Filtered pseudo random modulated fiber amplifier with enhanced coherence and nonlinear suppression.

Pseudo random phase modulation signals have been shown to provide considerable stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) suppression in narrow linewidth Yb-doped all-fiber amplifiers. In terms of coherent beam combining, however, pseudo random signals display a linear drop in visibility; leading to pronounced drops in combining efficiencies for small path length deviations. To that end, we report a novel filtered pseudo random modulation approach for enhanced combining efficiency and coherence length performance. Here a low pass radio frequency (RF) filter is used to mitigate the PRBS high frequency components, thereby suppressing the sidelobes in the optical spectrum. This leads to an approximate Gaussian visibility function and improved coherence lengths of up to 27% in a kW class fiber amplifier (954 W). In addition, the spectral sidelobe suppression leads to concurrent SBS threshold enhancement due to a reduction in the spectral overlap between the Rayleigh reflected light and the Stokes shifted light. This reduction in the SBS seeding phenomena leads to ~10% SBS threshold improvements in a kW class fiber amplifier. Theoretical and experimental data is presented to substantiate the improved coherence length and SBS suppression. More importantly, the simultaneous nonlinear SBS suppression and coherence length benefits of the filtered PRBS approach can have a significant impact for high power, narrow linewidth, all-fiber amplifiers.

Beam combinable, kilowatt, all-fiber amplifier based on phase-modulated laser gain competition.

We report power scaling results of a highly efficient narrow-linewidth monolithic Yb-doped fiber amplifier seeded with two signals, operating at 1038 and 1064 nm. With the appropriate seed power ratio applied, this technique was shown to suppress stimulated Brillouin scattering in conjunction with phase modulation, while generating the output power in predominantly the longer wavelength signal. Notably, the integration of laser gain competition with pseudo-random bit sequence phase modulation, set at a clock rate of 2.5 GHz and utilizing an optimized pattern to match the shortened effective nonlinear length, yielded 1 kW of output power. The beam quality was measured to be near the diffraction limit with no sign of transverse mode instability. Furthermore, the coherent beam combination performance of the amplifier provided a 90% combining efficiency with no indication of spectral broadening when compared to the single-tone case. Overall, the power scaling results represent a significant reduction in spectral linewidth compared to that of commercially available narrow-linewidth Yb-doped fiber amplifiers.

Theoretical and numerical treatment of modal instability in high-power core and cladding-pumped Raman fiber amplifiers.

Raman fiber lasers have been proposed as potential candidates for scaling beyond the power limitations imposed on near diffraction-limited rare-earth doped fiber lasers. One limitation is the modal instability (MI) and we explore the physics of this phenomenon in Raman fiber amplifiers (RFAs). By utilizing the conservation of number of photons and conservation of energy in the absence of loss, the 3 × 3 governing system of nonlinear equations describing the pump and the signal modal content are decoupled and solved analytically for cladding-pumped RFAs. By comparing the extracted signal at MI threshold for the same step index-fiber, it is found that the MI threshold is independent of the length of the amplifier or whether the amplifier is co-pumped or counter-pumped; dictated by the integrated heat load along the length of fiber. We extend our treatment to gain-tailored RFAs and show that this approach is of limited utility in suppressing MI. Finally, we formulate the physics of MI in core-pumped RFAs where both pump and signal interferences participate in writing the time-dependent index of refraction grating.

High-efficiency, kilowatt 1034 nm all-fiber amplifier operating at 11 pm linewidth.

We present power scaling results of a monolithic Yb-doped 1034 nm fiber amplifier well-suited for beam combining applications. Stimulated Brillouin scattering suppression is achieved through optical linewidth broadening, and results were compared for both white noise source (WNS) and pseudo-random bit sequence (PRBS) phase modulation schemes. Notably, through PRBS modulation at a clock rate of 3.5 GHz, 1 kW of output power with a slope efficiency of 81% was demonstrated. Beam quality measurements indicated near diffraction-limited operation with no sign of modal instability. At a comparable linewidth and fiber length, power scaling via WNS modulation yielded only 470 W. The kilowatt-class output at a linewidth of 11 pm is the highest power reported for a spectrally narrow all-fiber amplifier operating at the short wavelength end of the high gain range in Yb-doped silica.

Comparison of phase modulation schemes for coherently combined fiber amplifiers.

