High power high beam quality diode-pumped 1319-nm Nd:YAG oscillator-amplifier laser system

This paper demonstrated a high power and high beam quality diode-pumped 1319-nm Nd：YAG master oscillator-power amplifier laser system. A thermally near-unstable resonator with four-rod birefringence compensation fiat-fiat cavity was adopted as the master oscillator. A solid etalon was inserted in the unidirectional ring resonator to compress the laser linewidth. Under a repetition rate of 500 Hz and pulse width of 160 μs, the master oscillator delivers an average output power of 16.8 W at 1319 nm with linear polarisation, beam quality factor M^2=1.16 and linewidth of 3.2 GHz. A double-pass power amplifier with two amplifier stages was employed for higher power scaling and the output power was amplified to be 25.9 W with M^2 = 1.43.

All-fiber laser seeded femtosecond Yb:KGW solid state regenerative amplifier

A high efficiency compact Yb:KGW regenerative amplifier using an all-fiber laser seed source was comprehensively studied.With thermal lensing effect compensated by the cavity design,the compressed pulses with energy of 1 mJ at 1 kHz and 0.4 mJ at 10 kHz in sub-400-fs pulse duration using chirped fiber Bragg grating(CFBG)stretcher were demonstrated.A modified Frantz-Nodvik equation was developed to emulate the dynamic behavior of the regenerative amplifier.The simulation results were in good agreement with the experiment.Numerical simulations and experimental results show that the scheme can be scalable to higher energy of multi-mJ,sub-300 fs pulses.

Semiconductor Optical Amplifier and Gain Chip Used in Wavelength Tunable Lasers

The design concept of semiconductor optical amplifier(SOA)and gain chip used in wavelength tunable lasers(TL)is discussed in this paper.The design concept is similar to that of a conventional SOA or a laser;however,there are a few different points.An SOA in front of the tunable laser should be polarization dependent and has low optical confinement factor.To obtain wide gain bandwidth at the threshold current,the gain chip used in the tunable laser cavity should be something between SOA and fixed-wavelength laser design,while the fixed-wavelength laser has high optical confinement factor.Detailed discussion is given with basic equations and some simulation results on saturation power of the SOA and gain bandwidth of gain chip are shown.

Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA)-Fiber Ring Laser and Its Application to Stress Sensing

We have developed a novel optical fiber ring laser using a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) as the gain medium, and taking advantage of polarization anisotropy of its gain. The frequency difference of the bi-directional laser is controlled by birefringence which is introduced in the ring laser cavity. The beat frequency generated by combining two counter-propagating oscillations is proportional to the birefringence, the fiber ring laser of the present study is, therefore, applicable to the fiber sensor. The sensing signal is obtained in a frequency domain with the material which causes the retardation change by a physical phenomenon to be measured. For the application to stress sensing, the present laser was investigated with a photoelastic material.

Generation of broadly tunable picosecond mid-infrared laser and sensitive detection of a mid-infrared signal by parametric frequency up-conversion in MgO:LiNbO_3 optical parametric amplifiers

Picosecond optical parametric generation and amplification in the near-infrared region within 1.361-1.656 μm and the mid-infrared region within 2.976-4.875 μm is constructed on the basis of bulk MgO：LiNbO 3 crystals pumped at 1.064 μm.The maximum pulse energy reaches 1.3 mJ at 1.464 μm and 0.47 mJ at 3.894 μm,corresponding to a pumpto-idler photon conversion efficiency of 25%.By seeding the hard-to-measure mid-infrared radiation as the idler in the optical parametric amplification and measuring the amplified and frequency up-converted signal in the near-infrared or even visible region,one can measure very week mid-infrared radiation with ordinary detectors,which are insensitive to mid-infrared radiation,with a very high gain.A maximum gain factor of about 7 脳 10 7 is achieved at the mid-infrared wavelength of 3.374 μm and the corresponding energy detection limit is as low as about 390 aJ per pulse.

A 61-mJ,1-kHz cryogenic Yb:YAG laser amplifier

We report a diode-pumped rod-type Yb:YAG laser amplifier operating at 1 kHz.Cryogenic cooling method was adopted to make the Yb:YAG crystal work with four-level behavior.A single-frequency fiber laser acts as the seed in an actively Q-switched Yb:YAG oscillator.The resonator delivers 5.75-mJ pulses at 1 kHz with a pulse duration of approximately 40 ns.The pulses were amplified to 61 mJ in a four-pass rod-type Yb:YAG amplifier with optical-to-optical efficiency of 24%in the main amplifier.The M^(2)parameter of the output laser is<1.4.

