Stimulated Raman Scattering Suppression Research Articles

A 3.2 kW Single Stage Narrow Linewidth Fiber Amplifier Emitting at 1050 nm.

In this paper, we have demonstrated a narrow linewidth high power fiber laser emitting at a short wavelength of ~1050 nm. The fiber laser is based on a structure of master oscillator power amplification (MOPA) with an optimized fiber Bragg-grating-based laser cavity as the seed. Both stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) effects have been effectively suppressed by using a long passive fiber between the seed and the amplifier. Based on the fiber amplifier, we have ultimately boosted the narrow linewidth laser from ~40 W to 3.2 kW with a slope efficiency of 85.1% and a 3-dB linewidth of ~0.1 nm. The SRS suppression ratio of the laser is ~29.7 dB at maximum power. Due to our fiber mode control strategies, the beam quality always stays near-diffraction-limited while amplifying, and the measured M2 factor is ~1.4 at the maximum power. Further increase in output power is limited by the SBS effect.

2 × 4 kW near-single-mode laser output assisted by an optimized bidirectional oscillating-amplifying integrated fiber laser configuration

Bidirectional output oscillating-amplifying integrated fiber laser (B-OAIFL) can achieve the two-ports laser amplification based on a single cavity, showcasing a promising prospect. In order to improve both the laser power and beam quality, we first simulate and optimize the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) effect in the B-OAIFL. The simulation results show the SRS effect can be suppressed by optimizing the diameter as well as the length of the active fiber at different locations. With the guidance of theoretical and experimental analysis for the combined suppression of SRS and transverse mode instability (TMI), a near-single-mode B-OAIFL with 2 × 4 kW was demonstrated. Based on this foundation, we further devoted ourselves to the pursuit of the optimization of the structure and performance. The necessity of the configuration of side pump, which was initially introduced for its exceptional performance in stabilizing temporal chaos, was reevaluated in detail. With its negative impacts on efficiency improvement and SRS suppression were analyzed and verified, we removed this configuration and finally demonstrated a more simplified design with superior performance. A total bidirectional output of 8105 W was achieved, with an O-O efficiency of 79.6% and a near-single-mode beam quality of M A 2∼1.36,M B 2∼1.63. No signs of TMI were observed, and the signal-to-SRS suppression ratio was over 38 dB. The results still demonstrate a promising potential for power scaling based on this configuration and parameters.

Raman suppression in high-power fiber oscillators by femtosecond-written chirped and tilted fiber Bragg gratings

Realizing stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) suppression is a key topic for high-power fiber lasers. Here, we report an effective and simple strategy for SRS suppression using chirped and tilted fiber Bragg gratings (CTFBGs) in high-power fiber oscillators while maintaining the compactness and stability of the system. The CTFBG is inserted on the side of a cavity mirror FBG without cutting the gain fiber. To improve power handling capability, the CTFBG and cavity mirror FBGs are inscribed by femtosecond (fs) lasers. The optimal SRS suppression effect can be realized when the CTFBG is inserted into the resonant cavity and on the side of the output coupler FBG. The SRS threshold is increased by approximately 11% with an SRS suppression ratio of nearly 14 dB. Moreover, the output power of the fiber oscillator is improved to 3.5 kW, which is the maximum power achieved in fiber oscillators with SRS suppression using CTFBGs, to the best of our knowledge. The temperature of the air-cooled CTFBG is 50.2 °C, which has the potential to handle higher power. This work provides new insights for suppressing SRS in fiber oscillators, promoting the application of CTFBGs in high-power lasers.

10kW tandem pumping fiber amplifier with good beam quality based on tapered ytterbium-doped fiber.

In this paper, we established a high power tandem pumped fiber amplifier based on tapered ytterbium-doped fiber (TYDF). The TYDF is developed in-house with a core/inner cladding diameter of 30/250 µm at the small-core region and 48/400 µm at the large-core region. The key parameters of the amplifier in a co-pumped and counter-pumped configuration are experimentally investigated, such as slope efficiency, stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) threshold, and beam quality evolution. Up to 10.28 kW laser free of SRS or transverse mode instability is obtained from the counter-pumped amplifier, and the beam quality factor M2 is 2.29, which is significantly improved compared with the 48/400 µm uniform YDF. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest average output power achieved so far based on the TYDF. This work could provide a solution for balancing the SRS suppression and high order modes control in high power tandem pumped YDF lasers.

