High-power photonic crystal fibers

Abstract

Fiber lasers deliver excellent beam-quality and high efficiency in a robust and largely maintenance-free format, and are now able to do so with output powers in the kilowatt regime. Consequently, fiber lasers have become an attractive alternative to solid-state and gas lasers for e.g. material processing like welding, cutting and marking. The all-glass air-clad photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) combine large mode-field diameters (currently up to 40 μm), high numerical aperture (typically in the 0.6-0.65 range), high pump absorption (30 dB/m demonstrated in ytterbium) and excellent high-power handling (kW CW and mJ pulses demonstrated). These properties have made this fiber type one of the most promising candidates for the future high-power fiber laser and amplifier systems that are expected to replace many of the traditional systems in use today. To utilize the high numerical aperture and large mode-field diameters of the air-clad PCFs, special care must be taken in the system integration. In this paper, we will show examples of how these fibers can be integrated in laser and amplifier sub-assemblies with standard fiber pump-interfaces for use with single-emitter diodes or diode-bar pump sources. Moreover, we report on the most recent advances in fiber design including rod-type fibers and broadband polarizing ytterbium-doped large-mode-area air-clad fibers. Finally, we will review the latest results on PCF-based amplifier and laser configurations with special focus on high-power CW systems and high-energy pulsed configurations.