Optical linewidth broadening through both white noise (WNS) and pseudo-random binary sequence (PBRS) phase modulation are effective techniques for suppressing stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in high- power fiber amplifiers. However, detailed studies comparing both coherent beam combining and SBS suppression of these phase modulation schemes have not been reported. In this study, a passive fiber cutback experiment is performed comparing the SBS threshold enhancement factor of a PRBS and WNS broadened seed as a function of linewidth and fiber length. Particularly, assuming an optimal PRBS pattern is chosen, pseudo-random modulation provides superior SBS suppression than WNS for a given fiber length and signal linewidth. Furthermore, two WNS and PRBS modulated 150 W fiber lasers are coherently combined to measure and compare the combining efficiency, beam quality, and coherence as a function of optical path length difference. Notably, the discrete spectral density of PRBS modulation provides a re-coherence effect where the lasers periodically come back into phase. Overall, this may reduce path length matching complexity in coherently combined fiber laser systems.

400-W near diffraction-limited single-frequency all-solid photonic bandgap fiber amplifier.

An ytterbium-doped large-mode area photonic bandgap fiber is used to demonstrate 400 W of single-frequency output at 1064 nm with excellent beam quality and minimal stimulated Brillouin scattering. The fiber possesses all-solid microstructures embedded in the cladding and a core composed of phosphosilicate with a diameter of ∼50 µm. As the signal power is pushed beyond 450 W, there is degradation in the beam quality due to the modal instability. We briefly discuss techniques to alleviate this problem in future designs. To the best of our knowledge, the 400-W single-frequency near diffraction-limited output far exceeds the current state-of-the-art from such type of fiber amplifier.

Polarizing ytterbium-doped all-solid photonic bandgap fiber with ~1150µm(2) effective mode area.

We demonstrate an Yb-doped polarizing all-solid photonic bandgap fiber for single-polarization and single-mode operation with an effective mode area of ~1150µm(2), a record for all-solid photonic bandgap fibers. The differential polarization mode loss is measured to be >5dB/m over the entire transmission band with a 160nm bandwidth and >15dB/m on the short wavelength edge of the band. A 2.6m long fiber was tested in a laser configuration producing a linearly polarized laser output with a PER value of 21dB without any polarizer, the highest for any fiber lasers based on polarizing fibers.

Pseudo-random binary sequence phase modulation for narrow linewidth, kilowatt, monolithic fiber amplifiers.

We report on pseudo random binary sequence (PRBS) phase modulation for narrow-linewidth, kilowatt-class, monolithic (all-fiber) amplifiers. Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold enhancement factors for different patterns of PRBS modulated fiber amplifiers were experimentally analyzed and agreed well with the theoretical predictions. We also examined seeding of the SBS process by phase modulated signals when the effective linewidth is on the same order as the Brillouin shift frequency. Here ~30% variations in SBS power thresholds were observed from small tunings of the modulation frequency. In addition, a 3 GHz PRBS modulated, 1.17 kW fiber amplifier was demonstrated. Near diffraction-limited beam quality was achieved (M2 = 1.2) with an optical pump efficiency of 83%. Overall, the improved SBS suppression and narrow linewidth achieved through PRBS modulation can have a significant impact on the beam combining of kilowatt class fiber lasers.

Modal instability-suppressing, single-frequency photonic crystal fiber amplifier with 811 W output power.

An acoustic- and gain-tailored Yb-doped polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber is used to demonstrate 811 W single-frequency output power with near diffraction-limited beam quality. The fiber core is composed of 7 individually doped segments arranged to create three distinct transverse acoustic regions; including one region that is Yb-free. The utility of the Yb-free region is to reduce coupling between the LP01 and LP11 modes to mitigate the modal instability. The application of thermal gradients is utilized in conjunction with the transverse acoustic tailoring to suppress stimulated Brillouin scattering. To the best of our knowledge, the 811 W output represents the highest power ever reported from a near diffraction-limited single-frequency fiber laser.

Investigations of modal instabilities in fiber amplifiers through detailed numerical simulations.

We present detailed numerical simulations of modal instabilities in high-power Yb-doped fiber amplifiers using a time-dependent temperature solver coupled to the optical fields and population inversion equations. The temperature is computed by solving the heat equation in polar coordinates using a 2D second-order alternating direction implicit method. We show that the higher-order modal content rises dramatically in the vicinity of the threshold and we recover the three power-dependent regions that are characteristic of the transfer of energy. We also investigate the dependence of the threshold on the seed power and the modal content ratio of the seed. The latter has a minimal effect on the threshold while it is shown that for the fiber configuration investigated, the modal instability threshold scales linearly over a wide range with the seed power. In addition, two different gain-tailored core designs are investigated and are shown to have higher thresholds than that of a uniformly doped core. Finally, we show that this full time-dependent model which does not assume a frequency offset between the modes a priori, predicts a reduced threshold when the seed is modulated at the KHz level. This is in agreement with the steady-periodic approach to this phenomenon.