Theoretical study of graded-index fiber for beam quality improvement and SRS suppression.

A confined-doped graded-index fiber model was established with reference to Nufern's 42C ytterbium-doped fiber. The core NA of the fiber is ∼0.06; the doping/core/cladding diameter is 30/42/250µm; and the gain ion doping distribution is double parabolic. Based on a forward tandem-pumped amplifier structure, the numerical simulation was carried out on the physics characters of the fiber model. The fourth-order Runge-Kutta method was used to solve the boundary value problem during the numerical simulation. The differences between the graded-index fiber (GIF) and the step-index fiber (SIF) were studied theoretically, and the results illuminated that the beam quality of the GIF was better than the SIF. The stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) power in the GIF was lower than that in the SIF. These results show that the GIF has great potential for increasing the laser output power while maintaining good beam quality and can provide theoretical guidance and reference to experimental research of the high-power fiber laser.

Demonstration of 3kW × 2 ports bidirectional output oscillating-amplifying integrated fiber laser employing chirped and tilted fiber Bragg gratings for co-SRS suppression.

Bidirectional output oscillating-amplifying integrated fiber laser (B-OAIFL) is a newly developed configuration with many advantages like compactness and good reliability. In this work, a B-OAIFL with a low time-stabilized threshold was constructed by employing a pair of side pump/signal combiner in the oscillating section, which demonstrates smooth temporal characteristics with no pulse detected by the photodetector at the output power level of only a few of tens Watts. We investigated the effect of side pumping on the Raman Stokes light and verified its contribution to mitigating the temporal-chaos-induced stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). The phenomenon of co-SRS caused by the mutual excitation of backward Stokes light from two amplifying sections under bidirectional pumping was first reported and studied. A pair of chirped and tilted fiber Bragg gratings (CTFBGs) were applied between the oscillating and amplifying sections to suppress the co-SRS, and the effect of the number of CTFBGs on the suppression of co-SRS was studied in detail experimentally. Finally, we successfully suppressed the co-SRS, and achieved a 3kW × 2 ports laser output, with a near-single-mode beam quality of M A 2∼1.3,M B 2∼1.4. In contrast, without the use of CTFBG, only a 2 kW-level output was obtained from each port, limited by co-SRS (with an SRS suppression ratio of less than 15 dB). The maximum output power of end A and end B is 3133 W and 3213 W, with the SRS suppression ratio of about 27.6 dB and 28.1 dB, respectively. No TMI features were observed under bidirectional pumping. The results demonstrate a significant potential for further power scaling based on this configuration. To the best of our knowledge, it is the highest output power achieved based on the B-OAIFL.

Effect of chirp on stimulated-forward Raman scattering in a magnetised plasma with rippled density for fusion applications

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is one of the mechanisms limiting power scaling in inertial confinement fusion (ICF). In this work, we demonstrate the effective suppression of SRS by the combined effects of static density fluctuations and an azimuthal magnetic field with a propagating chirped laser pulse. In the presence of an azimuthal magnetic field, chirped laser pulse propagates through a density-rippled plasma and undergoes stimulated-forward Raman scattering (SFRS), resulting in two radially localized electromagnetic sidebands waves and a lower-hybrid wave. Absolute and growing modes saturate due to ion density fluctuations, which then suppress instability growth through mode coupling. The modes modified by the combined effect of chirp and azimuthal magnetic field are effectively damped after saturation. As a result, the overall growth rate of the instability reduces. The comparison of positive and negative chirp demonstrated that when a positive chirp is being used, instability is more effectively suppressed. Based on non-local theory, we have analyzed the growth of the SFRS for positive and negative chirp and estimated it for ICF-relevant parameters and observed the effect of the growth rate.

