Note: Coupling of multiple laser diodes into a multi-mode fiber

Abstract

Diode lasers are coupled to a multi-mode fiber (with 100-400 μm core) using a reflector in the form of a regular pyramid. The optimization of the optical setup allows to couple 60%-90% of light into the fiber. The demonstrator achieves 3.5 W in the 100/125 μm fiber with 8 violet (405 nm) diodes, 5.5 W in the 100/125 μm fiber with 8 blue (445 nm) diodes, and 3.3 W in the 200/250 μm fiber with red (638 nm) diodes. The device can work with lasers emitting at many different wavelengths, including green (532 nm) frequency-doubled lasers. Our work was motivated by potential medical applications of these laser sources.