Polarization-maintaining Yb-doped Fiber Research Articles

Broadband tunable single-frequency Yb-doped fiber laser with dual ring subcavity and Sagnac ring filter

We demonstrate a broadband tunable ultra-narrow linewidth single-frequency (SF) Yb-doped fiber laser (YDFL). A dual ring subcavity (DRS) as a filtering component to eliminate the dense longitudinal mode inherent in YDFL and theoretically analyzed its filtering characteristics. By inserting a 0.8 m unpumped polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber in the Sagnac ring, a dynamic narrowband grating (DNG) based on the saturable absorption (SA) effect is constructed to ensure SF laser output over the entire wavelength tuning range. We achieve a wide wavelength tunable SF laser output in the range of ∼74 nm, covering 1021.06 nm to 1094.98 nm. The laser has an optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of more than 62.5 dB, a slope efficiency of 3.57 %, and an ultra-narrow linewidth of 622 Hz over the entire tunable range. In addition, the stability of the wavelength and power fluctuations below 0.018 nm and 0.67 dB, respectively. This tunable SF fiber laser has a compact structure, lower cost, and excellent performance, and is expected to be used in the fields of coherent communications, precision metrology, and so on.

4.6 kW linearly polarized and narrow-linewidth monolithic fiber amplifier based on a fiber oscillator laser seed

In this work, a record output power of 4.6 kW linearly polarized and narrow-linewidth fiber amplifier based on an optimized fiber oscillator laser (FOL) seed was realized by employing a homemade polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber (PMYDF), corresponding to a slope efficiency of 79.5% and a 3 dB linewidth of 0.3452 nm. Through an effective strategy relying on decreasing the transmission fiber length from 200 m to 120 m and adding a chirped and tilted fiber Bragg grating (CTFBG), the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) effects were well-suppressed. By applying the forward combiner with the interconnection between the pump arms into the MOPA system, the MI threshold is increased by more than 560 W and the slope efficiency of the upgraded MOPA system is boosted by 5%. During the experimental process of power amplification, the polarization extinction ratio (PER) remains higher than 15 dB, and a near-diffraction-limited output beam at the laser power of 2980 W was measured with the M2x = 1.314 and M2y = 1.311.

3.2 kW, 0.22 nm narrow-linewidth MOPA configuration fiber laser with a homemade polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber

In this work, a narrow-linewidth linearly polarized fiber amplifier with a record output power of 3.2 kW was achieved based on a homemade polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber corresponding to a slope efficiency of 79% and a 3 dB linewidth of 0.2227 nm. By examining various numerical aperture (NA) PMYDFs, the experimental investigation on expanding mode instability (MI) threshold in PM fiber amplifiers was put on display. And the results reveal that the MI threshold is enhanced by more than 370 W for every 0.004 decrease in core numerical aperture. Increasing the seed linewidth from 0.0454 nm to 0.0976 nm by adding 200 m polarization maintaining Ge-doped fiber the stimulated Brillouin scattering threshold increased from 805 W to above 3.2 kW. By applying the MI suppression method, a double-eight-shaped aluminum plate was adopted to coil the gain fiber, and the MI threshold increased by more than 1100 W.

Spectral Broadening Suppressed by a Gain-Enhanced Fiber in Polarization Maintaining High-Power Systems

A gain-enhanced 10/125 μm polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber (PMYDF), with the cladding absorption of 7.5 dB/m at 976 nm, for narrow linewidth linearly polarized fiber oscillator or amplifiers is presented. By utilizing the gain-enhanced PMYDF in an all-fiber laser oscillator, an output power of 123 W is achieved with applying appropriate bending strategies and thermal management, corresponding to the slope efficiency of 86.7%. By applying the gain-enhanced PMYDF in seed, an increase of 34% in the longitudinal mode interval is effectively achieved compared to the commercial PMYDF, while the number of longitudinal modes is only 75%. According to the main oscillation power amplification (MOPA) system, the total amount of spectral broadening applying the seed with the gain-enhanced PMYDF are only 67%, 64% and 54% of applying the seed with the commercial PMYDF, corresponding to co-pumping, bi-pumping and counter-pumping schemes, respectively.

Mode-locked femtosecond polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber laser with a figure-nine configuration

In the present work, we demonstrated a mode-locked polarization-maintaining (PM) Yb-doped fiber laser based on the figure-of-nine configuration to generate ∼100 fs pulses at 1μm. For the dispersion management, a pair of gratings was inserted into the laser resonator to compensate the group delay dispersion (GDD). The stable, self-started passive mode-locking operation was realized with a pulse duration of 122 fs and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) spectral width of 14.1 nm (3 dB bandwidth). The output power was 21 mW at a repetition rate of 34.4 MHz, corresponding to a pulse energy of 0.61 nJ and a peak power of 4.85 kW. Moreover, the theoretical investigation based on the nonlinear Schrodinger equation was implemented to explore the mode-locking properties. Numerical analyses were almost in agreement with the experimental results.

