion-free case. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 4, 241–246 (25 August 1996)     

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.     

Fiber lasers with a tunable green output

The tuning capabilities at the frequency doubling of the Yb-doped fiber laser using type-II second harmonic generation (SHG) in a KTP crystal in a walk-off compensated geometry are studied. Three configurations for different wavelengths are compared and the best one that provides a continuous tuning in the range 540–560 nm due to crystal tilting is chosen. The intracavity frequency-doubling scheme is applied to increase the efficiency.