We discuss methods and lessons learned during the integration and testing of five individual kW-class fiber amplifiers seeded with pseudorandom phase-modulated light, using a 1x5 Diffractive Optical Element (DOE). Each amplifier is capable of producing approximately 1.2 kW of near diffraction-limited output power (M2 <1.1). Low power samples from each amplifier are used for active polarization control. Phase control of each amplifier was accomplished using a low power combined beam sample and AFRL’s Locking of Optical Coherent via Single-detector Electronic-frequency Tagging (LOCSET) control system. Approximately 5 kW of signal output was achieved with a combined efficiency of 82%. Losses in the system arise from DOE efficiency limitations, Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE), polarization errors, uncorrelated wavefront errors, optical path length mismatches, and beam misalignments. We discuss the impact of recent amplifier developments and how these developments impact this beam combining method.
KEYWORDS: Airborne laser technology, Modulation, Fiber amplifiers, Optical amplifiers, Dispersion, Laser applications, Clocks, High power fiber lasers, Single mode fibers, High power fiber amplifiers
The development of high-power fiber lasers is of great interest due to the advantages they offer relative to other laser technologies. Currently, the maximum power from a reportedly single-mode fiber amplifier stands at 10 kW. Though impressive, this power level was achieved at the cost of a large spectral linewidth, making the laser unsuitable for coherent or spectral beam combination techniques required to reach power levels necessary for airborne tactical applications. An effective approach in limiting the SBS effect is to insert an electro-optic phase modulator at the low-power end of a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system. As a result, the optical power is spread among spectral sidebands; thus raising the overall SBS threshold of the amplifier. It is the purpose of this work to present a comprehensive numerical scheme that is based on the extended nonlinear Schrodinger equations that allows for accurate analysis of phase modulated fiber amplifier systems in relation to the group velocity dispersion and Kerr nonlinearities and their effect on the coherent beam combining efficiency. As such, we have simulated a high-power MOPA system modulated via filtered pseudo-random bit sequence format for different clock rates and power levels. We show that at clock rates of ≥30 GHz, the combination of GVD and self-phase modulation may lead to a drastic drop in beam combining efficiency at the multi-kW level. Furthermore, we extend our work to study the effect of cross-phase modulation where an amplifier is seeded with two laser sources.
In this paper we report the generation of flat top optical spectrum using an arbitrary waveform generator to increase the SBS threshold in high power optical fiber amplifiers. The optical spectrum consists of a number of discrete spectral lines, ranging from 16 to 380, within the bandwidth of 2GHz, corresponding to line spacing between 133 MHz and 5 MHz. These discrete spectral lines correspond to a PRBS pattern of n = 4 to n = 8. The SBS threshold and coherence properties of the flat top spectrum are measured and compared to that of the filtered PRBS in a kilowatt class fiber amplifier. It is experimentally demonstrated that for large frequency line spacing, the flat top spectrum significantly outperforms the corresponding filtered PRBS, but as the line spacing is decreased to less than the Brillouin bandwidth, the two modulation waveforms have similar enhancement factors in the SBS threshold due to the enhanced crosstalk between neighboring frequency components.
Hybrid microstructured fibers, utilizing both air holes and high index cladding structures, provide important advantages over conventional fiber including robust fundamental mode operation with large core diameters (>30μm) and spectral filtering (i.e. amplified spontaneous emission and Raman suppression). This work investigates the capabilities of a hybrid fiber designed to suppress stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) and modal instability (MI) by characterizing these effects in a counter-pumped amplifier configuration as well as interrogating SBS using a pump-probe Brillouin gain spectrum (BGS) diagnostic suite. The fiber has a 35 μm annularly gain tailored core, the center doped with Yb and the second annulus comprised of un-doped fused silica, designed to optimize gain in the fundamental mode while limiting gain to higher order modes. A narrow-linewidth seed was amplified to an MI-limited 820 W, with near-diffraction-limited beam quality, an effective linewidth ~ 1 GHz, and a pump conversion efficiency of 78%. Via a BGS pump-probe measurement system a high resolution spectra and corresponding gain coefficient were obtained. The primary gain peak, corresponding to the Yb doped region of the core, occurred at 15.9 GHz and had a gain coefficient of 1.92×10-11 m/W. A much weaker BGS response, due to the pure silica annulus, occurred at 16.3 GHz. This result demonstrates the feasibility of power scaling hybrid microstructured fiber amplifiers
Transverse mode instability (TMI) has been recognized as a major limit to average power scaling of single-mode fiber laser besides the optical nonlinear effects. One key to mitigate TMI is to suppress the higher-order modes (HOMs) propagation in the optical fiber. By implementing additional cores in the optical fiber cladding, HOMs can be resonantly coupled from the main core to the surrounding cladding cores, leading to better HOMs suppression. Here, we demonstrate an Yb-doped multiple-cladding-resonant all-solid photonic bandgap fiber with a ~60μm diameter core for high power fiber lasers. The fiber has a multiple-cladding-resonant design in order to provide better HOMs suppression. Maximum laser power of 910w is achieved for a direct diode-pumped fiber laser without TMI with a 9m long fiber at 60cm coil diameter, breaking the TMI threshold of 800w that has been observed in large-mode-area PCFs with ~40μm core. This result is limited by fiber end burning due to the un-optimized thermal management. Later experiment demonstrates maximum laser power of 1050w with 90% lasing efficiency versus absorbed pump power in a 8m long fiber coiled at 80cm diameter, limited by the pump source. However, the fiber bending condition needs to be optimized in order to produce a better laser beam quality.
