We report a novel micro-optical waveguide (MOW) on microactuating platform (MAP) light modulator for Q-switched all-fiber laser applications. The light modulator employs a fused biconical taper (FBT) coupler, which acts as MOW, mounted on an electromechanical system, MAP, where an axial stress over the waist of FBT coupler is precisely controlled to result in modulation of output power. The modulator was implemented in a clad pumped Yb3+-doped fiber laser cavity as a Qswitching element. Q-switching was successfully achieved at the repetition rate of 18.6kHz and average pulse energy of 1.4microJ. The proposed structure can be readily applied in power scaling up of all-fiber Q-switching laser systems.
Experimental results based on rare-earth-doped fibers have impressively shown that fiber lasers and amplifiers are an attractive and power scalable solid-state laser concept. Based on ytterbium-doped large-mode-area double-clad fibers, in the continuous regime, output powers approaching the kW-range with diffraction limited beam quality have been shown. Average output powers in the order of 100 W have been demonstrated in the pulsed regime even for femtosecond fiber lasers. Further power scaling is limited by the end facets damage, thermo-optical problems or nonlinear effects. To overcome these restrictions microstructured fibers with several new preferable features can be used. In our contribution we will discuss power scaling of fiber lasers and amplifiers in the multi kW-range with excellent beam quality based on rare-earth-doped photonic crystal fibers
In the last years a dramatic increase of the output power of rare-earth-doped fiber lasers and amplifiers with diffraction limited beam quality has been observed. These demonstrates impressively that fiber lasers and amplifiers are an attractive and power scalable solid-state laser concept. The main limiting factors for the laser output power are the damage of the fiber ends, heating of the fiber due to the quantum defect and nonlinear effects. To overcome these problems, an increasing of the core diameter and keeping the fiber single mode, by using solid core step-index largemode-area fibers, allow the power scaling beyond 1 kW at diffraction limited beam quality. A further scaling is possible by using novel highly doped air-clad photonic crystal fibers with increased mode field diameters of the active core. This type of fibers has several new preferable features. In our contribution we will discuss the advantages of microstructured fibers to reduce nonlinear effects inside the fiber and the possibility to scale the output power of fiber lasers and amplifiers with excellent beam quality. We also show experiments with pulsed fiber amplifier systems using these microstructured large mode area fibers.
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