High power laser sources in the 2 μm wavelength region and emitting ns-pulses have many applications in material processing, biology as well as for laser plasma sources targeting the extreme ultraviolet region. Thulium (Tm)-doped fibers represent a very attractive platform for Q-switched systems emitting ns pulses in the 2 μm wavelength range. Usually, high-power, Tm-doped fiber amplifiers are pumped at 790 nm. By exploiting Cross-Relaxations (CR) the slope efficiency can be significantly increased beyond the Stokes limit. However, in those fiber systems targeting mJ pulse energy, the slope efficiency is barely above 35 %. Due to the large quantum defect of approximately 60 % such systems face considerable thermal challenges. In this contribution an in-band pumped Q-switched oscillator is demonstrated. This source is used to seed an in-band pumped, Tm-doped, rod-type amplifier which delivers up to 6.1 mJ pulse energy and up to 128 W average power with 77% slope efficiency.
In this work we study the origin of birefringence in multicore fibers. With the help of simulations and experiments we are able to identify a new type of birefringence arising in multicore structures: structural birefringence. Hereby birefringence arises due to the intrinsic stress created by each core in the array and its value and orientation of the main polarization axis is dependent on the position of the cores in the array. We provide a comprehensive analysis of structural birefringence, and discuss ways to solve this problem.
In this work we present a comprehensive parameter study on core-to-core power coupling in multicore fibers (MCFs). In order to do this, a simulation tool has been developed. We chose MCFs with 3×3 cores in a squared pattern with core sizes ranging between 15 and 50 μm and core-to-core distances of 1.5 to 5 times the core diameter. The central core is seeded by a perfectly matched Gaussian beam and the power evolution in each core along the fiber is calculated up to lengths of 2 m. We will show that coupling effects not only depend on the core distance and the core NA, but also on the core diameter and the wavelength. Our simulations predict that a simplified 3×3 core arrangement can be even used to quantify coupling effects in MCFs with more cores when the core-to-core power coupling is kept low. This comprehensive study is crucial for designing laser-active rod-type MCFs.
We present an Ytterbium-doped, multicore fiber with 7×7 cores. The fiber is realized in a rod-type geometry with step index cores and an air-cladding for pump guiding. Using a segmented-mirror beam splitter followed by a double-pass multicore pre-amplifier and a main-amplifier of 1 m length, the stretched femtosecond input pulses emitted from the frontend system are amplified. The cores of the main amplifier have a mode-field diameter of 28 μm. Operating at 10 MHz repetition rate, a high average power in excess of 1 kW with near single-mode operation is achieved.
Numerical analysis of multicore fiber tapers as a mode area scaling technique for use in coherently combined laser systems is demonstrated. Taper designs are modelled with beam propagation method (BPM) numerical simulations to analyze inter-core crosstalk and mode distortion in centimeter-scale taper transitions. By evaluating taper performance for a range of taper lengths on the scale of centimeters, optimized taper designs can be found for a given MCF design. Tapers based on these simulations are fabricated using a CO2 laser tapering system.
In-house fabricated Ytterbium-doped rod-type multicore fibers (MCFs) with 4x4 cores were used to generate and amplify ns-class pulses to energies up to 37 mJ. Amplification was compared using tapered and untapered MCFs with large multimode output cores using a Q-switched MCF oscillator as seed source. The tapered fiber improves beam quality (average M2 = 1.56) while maintaining a large waveguide mode area for suppression of nonlinear effects and increased amplification per unit length. These all-glass MCFs can facilitate energy and power scaling in compact high power coherently combined amplifier systems.
We present a rod-type, Ytterbium-doped, multicore fiber with 4x4 cores. This fiber is employed in a CPA setup for coherent beam combination of femtosecond pulses. High average powers of up to 507 W after combination and compression could be achieved at 10 MHz repetition rate. A high combination efficiency of 85% could be realized together with an excellent beam quality. Additionally, up to 600 μJ pulse energy was measured in a lower repetition rate configuration.
In this work we optimize the design of coherently-combined multicore fiber amplifiers. It has been shown that increasing the number of cores in such fibers helps to increase the combinable output power. However, in counter-pumped multicore fibers, thermal effects will finally lead to strong non-uniform mode-shrinking in each core. This, in turn, will result in a significant reduction of the combining efficiency. In this study we will examine the power and energy scaling potential for different pumping schemes and different fiber designs. To this purpose, a simulation tool is used that solves the laser rate equations taking into account the resulting temperature gradient and the transverse mode distortions caused by it. In the simulation co- and counter pumped multicore fibers with a square core arrangement and a core number ranging from 2x2 up to 10x10 will be considered. Moreover, we investigate the influence of the active core size in terms of thermal effects as well as the extractable output power and energy. Particular attention is paid to the mitigation of non-uniform mode-shrinking at the fiber end-facet. By comparing the co- and counter-pumped cases, we will show that a combinable output power of 26 kW (co-pump) instead of 14 kW (counter-pump) with a 10x10 MCF and 30 μm cores should be achievable.
A simplification of segmented-mirror splitters for coherent beam combination based on numerical optimization of coating designs is presented. The simplified designs may facilitate the production of such elements for coherent beam combination while maintaining high combination efficiency. The achievable efficiency and error tolerance, and additional performance characteristics are analyzed in the context of coherently combined multicore fiber laser systems.
We present a coherently-combined ultrafast fiber laser system consisting of twelve amplifier channels delivering 10.4 kW average power at 80 MHz repetition rate with a pulse duration of 240 fs FWHM and an almost diffraction-limited beam quality of M2 ≤ 1.2. The system incorporates an automated self-adjustment of the beam combination with 3 degrees of freedom per channel. The system today is, to the best of our knowledge, the world’s most average-powerful femtosecond laser. Thermographic analysis indicates that power scaling to 100 kW-class average power is feasible.
In this work we present theoretical investigations of the power scaling potential of multicore fibers. In principle it is widely accepted that increasing the number of active cores helps to overcome current challenges such as transversal mode instabilities and non-linear effects. However, in order to do a proper analysis of the average power scaling potential of multicore fibers it is required to pay particular attention to thermal effects arising in such fibers. Therefore, a simulation tool has been developed that is capable of solving the laser rate equations, taking into account the resulting temperature gradient and the distortions in the mode profiles that it causes. In the study several different multicore fibers possessing a rectangular core position layout of 2×2 to 7×7 of active cores have been analyzed. Moreover, we have investigated the influence of the active core size in terms of thermal effects as well as the extractable output power and energy. This includes a study in the maximum achievable coherent combination efficiency of the multicore channels (that is strongly influenced by the distorted mode profile at the fiber end facet), the impact on nonlinear effects, the optical path differences between the cores and the amplification efficiency which are all triggered by thermal effects. Finally the scaling potential as well as the challenges of such fibers will be discussed.
Pump-limited kW-class operation in a multimode fiber amplifier using adaptive mode control was achieved. A photonic lantern front end was used to inject an arbitrary superposition of modes on the input to a kW-class fiber amplifier to achieve a nearly diffraction-limited output. We report on the adaptive spatial mode control architecture which allows for compensating transverse-mode disturbances at high power. We also describe the advantages of adaptive spatial mode control for optical phased array systems. In particular, we show that the additional degrees of freedom allow for broader steering and improved atmospheric turbulence compensation relative to piston-only optical phased arrays.
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