The physics of high brightness, high-power lasers present a variety of challenges with respect to simulation. The Air Force Research Laboratory is developing high-fidelity models for Yb-doped, Tm-doped, and Raman fiber amplifiers, hollow-core optical fiber gas lasers, and diode pumped alkali lasers. The approach to simulation and the physics specific to each laser technology are described, along with highlights of results, and relevant modeling considerations and limitations.
We report efficient coherent beam combining of five kW-class fiber amplifiers seeded with pseudorandom phase-modulated light, using a 1×5 diffractive optical element (DOE). Each fiber amplifier channel was path length matched, actively polarized, and provided approximately 1.2 kW of near diffraction-limited output power (M2<1.1). A low-power sample of the combined beam after the DOE provided an error signal for active phase stabilization. After phase stabilization, the beams were coherently combined via the DOE. Notably, a total output power of ∼5 kW was achieved with 82% combining efficiency and excellent beam quality (M2<1.1). The intrinsic DOE splitter loss was 5%. Additional losses due in part to nonideal polarization, amplified spontaneous emission content, uncorrelated wavefront errors, and fractional beam misalignments contributed to the efficiency reduction. Overall, multi-kW beam combining of pseudorandom-modulated fiber amplifiers was demonstrated for the first time.
A nanoparticle (NP) doping technique was used for making erbium-doped fibers (EDFs) for high energy lasers. The nanoparticles were doped into the silica soot of preforms, which were drawn into fibers. The Er luminescence lifetimes of the NP-doped cores are longer than those of corresponding solution-doped silica, and substantially less Al is incorporated into the NP-doped cores. Optical-to-optical slope efficiencies of greater than 71% have been measured. Initial investigations of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) have indicated that SBS suppression is achieved by NP doping, where we observed a low intrinsic Brillouin gain coefficient, of ~1× 10-11 m/W and the Brillouin bandwidth was increased by 2.5x compared to fused silica.
We report efficient coherent beam combining of five kilowatt-class fiber amplifiers with a diffractive optical element (DOE). Based on a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) configuration, the amplifiers were seeded with pseudo random phase modulated light. Each non-polarization maintaining fiber amplifier was optically path length matched and provides approximately 1.2 kW of near diffraction-limited output power (measured M2<1.1). Consequently, a low power sample of each laser was utilized for active linear polarization control. A low power sample of the combined beam after the DOE provided an error signal for active phase locking which was performed via Locking of Optical Coherence by Single-Detector Electronic-Frequency Tagging (LOCSET). After phase stabilization, the beams were coherently combined via the 1x5 DOE. A total combined output power of 4.9 kW was achieved with 82% combining efficiency and excellent beam quality (M2<1.1). The intrinsic DOE splitter loss was 5%. Similarly, losses due in part to non-ideal polarization, ASE content, uncorrelated wavefront errors, and misalignment errors contributed to the efficiency reduction.