Optimization and Demonstration of Direct LD Pumped High-Power Fiber Lasers to Balance SRS and TMI Effects

Up to now, transverse mode instability (TMI) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) have become the main factors limiting the power scaling of conventional ytterbium-doped fiber laser. Many technologies are proposed to suppress the SRS or TMI individually, but most of them are contradictions in practical application. In this article, we focus on the technologies that can balance the suppression of both SRS and TMI, including fiber coiling optimization, pump wavelength optimization, pump configuration optimization, and novel vary core diameter active fiber. Firstly, we validate the effectiveness of these technologies in both theoretical and relatively low-power experiments, and introduce the abnormal TMI threshold increasing in a few-mode fiber amplifier with fiber coiling. Then, we scale up the power through various types of fiber lasers, including wide linewidth and narrow linewidth fiber lasers, as well as quasi-continuous wave (QCW) fiber lasers. As a result, we achieve 5~8 kW fiber laser oscillators, 10~20 kW wide linewidth fiber laser amplifiers, 4 kW narrow linewidth fiber amplifiers, and 10 kW peak power QCW fiber oscillators. The demonstration of these new technical schemes is of great significance for the development of high-power fiber lasers.

Femtosecond laser fabrication of chirped and tilted fiber Bragg gratings for stimulated Raman scattering suppression in kilowatt-level fiber lasers.

Chirped and tilted fiber Bragg gratings (CTFBGs) are important all-fiber filtering components in high-power fiber lasers for stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) suppression. The fabrication of CTFBGs in large-mode-area double-cladding fibers (LMA-DCFs) by femtosecond (fs) laser is reported for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The chirped and tilted grating structure is obtained by scanning the fiber obliquely and moving the fs-laser beam relative to the chirped phase mask at the same time. By this method, the CTFBGs with different chirp rates, grating lengths, and tilted angles are fabricated, and the maximum rejection depth and bandwidth are ∼25 dB and ∼12 nm, respectively. To test the performance of the fabricated CTFBGs, one is inserted between the seed laser and the amplifier stage of a 2.7 kW fiber amplifier, and an SRS suppression ratio of ∼4 dB is achieved with no reduction in laser efficiency and degradation in beam quality. This work provides a highly fast and flexible method to fabricate large-core CTFBGs, which is of great significance to the development of high-power fiber laser systems.

First Demonstration and Comparison of 5 kW Monolithic Fiber Laser Oscillator Pumped by 915 nm and 981 nm LDs

Fiber laser performances including transverse mode instability (TMI), stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and optical-to-optical efficiency are in connection with the pump wavelength. Here we studied the output characteristics of a 5-kW ytterbium-doped fiber laser oscillator pumped with two different pump sources, i.e., 915 nm and 981 nm laser diodes (LDs). The output characteristics of fiber laser oscillators pumped by 915 nm and 981 nm have been compared strictly and directly with the same structure in a high-power situation. Experimental results show that both pump wavelengths can scale the power up to more than 5 kW by suppressing the TMI effect. While in the case of pumping by the 981 nm LDs, the laser oscillator has an optical-to-optical efficiency of 87%, which is 13% higher than that of the 915 nm pumped scheme. In addition, due to the higher backward pumping ratio and lower total pump power, the laser oscillator has a better SRS suppression ratio when pumped at 981 nm. Thus, it reveals a great potential to balance the limitations of TMI and SRS for scaling up to an even higher output while pumping at 981 nm. All the devices of the oscillator are commercial, and it will be helpful for the commercialization of high-power fiber laser oscillators.

Stimulated Raman Scattering Suppression by Intensified Four-Wave Mixing Process in Narrow-Linewidth Fiber Oscillator

Stimulated Raman Scattering Suppression by Intensified Four-Wave Mixing Process in Narrow-Linewidth Fiber Oscillator

Raman suppression in 5 kW fiber amplifier using long period fiber grating fabricated by CO2 laser

Long period fiber grating (LPFG) can be used as a band rejection component, providing a potential effective way for Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) suppression in high power fiber laser. Here, an improved CO2 laser scanning system with a galvanometer is built up for fabrication of LPFGs, which greatly improves the speed and consistency of grating inscribing. The characteristics of the manufactured LPFG is measured in detail, then a direct laser diode pumped 5 kW-level fiber amplifier system is established to test the validity of the LPFGs for Raman suppression for the first time. Experimental results show that the SRS suppression ratio is about 14 dB at 5.1 kW with the LPFG being inserted between the seed and the amplifier stage, meanwhile the effective output signal laser power is increased. In contrast to the ultraviolet laser exposed band rejection components, such as chirped and tilted fiber Bragg grating (CTFBGs), this type of LPFG does not need photosensitive fibers, annealing treatment and has a much lower thermal effect, which is very useful for high-power fiber lasers applications.