Investigations of single-frequency Raman fiber amplifiers operating at 1178 nm.

We report on core-pumped single-stage and two-stage polarization-maintaining single-frequency Raman fiber amplifiers (RFAs). For a counter-pumped single-stage RFA, commercial-off-the shelf (COTS) single-mode fiber was utilized to generate 10 W of output power at 1178 nm through the application of a two-step thermal gradient in order to suppress SBS. The relatively high output can be explained by the Brillouin gain spectrum (BGS) of the COTS fiber. A pump-probe characterization of the BGS of the fiber provided a Brillouin gain coefficient of 1.2 × 10(-11) m/W with a FWHM of 78 MHz for the gain bandwidth. A fiber cutback study was also conducted to investigate the signal output at SBS threshold as a function of pump power for optimal length. This study revealed a linear dependence, which is in agreement with the theoretical prediction. Furthermore, we present numerical simulations indicating that substantial power scaling can be achieved by seeding at a higher power. Consequently, we constructed a two-stage RFA in order to achieve seed powers at the 1 W level. By utilizing an acoustically tailored fiber possessing a lower Brillouin gain coefficient than the COTS fiber and by seeding at higher powers, 22 W of single-frequency 1178 nm output was obtained from a counter-pumped two-stage RFA. Finally, we show that the single-frequency spectral bandwidth could not be maintained when a similar co-pumped two-stage RFA was utilized.

A theoretical study of transient stimulated Brillouin scattering in optical fibers seeded with phase-modulated light.

Beam combining of phase-modulated kilowatt fiber amplifiers has generated considerable interest recently. We describe in the time domain how stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) is generated in an optical fiber under phase-modulated laser conditions, and we analyze different phase modulation techniques. The temporal and spatial evolutions of the acoustic phonon, laser, and Stokes fields are determined by solving the coupled three-wave interaction system. Numerical accuracy is verified through agreement with the analytical solution for the un-modulated case and through the standard photon conservation relation for counter-propagating optical fields. As a test for a modulated laser, a sinusoidal phase modulation is examined for a broad range of modulation amplitudes and frequencies. We show that, at high modulation frequencies, our simulations agree with the analytical results obtained from decomposing the optical power into its frequency components. At low modulation frequencies, there is a significant departure due to the appreciable cross talk among the laser and Stokes sidebands. We also examine SBS suppression for a white noise source and show significant departures for short fibers from analytically derived formulas. Finally, SBS suppression through the application of pseudo-random bit sequence modulation is examined for various patterns. It is shown that for a fiber length of 9 m the patterns at or near n=7 provide the best mitigation of SBS with suppression factors approaching 17 dB at a modulation frequency of 5 GHz.

18 W single-stage single-frequency acoustically tailored Raman fiber amplifier.

A single-mode polarization-maintaining fiber doped to increase the Raman gain while suppressing stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) was utilized in a single-stage counter-pumped Raman fiber amplifier. The SBS suppression was achieved through the acoustic tailoring of the core. A pump probe experiment was conducted to characterize the Brillouin gain and indicated the existence of multiple Brillouin peaks. When the amplifier was seeded with approximately 15 mW of 1178 nm light, 11.5 W of cw output power was obtained with a linewidth ≤2 MHz. The application of a thermal gradient to further mitigate the SBS process increased the output power to 18 W, thus providing a net amplifier gain >30 dB.

Acoustically segmented photonic crystal fiber for single-frequency high-power laser applications.

The Brillouin gain characteristics of a Yb-doped polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber possessing a segmented acoustic profile are investigated using a pump-probe technique. The concentrations of fluorine, aluminum, and germanium in two regions of the core were selected, such that the corresponding Brillouin shifts were sufficiently separated to allow for the introduction of a temperature profile along the fiber for further stimulated Brillouin scattering suppression. By using a cutback technique to measure loss, we estimated the Brillouin gain coefficient to be 1.2×10(-11) m/W. Despite differences in the concentration levels of dopants between the two segments, there was no evidence of a development of an optical interface. When this fiber was utilized in a counterpumped amplifier configuration, close to 500 W of near-diffraction-limited single-frequency output was obtained.

Pump-limited, 203 W, single-frequency monolithic fiber amplifier based on laser gain competition.