Laser gain competition was used in conjunction with external phase modulation techniques in order to investigate power scaling of narrow-linewidth monolithic Ytterbium-doped fiber amplifiers. In this study, both pseudo-random bit sequence (PRBS) and filtered white noise source (WNS) modulation techniques were separately utilized to drive the external phase modulator for linewidth broadening. The final-stage amplifier was then seeded with the phase modulated narrow-linewidth 1064 nm signal along with a spectrally broader 1038 nm source. Consequently, integration of laser gain competition in conjunction with PRBS phase modulation yields a factor of ∼15 dB in stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold enhancement at a clock rate of 2.5 GHz; leading to 1 kilowatt of output power with 85% optical efficiency at 1064 nm. Notably, the combination of PRBS phase modulation with laser gain competition provided superior enhancement in SBS threshold power when compared to the WNS modulated case. The beam quality at maximum power was near the diffraction limit (M2 <1.2) with no sign of modal instability. Overall, the power scaling results represent a significant reduction in spectral linewidth compared to that of commercially available narrowlinewidth Ytterbium-doped fiber amplifiers.
Power scaling investigation of a narrow-linewidth, Ytterbium-doped all-fiber amplifier operating at 1034 nm is presented. Nonlinear stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) effects were suppressed through the utilization of an external phase modulation technique. Here, the power amplifier was seeded with a spectrally broadened master oscillator and the results were compared using both pseudo-random bit sequence (PRBS) and white noise source (WNS) phase modulation formats. By utilizing an optical band pass filter as well as optimizing the length of fiber used in the pre-amplifier stages, we were able to appreciably suppress unwanted amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). Notably, through PRBS phase modulation, greater than two-fold enhancement in threshold power was achieved when compared to the WNS modulated case. Consequently, by further optimizing both the power amplifier length and PRBS pattern at a clock rate of 3.5 GHz, we demonstrated 1 kilowatt of power with a slope efficiency of 81% and an overall ASE content of less than 1%. Beam quality measurements at 1 kilowatt provided near diffraction-limited operation (M2 < 1.2) with no sign of modal instability. To the best of our knowledge, the power scaling results achieved in this work represent the highest power reported for a spectrally narrow all-fiber amplifier operating at < 1040 nm in Yb-doped silica-based fiber.
We report results from two ~1.5 kW Yb-doped fiber amplifiers with comparable optical to optical efficiencies and linewidths. One amplifier utilized a fiber with a core diameter of 25 μm while the core diameter of the fiber utilized in the other amplifier was 20 μm. Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) suppression in both cases was achieved through pseudo-random bit sequence (PRBS) phase modulation. While the power generated in the larger core fiber was modal instability (MI) limited, no sign of MI was observed in the smaller core fiber. This may allow us to utilize the higher MI threshold fiber to scale further while maintaining sufficiently narrow linewidth for beam combining. Furthermore, in a demonstration of the utility of applying a thermal gradient in conjunction with phase modulation to suppress SBS further, we report on a 1 kW amplifier driven at a PRBS clock rate of 2 GHz. Finally, we compare the coherent beam combining properties of amplifiers seeded with PRBS phase modulated sources to those seeded with white noise sources.
White noise phase modulation (WNS) and pseudo-random binary sequence phase modulation (PRBS) are effective
techniques for mitigation of nonlinear effects such as stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS); thereby paving the way for
higher power narrow linewidth fiber amplifiers. However, detailed studies comparing both coherent beam combination
and the SBS suppression of these phase modulation schemes have not been reported. In this study an active fiber cutback
experiment is performed comparing the enhancement factor of a PRBS and WNS broadened seed as a function of
linewidth and fiber length. Furthermore, two WNS and PRBS modulated fiber lasers are coherently combined to measure
and compare the fringe visibility and coherence length as a function of optical path length difference. Notably, the
discrete frequency comb of PRBS modulation provides a beam combining re-coherence effect where the lasers
periodically come back into phase. Significantly, this may reduce path length matching complexity in coherently
combined fiber laser systems.
Fiber lasers are in the process of revolutionizing modern manufacturing. Further power scaling is still much desired to increase throughput and to break new frontiers in science and defense. It has become very clear now that highly single-mode fibers with large effective mode areas are required to overcome both nonlinear effects and mode instability [1-3]. We have been studying all-solid photonic bandgap fibers (AS-PBF), which have open and highly dispersive cladding, making them ideal for higher-order-mode controls in large-mode-area fibers. I will review our recent progress in this area and, especially in ytterbium-doped AS-PBF lasers and amplifiers.