Suppression of the Stimulated Brillouin and Raman Scattering in Actively Q‐switched Fiber Lasers through Temporal Pulse Shaping

AbstractDespite the wide range of applications and versatility, actively Q‐switched fiber lasers (AQS‐FLs) suffer from the multi‐peak phenomenon or stepwise pulse generation under certain conditions. As such, the advantage of the stepwise tendency in AQS‐FL to modify the pulse shape and create a temporal profile that minimizes the power of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) Stokes components is taken. Accordingly a multi‐objective genetic algorithm (GA) and a Monte‐Carlo method is developed to solve the improved model for SBS. Additionally, the suppression of SRS is predicted and examined successfully. The proposed method is deployed for the simulation of the 5 and 10 kW peak and 10 ns wide pulses on a 4 m long, single‐mode, ytterbium‐doped double clad fiber under the narrow linewidth of 0.05 nm with promising suppression of SBS and SRS effects. To the best of the authors' knowledge this is the first time that such a pulse‐shaping strategy is demonstrated for the SBS or SRS suppression. Furthermore reaching a 10 kW peak on single mode fibers was previously only possible via custom made fibers. Our novel method offers the possibility of optimizing and improving the utilization of different fiber types in AQS‐FL systems.

Suppressing stimulated Raman scattering by adopting a composite cavity in a narrow linewidth fiber oscillator

The master oscillator power amplifier structure has been widely employed to realize high-power and narrow-linewidth output in fiber lasers. However, the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) effect would appear in high-power operation and even become an important limitation on further power scaling, especially when the seed lasers are based on a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) pair. In order to improve SRS suppressing ability, a composite cavity structure was demonstrated by employing an additional wide-bandwidth low-reflectivity FBG outside the conventional oscillator. After passing through a piece of 50 m SMF-28e fiber, thanks to the improved temporal stability of the composite oscillator, the proportion of Raman Stokes light dropped dramatically compared with the proportion in a conventional fiber oscillator. This composite cavity design could provide a simple and compact approach for SRS suppression in a high-power narrow-linewidth fiber laser system.

SRS suppression in multi-kW fiber lasers with a multiplexed CTFBG.

In this paper, we present experimental studies on newly developed multiplexed chirped tilted fiber Bragg gratings (MCTFBGs) for stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) suppression for high-power fiber laser systems. The MCTFBG device is composed of five continuous segments of chirped tilted fiber Bragg gratings (CTFBGs), which are inscribed into the large-mode-area (LMA, 25/400μm) fibers. The SRS suppression capability of the MCTFBG device has been successfully demonstrated with a master oscillator power amplification (MOPA) fiber laser system at the output level of 3.4 KW. The experimental observation thus indicates the MCTFBG's excellent SRS suppression capability at a very high power level (∼15 dB under >3 kW) and high thermal handling capacity (∼1.48℃/kw). Our work thus provides a key development of essential fiber grating components that can effectively suppress the SRS suppression at a very high power level.

Raman suppression in high-power fiber laser oscillator by long period fiber grating

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is a major limiting factor for better performance of high-power fiber lasers. Several spectral filtering methods have been used for Raman suppression, among which long period fiber grating (LPFG) is relatively simple and effective due to its all-fiber structure and broadband rejection properties. Here, a broadband, low insertion loss and low thermal effect LPFG is easily fabricated using CO2 laser by galvanometer scanning, then is used for SRS suppression within a high-power fiber oscillator for the first time. Results show that a maximum SRS suppression ratio of ~16 dB was achieved and the extractable Raman-free output power was increased by about 13% with the insertion of LPFG. This work has demonstrated a potentially applicable method for Raman suppression in high-power fiber oscillators.

