Narrow linewidth power scaling and phase stabilization of 2-μm thulium fiber lasers

Thulium-doped fiber lasers (TFLs) emitting retina-safe 2- mu m wavelengths offer substantial power-scaling advantages over ytterbium-doped fiber lasers for narrow linewidth, single-mode operation. This article reviews the design and performance of a pump-limited, 600 W, single-mode, single-frequency...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optical engineering 2011-11, Vol.50 (11), p.111608
Main Author: Goodno, Gregory D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amplifiers
Beams (radiation)
Coherence
Design engineering
Fiber lasers
Precursors
Stabilization
Wavelengths
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Summary:Thulium-doped fiber lasers (TFLs) emitting retina-safe 2- mu m wavelengths offer substantial power-scaling advantages over ytterbium-doped fiber lasers for narrow linewidth, single-mode operation. This article reviews the design and performance of a pump-limited, 600 W, single-mode, single-frequency TFL amplifier chain that balances thermal limitations against those arising from stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). A simple analysis of thermal and SBS limits is anchored with measurements on kilowatt class Tm and Yb fiber lasers to highlight the scaling advantage of Tm for narrow linewidth operation. We also report recent results on active phase-locking of a TFL amplifier to an optical reference as a precursor to further parallel scaling via coherent beam combining.
ISSN:0091-3286
1560-2303
DOI:10.1117/1.3631869