Ytterbium-doped large mode area all-solid photonic bandgap fiber amplifiers were used to demonstrate <400 W of
output power at 1064 nm. In an initial set of experiments, a fiber with a core diameter of ~50 μm, and a calculated
effective area of 1450 μm2 in a straight fiber, was used to generate approximately 600 W. In this case, the input
seed was modulated using a sinusoidal format at a frequency of 400 MHz. The output, however, was multimode as
the fiber design did not allow for single-mode operation at this wavelength. A second fiber was then fabricated to
operate predominantly in single mode at 1064 nm by having the seed closer to the short wavelength edge of the
bandgap. This fiber was used to demonstrate 400 W of single-frequency output with excellent beam quality. As the
signal power exceeded 450 W, there was significant degradation in the beam quality due to the modal instability.
Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, the power scaling results obtained in this work far exceed results from
prior state of the art all-solid photonic bandgap fiber lasers.
Cladding-pumped Raman fiber amplifiers (RFA) have been proposed as gain media to achieve power scaling. It is well-known
that the onset of the modal instability (MI) phenomenon is a limiting factor for achieving higher output powers in
Yb-doped fiber amplifiers with good beam quality. In this paper, we present an analytical approach to the investigation
of the MI phenomenon in high-power, cladding-pumped RFAs. By utilizing the conservation of the number of photons
and the conservation of energy in the absence of loss, the nonlinear equations for the propagation of the pump power and
the total signal power can be decoupled from one another. Decoupling lead to exact solutions for the pump power and
transverse modes signal powers. Further we investigate various MI suppression techniques including increasing the seed
power and gain-tailored design.
Polarizing optical fibers are important components for building compact fiber lasers with linearly polarized laser output. Conventional single-mode optical fibers with birefringence can only preserve the polarization when the incident beam is launched properly. Recent reports demonstrate that the birefringence in photonic bandgap fibers (PBFs) can provide single-polarization operation near the edge of transmission band by shifting the transmission band for the light with orthogonal polarizations. Here, we demonstrate a 50μm core Yb-doped polarizing photonic bandgap fiber (PBF) for single-polarization operation throughout the entire transmission band from 1010nm to 1170nm with a polarization extinction ratio (PER) of >5dB/m, which is >15dB/m near the short wavelength edge of the transmission band. The polarizing effect is due to the differential polarization transmission loss presented in this fiber, which is benefited from the fiber birefringence of 3.2x10-4, obtained by incorporating low-index boron-doped rods on either side of the core. The achievement is based on the fact that light at fast axis has lower effective mode index which is closer to the modes in the photonic cladding and thus to be easily coupled into cladding. A 2.6m long straight fiber was tested in a laser configuration without any polarizers to achieve single polarized laser output with a PER value of 21dB at 1026nm lasing wavelength.
A novel acoustic and gain tailored Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber is used to demonstrate over 800 W single-frequency output power with excellent beam quality at 1064 nm. The large mode area fiber core is composed of 7 individually doped segments arranged to create three distinct acoustic regions and preferential gain overlap with the fundamental optical mode. This design leads to suppression of both stimulated Brillouin scattering and modal instability. To the best of our knowledge, the output power represents the highest power ever reported from a near diffractionlimited single-frequency fiber laser. Furthermore, we show that by using a broadband seed, 1.22 kW of output power is obtained without the onset of the modal instability.
White noise phase modulation is an effective technique capable of increasing the SBS threshold in high power fiber amplifiers. Theoretical models predict the enhancement factor as a function of linewidth and fiber length, but have yet to be experimentally verified over wide ranges of these variables. We present results on a cut-back experiment performed on a passive fiber with a white-noise broadened laser, measuring the SBS enhancement factor as a function of fiber length and bandwidth. In addition, the experimental results will be compared to phase modulation models of the SBS process in optical fibers.
We present experimental results of SBS suppression in high power, monolithic, Yb-doped fiber amplifiers via phase modulated laser gain competition. To narrow the linewidth, two-tone laser gain competition between broad (1036 nm) and narrow linewidth (1064 nm) laser signals is investigated in conjunction with phase modulation and yields pump limited output powers of 600 W. Here integration of both two-tone and pseudo random bit sequence (PRBS) phase modulation concepts, generated SBS enhancement factors of greater than 17x at a modulation frequency of 500 MHz, without reaching the SBS threshold. Significantly, the results represent a near order of magnitude reduction in linewidth over current high-power, monolithic, Yb-doped fiber amplifiers.