We present high power results of a Yb-doped fiber amplifier seeded with a combination of broad and single-frequency laser signals. This two-tone concept was used in conjunction with externally applied or intrinsically formed thermal gradients to demonstrate combined stimulated Brillouin scattering suppression in a copumped monolithic, polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber. Depending on the input parameters and the thermal gradient, the output power of the single-frequency signal ranged from 80 to 203 W with slope efficiencies from 70% to 80%. The 203 W amplifier was pump limited and is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest reported in the literature for monolithic, PM single-frequency fiber amplifiers.

Theoretical analysis of single-frequency Raman fiber amplifier system operating at 1178 nm.

We analyze the scalability of amplifying the output from a single-frequency diode laser operating at 1178 nm through the utilization of a core pumped Raman fiber amplifier. A detailed model that accounts for stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in relation to the fiber mode field diameter, length, seed power, and available pump power in both co-pumped and counter-pumped configurations is developed. The backward travelling Stokes light is initiated from both spontaneous Brillouin and spontaneous Raman processes. It is found that when fiber length is optimized, the amplifier output scales linearly with available pump power. Although higher amplifier efficiency is obtained with higher seed power, the output power diminishes. In order to mitigate the SBS process for further power scaling, we employ and optimize a multi-step temperature distribution. Finally, we consider the feasibility of generating the D(2a) and D(2b) lines in a sodium guide star beacon from a single Raman amplifier by examining four-wave mixing (FWM).

Stimulated Brillouin scattering suppression through laser gain competition: scalability to high power.

We demonstrate stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) suppression in a Yb-doped fiber amplifier by seeding with a combination of broad- and single-frequency laser beams that are separated sufficiently to suppress four-wave mixing and to allow for efficient laser gain competition between the two signals. In the experiment, a monolithic fiber configuration was used. With appropriate selection of seed power ratio, we were able to generate single-frequency 1064 nm light with a slope efficiency of 78% while simultaneously suppressing the backscattered Stokes light. We discuss scalability to high power wherein a large thermal gradient can be induced at the output end of the fiber via quantum defect heating, leading to an SBS suppression factor comparable to counterpumping.

Experimental and theoretical investigations of photonic crystal fiber amplifier with 260 W output.

We report on a polarization-maintaining narrow-linewidth high power ytterbium-doped photonic crystal fiber amplifier with an output as high as 260 W and a slope efficiency of approximately 74%. Measurements of the beam quality yielded M2 values in the range of 1.2-1.3. The linewidth was determined at two different powers using an optical heterodyne detection technique and yielded values that were less than 10 KHz. Our maximum output power was pump limited and measurements of the reflected light indicated that we operated below the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold. Using a pump-probe technique, we estimated the Brillouin gain bandwidth to be approximately 68 MHz. In addition, the Brillouin gain spectrum revealed secondary peaks lying at the high-frequency side. In order to study the power limitations of our amplifier, we developed a detailed model that included a distributed noise source for the SBS process and a temperature gradient obtained via quantum defect heating. Our simulations indicated that for this particular fiber amplifier configuration an output power approaching 1 KW can be achieved. We also found that for forced air cooling the SBS threshold saturates regardless of the operating temperature of the polymer coating. Finally, we show that relatively small enhancement is obtained if a continuous transverse acoustic velocity gradient was implemented in conjunction with the thermal gradient. The latter conclusions drawn from our simulations also hold true for conventional fibers.

A theoretical treatment of two approaches to SBS mitigation with two-tone amplification.

A technique that employs two seed signals for the purpose of mitigating stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) effects in narrow-linewidth Yb-doped fiber amplifiers is investigated theoretically by constructing a self-consistent model that incorporates the laser gain, SBS, and four-wave mixing (FWM). The model reduces to solving a two-point boundary problem consisting of an 8x8 system of coupled nonlinear differential equations. Optimal operating conditions are determined by examining the interplay between the wavelength separation and power ratio of the two seeds. Two variants of this 'two-tone' amplification are considered. In one case the wavelength separation is precisely twice the Brillouin shift, while the other case considers a greater wavelength separation. For the former case, a two-fold increase in total output power over a broad range of seed power ratios centered about a ratio of approximately 2 is obtained, but with fairly large FWM. For the latter case, this model predicts an approximately 100% increase in output power (at SBS threshold with no signs of FWM) for a 'two-tone' amplifier with seed signals at 1064nm and 1068nm, compared to a conventional fiber amplifier with a single 1068nm seed. More significantly for this case, it is found that at a wavelength separation greater than 10nm, it is possible to appreciably enhance the power output of one of the laser frequencies.