Erbium Doped Fiber Laser and Amplifier

In this paper, new configuration is proposed, investigated and analyzed. Fiber laser and fiber amplifier are merged in one configuration which called Erbium Doped Fiber Laser and Amplifier (EDFLA) or integrating EDFL and EDFA in one design. The configuration has three main outputs;one for laser, second for amplifier and the third it can be used for on/off output. A surprising phenomenon was remarked during the operation of this configuration. The amplification is abolished during the lasing state and appeared again if the lasing is stopped or the switch is off. The difference between outputs with the lasing and without lasing has 30 dB EDFA gain value;it is a good sign that this optical configuration can be used as an on/off integrated optical device for fiber laser.

The 5.2 kW Nd：YAG Slab Amplifier Chain Seeded by Nd：YVO4 Innoslab Laser

A high power Nd：YAG end-pumped slab amplifier chain with a Nd：YVO4 innoslab laser as the master oscillator is demonstrated. A chain output power of 5210 W with beam quality of 4 times the diffraction limit is achieved by double-passing the first amplifier stage and single-passing the second stage with an optical efficiency of 29% while working at a frequency of 1kHz and pulse width of 200 μs.

Single Event Transients of Operational Amplifier and Optocoupler

The single event transient effects of the operational amplifier LM124J and the optocoupler HCPL 5231 are investigated by a pulsed laser test facility. The relation of transient pulse shape to pulsed laser equivalent LET is tested,the sensitive areas of the SET effects are identified in voltage follower application mode of LM124J, and the mechanism is initially analyzed. The transient amplitude and duration of HCPL5231 at various equivalent LET are examined,and the SET cross-section is measured. The results of our test and heavy ion experimental data coincide closely,indicating that a pulsed laser test facility is a valid tool for single event effect evaluation.

Influence of laser intensity in second-harmonic detection with tunable diode laser multi-pass absorption spectroscopy

Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy （TDLAS） has been widely employed in atmospheric trace gases detection. The ratio of the second-harmonic signal to the intensity of laser beam incident to the multi-pass cell is proved to be proportional to the product of the path length and the gas concentration under any condition. A new calibration method based on this relation in TDLAS system for the measurement of trace gas concentration is proposed for the first time. The detection limit and the sensitivity of the system are below 110 and 31ppbv （parts-per-billion in volume）, respectively.

980-nm all-fiber mode-locked Yb-doped phosphate fiber oscillator based on semiconductor saturable absorber mirror and its amplifier

A 980-nm semiconductor saturable absorber mirror（SESAM） mode-locked Yb-doped phosphate fiber laser is demonstrated by using an all-fiber linear cavity configuration. Two different kinds of cavity lengths are introduced into the oscillator to obtain a robust and stable mode-locked seed source. When the cavity length is chosen to be 6 m, the oscillator generates an average output power of 3.5 m W and a pulse width of 76.27 ps with a repetition rate of 17.08 MHz. As the cavity length is optimized to short, 4.4-m W maximum output power and 61.15-ps pulse width are produced at a repetition rate of 20.96 MHz. The output spectrum is centered at 980 nm with a narrow spectral bandwidth of 0.13 nm. In the experiment, no undesired amplified spontaneous emission（ASE） nor harmful oscillation around 1030 nm is observed. Moreover,through a two-stage all-fiber-integrated amplifier, an output power of 740 m W is generated with a pulse width of 200 ps.

Latest advances in high-performance light sources and optical amplifiers on silicon

Efficient light generation and amplification has long been missing on the silicon platform due to its well-known indirect bandgap nature.Driven by the size,weight,power and cost(SWaP-C)requirements,the desire to fully realize integrated silicon electronic and photonic integrated circuits has greatly pushed the effort of realizing high performance on-chip lasers and amplifiers moving forward.Several approaches have been proposed and demonstrated to address this issue.In this paper,a brief overview of recent progress of the high-performance lasers and amplifiers on Si based on different technology is presented.Representative device demonstrations,including ultra-narrow linewidthⅢ-Ⅴ/Si lasers,fully integratedⅢ-Ⅴ/Si/Si3N4 lasers,high-channel count mode locked quantum dot(QD)lasers,and high gain QD amplifiers will be covered.

A 330-W single-frequency retrievable multi-tone monolithic fiber amplifier

A single-frequency retrievable phase modulated multi-tone fiber amplifier is presented in theory and demonstrated in experiment. A multi-tone seed laser generated by a sine wave phase modulated single-frequency laser is employed for stimulated Brillouin scattering suppression in an all-fiber amplifier. A demodulation signal which is π phase shifted with respect to the modulation signal is used to retrieve the single-frequency laser from the multi-tone laser. In experiment, we first optimize the all-fiber master-oscillator power-amplifier. With this amplifier, we demonstrate a single-frequency retrievable multi-tone laser with 330-W output when driven by the multi-tone seed, while the ultimate output power is only 130 W when driven by the single-frequency laser. Then, we carry out an experiment for retrieving the single-frequency laser from the amplified multi-tone laser. Results indicate that the single-frequency laser can be retrieved with a sideband suppression of more than 20 dB. Retrieving an even higher power single-frequency laser is possible if a high power demodulator is available.