We present, using numerical simulations, investigations of the modal instability thresholds in high-power Yb-doped fiber amplifiers. We use a time-dependent temperature solver coupled to the optical fields and population inversion equations to determine the temporal dynamics of the modal content of the signal as well as the modal instability threshold. Our numerical code is optimized to achieve fast computations; thus allowing us to perform efficient detailed numerical studies of fiber amplifiers ranging in lengths from 1-20 meters using various pump and seeding wavelengths. Simulation results indicate promising modal instability suppression through gain tailoring, tandem pumping, or through seeding at an appropriate wavelength. We examine the threshold of an amplifier pumped using fiber lasers operating at 1018 nm; similar to the multi-kilowatt single-mode fiber laser demonstrated by IPG. In this case, we show an increase in threshold of 370%. By simply seeding at other wavelengths, as low as 1030 nm, a 60% suppression of the modal instability threshold can also be realized. Furthermore, we show that gain tailoring is an effective mitigation technique leading to an appreciable suppression of the instability in a fiber design that has already been experimentally tested.
We present a detailed time-dependent numerical model of the modal instability phenomenon observed in Yb-doped fiber amplifiers. The thermal effects are captured by solving the heat equation in polar coordinate using a 2D, second-order, time-dependent, alternating direction implicit (ADI) method. The model captures the three power-dependent regions that are characteristic of the transfer of energy between the fundamental mode and the higherorder mode as a function of time. It is also shown that for the fiber configuration investigated, the modal instability threshold scales linearly over a wide range with the seed power. Furthermore, we present numerical results indicating that gain tailoring can increase the threshold. Two different gain-tailored fiber designs are simulated and compared.
We present experimental and theoretical studies on the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold in fiber amplifiers seeded with a spectrally broadened single-frequency laser source. An electro-optic phase modulator is driven with various pseudo-random binary sequence (PRBS) patterns to highlight the unique characteristics of this linewidth broadening technique and its facility in SBS mitigation. Theoretical predictions show a variation in SBS suppression based on PRBS pattern and modulation frequency. These predictions are experimentally investigated in a kilowatt level monolithic fiber amplifier operating with near diffraction-limited beam quality. We also show Rayleigh scattering and other sources of back reflected light in phase modulated signals can seed the SBS process and significantly reduce the nonlinear threshold.
We present a detailed study of power scaling in polarization-maintaining Raman fiber amplifiers operating at 1178 nm since this wavelength can be frequency doubled into 589 nm for sodium guide star applications. We confirm experimentally that the optimized output signal at SBS threshold scales linearly with the pump power. We also present results from numerical and experimental studies investigating the scalability of Raman fiber amplifiers with seed power. Both co-pumped and counter pumped two-stage amplifiers utilizing acoustically tailored fiber for SBS suppression were constructed and studied. For the former configuration spectral broadening was observed, while the latter configuration provided 22 W of single-frequency output. Finally, we show results of a phase-modulated amplifier generating multiple spectral lines separated by 886 MHz, which corresponds to the spectral separation of the sodium D2a, and D2b lines after frequency doubling in a nonlinear cavity.
We present detailed studies of the effect of sinusoidal phase modulation on stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in
ytterbium-doped fiber amplifiers. Based on a time-dependent SBS model, SBS enhancement factor versus pump
linewidth for different modulation depths ranging from 0 to π , and modulation frequencies ranging from 30 MHz to
500 MHz were analyzed. In addition, experimental validation of SBS suppression via sinusoidal phase modulation is
presented with experimental results agreeing well with the model and simulations. Furthermore, narrow linewidth
coherent beam combining (CBC) of 5 sinusoidal phase modulated lasers is demonstrated via LOCSET.
We present experimental studies of PM Yb-doped photonic crystal fibers possessing acoustic and Yb-ion concentration
tailoring. In the initial design, the concentration of dopants in two regions of the core were selected such that the
corresponding Brillouin shifts were sufficiently separated to allow for further stimulated Brillouin scattering suppression
through thermal effects. The Yb-ion concentration was maintained uniformly throughout the entire core. When this
fiber was utilized in a counter-pumped amplifier configuration, ~500 W of single-frequency (kHz linewidth) output was
obtained in a 10 m long fiber. Further power scaling with good beam quality beyond 500 W was limited by modal
instabilities. A second fiber design was developed in which the Yb-ion concentration was modified to have preferential
overlap with the fundamental mode as well as reduced pump absorption. The onset of the modal instabilities was
sufficiently suppressed to allow for an output of 990 W with a nominal linewidth of 300 MHz and good beam quality.