Mode coupling in large-mode-area double-cladding chirped and tilted fiber Bragg gratings

Recently, chirped and tilted fiber Bragg gratings (CTFBGs) have received great attention because they can realize suppression of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in high-power fiber lasers. In this study, the possible coupling between the core modes and cladding modes in CTFBGs inscribed in large-mode-area double-cladding fibers is investigated for the first time. Theoretical results show that the coupling between the LP11 mode and cladding modes would destroy the transmission spectra envelope only considering the coupling of LP01 for single-mode CTFBGs, which will degenerate the SRS suppression performance. This was confirmed experimentally by measuring the spectral response under different mode excitations. A reliable method is demonstrated to ease the LP11-excitation-induced spectral deterioration by choosing an appropriate chirp rate for the inscription of CTFBGs, which is useful for improving the Raman suppression effect of large-mode-area double-cladding CTFBGs in high-power fiber lasers.

5.1 kW Tandem-Pumped Fiber Amplifier Seeded by Random Fiber Laser With High Suppression of Stimulated Raman Scattering

In this work, high-power tandem-pumped random fiber lasers are investigated in detail. A 6.5 W random fiber laser seed centered at 1070 nm with a half-open cavity structure was built. Boosted by two amplifier stages, the random fiber laser achieved a power of several kilowatts. Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) mitigation is challenging in tandem-pumped fiber lasers. To suppress SRS, several methods were applied, including avoiding external feedback in the oscillator stage, incorporating a high core/cladding diameter ratio gain fiber, and using a band pass filter (BPF) to mitigate Raman noise. The latter proved to be the most effective method; therefore, SRS mitigation without and with a BPF was investigated at 3.5 kW, leading to suppression ratios rising from 14 to 30 dB. By increasing the pump power continuously to 5.6 kW, we realized a record output power of 5.1 kW, corresponding to an SRS suppression ratio of 27 dB. Owing to the high-brightness 1018 nm fiber lasers serving as the pump sources and the high gain coefficient in the second amplifier stage, the entire system demonstrated high efficiency and stability. At the maximum power level, the total optical-to-optical efficiency reached 89.0%. This work offers an economic and practical technique for realizing high-power and high-efficiency random fiber lasers with effective SRS mitigation, while the experimental results suggest the potential for further power scaling.

Influence of Bragg reflection of chirped tilted fiber Bragg grating on Raman suppression in high-power tandem pumping fiber amplifiers.

The key remaining technological challenge to the realization of further power scaling for high-power fiber laser systems is overcoming the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) effect. In past years, chirped and tilted fiber Bragg gratings (CTFBGs) have been demonstrated to be a simple and effective way to suppress SRS in high-power fiber amplifiers. However, the weak reflection at the Bragg wavelength could be strongly amplified, which not only limits the power and efficiency but also degrades the beam quality. We report here, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, the influence of the residual Bragg reflection of CTFBGs on SRS suppression in high-power fiber laser systems. Two groups of CTFBGs with different Bragg reflection wavelengths are fabricated and used for the comparison experiments. Test results show that the CTFBGs of longer Bragg wavelengths have a better suppression effect, in particular, at a higher power level. By further moving the Bragg wavelength of a CTFBG out of the Raman gain spectral range, a better suppression effect and a promotion in laser efficiency could be achieved, which is very useful for further power scaling.

Suppressing stimulated Raman scattering in kW-level continuous-wave MOPA fiber laser based on long-period fiber gratings.

Two long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs) used to separately suppress the stimulated-Raman-scattering (SRS) in the seed and amplifier of kW-level continuous-wave (CW) MOPA fiber laser are developed in this paper. A process that combines constant-low-temperature and dynamic-high-temperature annealing was employed to reduce the thermal slopes of 10/130 µm (diameter of core/cladding fiber) and 14/250 LPFGs, used in the seed and amplifier respectively, from 0.48 °C/W to 0.04 °C/W and from 0.53 °C/W to 0.038 °C/W. We also proposed a reduced-sensitivity packaging method to effectively reduce the influence of axial-stress, bending, and environmental temperature on LPFGs. Further, we established a kW-level CW MOPA system to test SRS suppression performance of the LPFGs. Experimental results demonstrated that the SRS suppression ratios of the 10/130 and 14/250 LPFGs exceed 97.0% and 99.6%, respectively.