ABSTRACT
An all-glass microstructured high-power cladding mode stripper capable of handling cladding light of up to a power of approximately 350 W with stripping efficiencies >22 dB is presented. An optimized graded structure pattern increased the device's reliability and its power-handling capabilities. Subjected to a 500 h stress test, the device shows no degradation.
ABSTRACT
Single-frequency laser sources at a wavelength of 1 µm are typically scaled in power with Ytterbium-doped double-clad fiber amplifiers. The main limitations are stimulated Brillouin scattering, transversal mode instabilities and, from a technical point of view, the degree of fiber integration for a rugged setup. Addressing these limitations, we propose an alternative high-power single-frequency amplifier concept based on core pumping. A nonplanar ring oscillator with 2 W of output power at 1 kHz spectral linewidth was scaled by a fiber amplifier up to a power of 158 W without any indication of stimulated Brillouin scattering-using a standard Ytterbium-doped single-mode fiber with a mode field area of only â¼100 µm2. A short active fiber length and a strong temperature gradient along the gain fiber yield to efficient suppression of stimulated Brillouin scattering. For deeper understanding of the Brillouin scattering mitigation mechanism, we studied the Brillouin gain spectra with a Fabry-Perot interferometer at different output power levels of the fiber amplifier.
ABSTRACT
We report on an ytterbium-doped monolithic fiber laser at a wavelength of 1018 nm with an output power of 200 W in continuous wave operation. The optimal parameters for setting up such a high-power fiber laser with an ytterbium-doped fiber are investigated and discussed in detail. An in-house-developed pump light stripper and a single-mode fused fiber coupler were applied to use the fiber laser for core-pumping of ytterbium-doped high-power fiber amplifiers in a monolithic setup.