We present experimental results of a single-stage Raman fiber amplifier (RFA) for guide star application. SBS suppression was
achieved through the acoustic tailoring of the core of a polarization-maintaining single-mode conventional fiber. The core was also
doped for enhanced Raman gain. This fiber was utilized in a counter-pumped amplifier configuration to generate 1178 nm light with a
linewidth < 2 MHz for frequency doubling into the D2 sodium line. Due to the SBS suppressing characteristics of the fiber, the RFA
provided 11.2 W of 1178 nm signal when seeded with 15 mW. Application of a thermal gradient allowed for further power scaling
leading to 18.3 W. Our measurement of the linewidth at the highest output power indicated no spectral broadening.
We present theoretical and experimental results of a 130 W continuous-wave (CW), single-frequency, 7 m, polarizationmaintaining
(PM) Yb:doped fiber (25/400) μm amplifier simultaneously seeded with a combination of broadband and
narrow-line signals. Experiments were performed for two thermal configurations and the SBS threshold of the doubly
seeded amplifier is compared to the singly seeded case. In the first configuration, the fiber was wrapped around a cold
spool held at 12° C to diminish thermally induced shifts in the acoustic resonance of the fiber, which is known to
suppress stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). In this case, over 80 W of single-frequency output was obtained
demonstrating an enhancement of 3 dB in the SBS threshold compared to the single-tone case whereby the SBS
threshold was 40 W. In the second thermal configuration, 6 m of the fiber is wrapped around the same cold spool, but
approximately 1 m of the fiber is left to cool in ambient conditions. In this case, an optically induced thermal gradient
was formed due to the quantum defect heating associated with power transfer from the pump and broadband seed signals
into the single-frequency signal at the output end of the fiber. Over 130 W of single-frequency output was demonstrated
yielding an effective increase of ~5 dB in the SBS threshold when compared to the single-tone case.
We present theoretical and experimental results on the scalability of amplifying a single-frequency diode laser operating
at 1178 nm through the utilization of a core pumped Raman fiber amplifier. A model that accounts for stimulated Raman
scattering (SRS) and stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in both co-pumped and counter-pumped configurations is
developed. In order to mitigate the SBS process, a multi-step temperature distribution that is spatially optimized along
the length of fiber is investigated numerically. We also present preliminary experimental results on a co-pumped Raman
amplifier with an output power of 12 W and a measured Brillouin gain coefficient of approximately 1.2×10-11 m/W.
We present experimental studies of a novel polarization-maintaining (PM) Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber (PCF)
possessing a two-segment transverse acoustic profile and a mode field diameter (MFD) of approximately 30 μm. The
concentrations of the dopants (fluorine, aluminum, germanium) in the two segments were selected such that the
corresponding Brillouin shifts were sufficiently separated to allow for the introduction of a large thermal gradient for
further SBS suppression. A pump-probe experiment was conducted in order to characterize the Brillouin gain spectrum
(BGS) and to confirm the existence of two narrow Brillouin gain peaks. The separation of the two peaks was
approximately 220 MHz and the bandwidth of each was estimated to be 50 MHz. The application of a step temperature
profile resulted in the BGS displaying four distinct peaks; thus demonstrating further SBS suppression through a thermal
gradient. By utilizing the thermal gradient obtained through quantum defect heating, we obtained 494 W of output power
in a counter-pumped configuration without the onset of SBS. Measurements of the beam quality at various power levels
and up to the highest reported power consistently indicated an M2 of less than 1.3.
We describe a time-dependent model that describes the evolution of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in fibers under
phase-modulated pump conditions. In order to accurately model fast modulations, the triply-coupled system of
differential equations describing the interaction of SBS through optical and phonon fields is solved numerically. SBS is
initiated from noise by using a Langevin term. We initially consider single-frequency sinusoidal modulations as a
function of modulation amplitude and frequency. We then investigate the effects of SBS mitigation when a single-frequency
seed is phase modulated with a broad-band white-noise source (WNS).
We report on theoretical and numerical investigations of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in optical fibers. A
theoretical framework is presented which involves a nonlinear
triply-coupled time-dependent system of equations
containing the optical, Stokes, and phonon fields. We examine short fibers where previous approximations for long
fibers cannot be made. We consider modulation frequencies and linewidths starting at approximately the Brillouin gain
bandwidth and all the way up to frequencies of the order of the Brillouin resonance frequency. We provide simulations
showing the SBS suppression factor as a function of modulation amplitude and frequency for a single-sinusoidal
modulator.
