Power scaling analysis of fiber lasers and amplifiers based on non-silica materials

Jay W. Dawson; Michael J. Messerly; John E. Heebner; Paul H. Pax; Arun K. Sridharan; Amber L. Bullington; Raymond J. Beach; Craig W. Siders; C. P. J. Barty; Mark Dubinskii

doi:10.1117/12.852393

4 May 2010 Power scaling analysis of fiber lasers and amplifiers based on non-silica materials

Jay W. Dawson, Michael J. Messerly, John E. Heebner, Paul H. Pax, Arun K. Sridharan, Amber L. Bullington, Raymond J. Beach, Craig W. Siders, C. P. J. Barty, Mark Dubinskii

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7686, Laser Technology for Defense and Security VI; 768611 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.852393
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2010, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

A developed formalism¹ for analyzing the power scaling of diffraction limited fiber lasers and amplifiers is applied to a wider range of materials. Limits considered include thermal rupture, thermal lensing, melting of the core, stimulated Raman scattering, stimulated Brillouin scattering, optical damage, bend induced limits on core diameter and limits to coupling of pump diode light into the fiber. For conventional fiber lasers based upon silica, the single aperture, diffraction limited power limit was found to be 36.6kW. This is a hard upper limit that results from an interaction of the stimulated Raman scattering with thermal lensing. This result is dependent only upon physical constants of the material and is independent of the core diameter or fiber length. Other materials will have different results both in terms of ultimate power out and which of the many limits is the determining factor in the results. Materials considered include silica doped with Tm and Er, YAG and YAG based ceramics and Yb doped phosphate glass. Pros and cons of the various materials and their current state of development will be assessed. In particular the impact of excess background loss on laser efficiency is discussed.

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Jay W. Dawson, Michael J. Messerly, John E. Heebner, Paul H. Pax, Arun K. Sridharan, Amber L. Bullington, Raymond J. Beach, Craig W. Siders, C. P. J. Barty, and Mark Dubinskii "Power scaling analysis of fiber lasers and amplifiers based on non-silica materials", Proc. SPIE 7686, Laser Technology for Defense and Security VI, 768611 (4 May 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.852393

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