全正色散非线性放大环形镜保偏掺镱光纤激光器

全正色散非线性放大环形镜保偏掺镱光纤激光器

High Power Switchable Dual-Wavelength Linear Polarized Yb-Dozped Fiber Laser around 1120 nm

A single-and dual-wavelength switchable polarized Yb-doped double-clad fiber laser around 1120 nm based on a pair of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) is demonstrated. The polarization-maintaining (PM) linear cavity is composed of a double clad PM Yb-doped fiber (YDF) and a pair of PM FBGs. The laser can operate in stable dual-wavelength or wavelength-switching modes due to the polarization hole burning (PHB) and the spatial hole burning (SHB) enhanced by the PM linear cavity. In dual-wavelength operation, the two orthogonally polarized wavelengths are centered at 1118.912 nm and 1119.152 nm, with an interval of 0.24 nm and a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of 35 dB. The maximum output power is 14.67 W when the launched LD pump is 24 W corresponding to an optical efficiency of 61.1%. The lasing lines switchover may be realized by adjusting the polarization controller (PC) fitted in the cavity. The two single-wavelengths are 1118.912 nm and 1119.152 nm. When the injected LD pump is 24 W, the highest output powers are 7.68 W and 8.64 W corresponding to optical efficiencies of 32% and 36% respectively. The spectral linewidth of the lasing lines are 0.075 nm and 0.07 nm, and the average numerical values of PER aredB and 19.9 dB, respectively.

High-power near-infrared linearly-polarized supercontinuum generation in a polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber amplifier.

We report an all-fiber linearly-polarized (LP) supercontinuum (SC) source with high average power generated in a polarization-maintaining (PM) master-oscillation power-amplifier (MOPA). The experimental configuration comprises an LP picosecond pulsed laser and three PM Yd-doped fiber amplifiers (YDFA). The output has the average power of 124.8 W with the spectrum covering from 850 to 1900 nm. The measured polarization extinction ratio (PER) of the whole SC source is about 85% which verifies the SC an LP source. This work is, to our best knowledge, the highest output average power of an LP SC source that ever reported. The influence of PM fiber splicing method on the LP SC property is investigated by splicing the PM fibers with slow axis parallel or perpendicularly aligned, and also an LP SC with low output power is demonstrated.

1 mJ pulse bursts from a Yb-doped fiber amplifier

We demonstrate burst-mode operation of a polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber amplifier capable of generating 60 μJ pulses within bursts of 11 pulses with extremely uniform energy distribution facilitated by a novel feedback mechanism shaping the seed of the burst-mode amplifier. The burst energy can be scaled up to 1 mJ, comprising 25 pulses with 40 μJ average individual energy. The amplifier is synchronously pulse pumped to minimize amplified spontaneous emission between the bursts. Pulse propagation is entirely in fiber and fiber-integrated components until the grating compressor, which allows for highly robust operation. The burst repetition rate is set to 1 kHz and spacing between individual pulses is 10 ns. The 40 μJ pulses are externally compressible to a full width at half-maximum of 600 fs. However, due to the substantial pedestal of the compressed pulses, the effective pulse duration is longer, estimated to be 1.2 ps.

High power polarization-maintaining master oscillator power amplifier fiber laser in all-fiber format

Experimental study on all-fiber polarization maintaining master oscillator power amplifier fiber laser is performed. A 5 m small core diameter double clad polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber is employed in the experiment by means of two-level cascade amplification. A more than 67 W polarization maintaining laser is obtained under a maximal 88 W pump power. In this case, the laser density in the fiber core is about 3.4 W/m2, and the optical-to-optical efficiency is 76%. A higher power laser output can be realized as the pump power is further enhanced.

Fiber amplification of pulse bursts up to 20 μJpulse energy at 1 kHz repetition rate

We demonstrate burst-mode operation of a polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber amplifier. Groups of pulses with a temporal spacing of 10 ns and 1 kHz overall repetition rate are amplified to an average pulse energy of ∼20 μJ and total burst energy of 0.25 mJ. The pulses are externally compressed to ∼400 fs. The amplifier is synchronously pulsed-pumped to minimize amplified spontaneous emission between the bursts. We characterize the influence of pump pulse duration, pump-to-signal delay, and signal burst length.

Specifics of Bragg gratings inscription and characterization in polarization-maintaining Yb-doped fiber for DFB lasers

Fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) with a length of about 4 cm and a phase shift of about π are written in the polarization-maintaining fiber doped with ytterbium ions. A tunable polarized single-frequency laser is employed for the measurement of the FBG reflection spectrum. A relatively high spectral resolution allows the estimation of the FBG parameters. Polarized single-frequency ytterbium-doped distributed-feedback (DFB) fiber lasers radiated at about 1.1 μm are constructed using the written FBGs. The passive line width of the laser radiation (about 50 kHz) is estimated from the beat spectrum of the two DFB lasers.