We report on experimental and theoretical investigations of single frequency high power PCF amplifiers. A model
describing the interplay among laser gain, thermals effects, and SBS was developed to study the power limitations of
single frequency amplifiers in general, and PCF amplifiers in particular. A distributed noise term was used to initiate the
SBS process with the Stokes light spanning multi-frequency channels. The use of thermal and acoustic gradients in
conjunction was considered and indicated marginal improvement. In the set of experiments, slope efficiencies as high as
77% were obtained with a maximum output of 427 W. The linewidth was measured and yielded values that were less
than 10 KHz. A pump-probe measurement of the Brillouin gain spectrum revealed secondary peaks lying at the highfrequency
side. Measurements conducted on a novel PCF, specifically designed to utilize thermal and acoustic gradients
in conjunction, showed the existence of two primary gain peaks.
We present experimental verification of a novel technique to suppress stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in single
frequency fiber amplifiers. This technique relies on seeding with a combination of broadband and single frequency laser
beams to allow for efficient laser gain competition between the two signals. In the experiment, a monolithic fiber
configuration was used. Broadband 1045 nm light and single frequency 1064 nm light were coupled into an Yb-doped
gain fiber. With appropriate selection of seed power ratio, we were able to generate an output signal predominantly
comprised of 1064 nm light while simultaneously suppressing the back-scattered Stokes light. The slope efficiency for
the two-tone amplifier was approximately 78%; slightly below that of a single-tone amplifier. The SBS threshold for the
former, on the other hand, was appreciably higher than that of the latter which is in excellent agreement with the theory.
In preliminary implementation of this technique at high power, we generated close to 100 W without encountering the
SBS threshold. Finally, we show numerically that due to a favorable thermal gradient much higher powers can be
obtained.
Two approaches to two- and three-tone seeding of high power ytterbium-doped fiber amplifiers are investigated using a
symbolic and numerical code that solves a two point boundary problem consisting of a 12×12 system of nonlinear
differential equations. Optimization of amplifier action is considered in relation to the two most dominant nonlinear
effects: stimulated Brillouin scattering and four-wave mixing. One approach uses a large wavelength separation among
the input seed beams, while in the other approach the seeds are separated by precisely twice the Brillouin shift. It is
found that for both techniques significant increase in amplifier output can be obtained, although for the latter case a
substantial amount of power is generated in the four-wave mixing sidebands.
We investigate theoretically multi-tone seeding of high power ytterbium-doped amplifiers using a numerical code that
solves a two-point boundary problem. A large wavelength separation among the signals is used leading to efficient
transfer of power through laser gain while increasing the stimulated Brillouin scattering threshold in the channel of
interest. Two-tone and three-tone seeding configurations are considered. For two-tone seeding, it is shown that a
combination of narrow linewidth and broadband signals employed in a co-propagating geometry can achieve the same
level of SBS suppression as counter-pumping.
A new technique for mitigating stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) effects in narrow-linewidth Yb-doped fiber
amplifiers is demonstrated with a model that reduces to solving an 8×8 system of coupled nonlinear equations with the
gain, SBS, and four-wave mixing (FMW) incorporated into the model. This technique uses two seed signals, or 'two-tones',
with each tone reaching its SBS threshold almost independently and thus increasing the overall threshold for SBS
in the fiber amplifier. The wavelength separation of these signals is also selected to avoid FWM, which in this case
possesses the next lowest nonlinear effects threshold. This model predicts an output power increase of 86% (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 1064nm seed. The model is also used to simulate an SBS-suppressing fiber
amplifier to test the regime where FWM is the limiting factor. In this case, an optimum wavelength separation of 3nm to
10nm prevents FWM from reaching threshold. The optimum ratio of the input power for the two seed signals in 'two-tone'
amplification is also tested. Future experimental verification of this 'two-tone' technique is discussed.
We are studying ways to improve the performance of evanescent wave biosensors for use in detecting chemical and biological agents. We show a beam-propagation simulation that is used to determine the optimum fiber profile to achieve the desired propagation parameters. The model parameters can then be used to fabricate polymer fibers using an in-house fiber drawing apparatus. We also demonstrate a simple method of comparing the optical performance of different waveguides for use in such sensors.
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