A Transfer Matrix-Based Analysis of Vertical-Cavity Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers

Based on the transfer matrix method, we present a new one-dimensional steady-state model of vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers （VCSOAs）, in which the longitudinal carrier concentration distribution in the active region and the discontinuity of the refractive index inside the cavity is taken into consideration. The model is theoretically proven to be a reliable one for describing the standing wave effect in a periodic gain structure. By using this model, some optical amplification characteristics of VCSOAs are investigated.

Effect of pulse width on near-infrared supercontinuum generation in nonlinear fiber amplifier

The effect of pulse width on near-infrared supercontinuum generation in nonlinear fiber amplifier is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The complex Ginzburg–Landau equation and adaptive split-step Fourier method are used to simulate the propagation of pulses with different pulse widths in the fiber amplifier, and the results show that a longer pulse is more profitable in near-infrared supercontinuum generation if the central wavelength of the input laser lies in the normal dispersion region of the gain fiber. A four-stage master oscillator power amplifier configuration is adopted and the output spectra under picosecond and nanosecond input pulses are compared with each other. The experimental results are in good accordance with the simulations which can provide some guidance for further optimization of the system.

Effect of initial chirp on near-infrared supercontinuum generation by a nanosecond pulse in a nonlinear fiber amplifier

Theoretical and experimental research on the effect of initial chirp on near-infrared supercontinuum generation by a nanosecond pulse in a nonlinear fiber amplifier is carded out. The complex Ginzburg-Landau equation is used to simulate the propagation of the pulse in the fiber amplifier and the results show that pulses with negative initial chirp produce the widest supercontinuum and pulses with positive initial chirp produce the narrowest supercontinuum when the central wavelength of the pump lies in the normal dispersion region of the gain fiber. A self-made line width narrowing system is utilized to control the initial chirp of the nanosecond pump pulse and a four-stage master oscillator power amplifier configuration is adopted to produce a high power near-infrared suppercontinuum. The experimental results are in good agreement with simulations which can provide some guidance on further optimization of the system in future work.

Influence of mode competition on beam quality of fiber amplifier

Theoretical and experimental studies of the influence of the mode competition on the output beam quality of fiber amplifiers are presented. Rate equations and modal decomposition method are used in the theoretical model. In the experiment, the output beam-quality factor of a fiber amplifier, which is based on a Yb-doped double-clad large mode area fiber as a function of the seed beam quality and the pump power of the amplifier, is measured. The experimental results are consistent with the theoretical analysis.

Amplified Spontaneous Emission in Single Frequency Double-Clad Fiber Power Amplifiers

Amplified spontaneous emission （ASE） in diode laser pumped double-clad fiber power amplifiers is studied experimentally, The dependences of ASE on fiber length and cross section of active core are discussed and the variations of ASE power as the function of pumping and signal power are investigated. There are indications that long fibers with large mode area need stronger input signals to suppress ASE. It is shown that a 150 mW input signal can suppress the ASE by 40 dB in a 4 m large mode area fiber, while to efficiently suppress the ASE in a 10 m fiber, stronger input signal is needed. 12.5 W and 16.1 W single frequency CW output power are obtained from 4 m fiber and 10 m fiber respectively. No stimulated Brillouin scattering （SBS） was observed

Recent Advances in New Band Rare-earth Doped Fiber Amplifiers

Broadband,high bit rate,long hauls and system intelligence are current trends in developing fiber optic communication systems.The ever-increasing traffic demands have made it urgent to develop new band optical fiber amplifier.Laser characteristics of various rare-earth ion including Er3+,Tm3+,Pr3+,Dy3+,Ho3+,and Nd3+ doped fiber are reviewed.Recent advances of rare-earth doped fiber amplifiers with wide-band and flat gain are also introduced.

22 kW near-diffraction-limited Yb:YAG slab laser amplifier without adaptive optics correction

A high-power CW Yb:YAG slab laser amplifier with no adaptive optics correction has been experimentally established.At room temperature,the amplifier emits a power of 22 kW with an average beam quality(β)of less than 3 in 0.5 min.To our knowledge,this is the brightest slab laser without closed-loop adaptive optics demonstrated to date.In addition,an extracted power of 17 kW with an optical extraction efficiency of 33%,corresponding to a residual optical path difference of less than 0.5μm,is achieved with the single Yb:YAG slab gain module.The slab gain module has the potential to be scalable to higher powers while maintaining good beam quality.This makes a high-power solid-state laser system simpler and more robust.