Henrik Tünnermann

Gain dynamics and refractive index changes in fiber amplifiers: a frequency domain approach

Gain dynamics and refractive index changes in fiber amplifiers are important in many areas. For example, the knowledge of the frequency responses for seed and pump power modulation are required to actively stabilize low noise fiber amplifiers. Slow and fast light via coherent population oscillations rely on the change of group index to delay or advance pulses, and refractive index changes in fiber amplifiers are a possible explanation for mode fluctuations in high power fiber amplifiers. Here, we analyze the frequency dependent influence of seed and pump power modulation on the fiber amplifier output power and the refractive index. We explain the observed power and refractive index modulation with an analytic model originally developed for telecom amplifiers and discuss a further simplification of the model.

Intrinsic reduction of the depolarization in Nd:YAG crystals

The output power of linearly polarized Nd:YAG lasers is typically limited by thermally induced birefringence, which causes depolarization. However, this effect can be reduced either by use of some kind of depolarization compensation or by use of crystals which are cut in [110]- and [100]-direction, instead of the common [111]-direction. Investigations of the intrinsic reduction of the depolarization by use of these crystals are presented. To our knowledge, this is the first probe beam-experiment describing a comparison between [100]-, [110]- and [111]-cut Nd:YAG crystals in a pump power regime between 100 and 200 W. It is demonstrated that the depolarization can be reduced by a factor of 6 in [100]-cut crystals. The simulations reveal that a reduction of depolarization by use of a [110]-cut crystal in comparison with a [100]-cut crystal only becomes possible at pump powers in the kW region. Analysis also shows that the bifocusing for [100]-cut is slightly smaller and more asymmetrical than for [111]-cut.

Beam quality degradation of a single-frequency Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber amplifier with low mode instability threshold power.

A current limit in power scaling of Yb-doped fiber amplifiers is the sudden onset of mode instabilities. We investigated this effect on a single-frequency Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber amplifier with a low mode instability threshold power. By measuring the overlap of the fiber output beam with the fundamental mode of an external cavity to be about 95%, we could exclude significant modal power transfer below a sharp power threshold. Furthermore, we directly measured the frequency resolved intensity noise spectra. No fluctuations in the overall output power were observed, but for the modal content different oscillation regimes were identified.

All-fiber phase actuator based on an erbium-doped fiber amplifier for coherent beam combining at 1064 nm

Active phase control in fiber amplifiers is of considerable interest for low-noise single-frequency amplifiers and for coherent beam combining. We demonstrate phase control at 1064 nm by use of an erbium-doped fiber. We investigated the phase shift by guiding the beam through an erbium-doped fiber amplifier in a Mach-Zehnder configuration and applied the results to stabilize the relative phase of two ytterbium-doped fiber amplifiers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of an all-fiber coherent beam combining at 1064 nm employing an erbium-doped fiber as a phase actuator.

Beam quality and noise properties of coherently combined ytterbium doped single frequency fiber amplifiers

Collinear coherent combination of multiple single frequency fiber amplifiers is a promising approach to realize the high power laser sources required for 3rd generation gravitational wave detectors (GWD), as long as the stringent requirements on the beam quality and noise properties can be met. Here, we report the beam quality and noise properties of two coherently combined 10 W single frequency amplifiers with respect to the requirements of GWD. The combining efficiency was larger than 95% with 97% of the combined beam in the fundamental spatial mode. There was no significant noise increase compared to the fluctuations of the single amplifier.

All-fiber coherent beam combining with phase stabilization via differential pump power control

Coherent beam combining enables power scaling beyond the limits of single amplifiers. Therefore, improving the performance and simplicity of coherent combination techniques is of great interest for many high power applications. Here, we show all-fiber coherent beam combining of two ytterbium doped amplifiers with and without a dedicated phase actuator and a total output power up to 25 W. Instead of a dedicated phase actuator, we directly controlled the two ytterbium amplifiers to also stabilize their relative phase. We compared the performance of this method with phase stabilization using two piezo driven fiber stretchers. In both cases, power noise was dominated by the single amplifier.

Analysis of the Coupling Mechanism in Asymmetric Fused Fiber Couplers

We investigated experimentally and numerically the coupling mechanism in asymmetric fused fiber couplers consisting of different single-mode fibers with unequal core diameter and numerical aperture. We increased the maximum coupled power by pretapering one of the fibers achieving a nearly complete power transfer at a specific pretaper length. Experimental results are compared to numerical results obtained by using our own 3-D FFT-based beam propagation method (BPM) algorithm. The numerical model explains qualitatively the coupler performance and allows to gain insight into the coupling mechanism. We discuss the influence of the fiber cores on the excited super-modes of the cladding structure. A modal decomposition of the light field is carried out in order to analyze the evolution of the super-modes and to discuss the influence of pretapering on the excitation of these modes.

Intrinsic Reduction of the Depolarization in Nd:YAG Crystals

Thermally induced depolarization in Nd:YAG lasers can be reduced by choice of the crystal cut. Experimental results and corresponding simulations at pump powers around 140W are presented for [111]-, [100]- and [110]-cut crystals.

Linearly polarized single-mode Nd:YAG oscillators using [100]- and [110]-cut crystals.

The output power and efficiency of linearly polarized high power Nd:YAG lasers is limited by depolarization and bifocusing. Both effects degrade the beam quality and decrease the output power. In a single pass configuration, [100]- and [110]-cut crystals can be used to reduce the depolarization. Here, we compare [100]-, [110]- and [111]-cut crystals in an oscillator configuration. As expected it was possible to reduce the depolarization loss by using [100]-cut crystals in our configuration, while the depolarization loss was higher for [110]-cut crystals. The thermal lens establishing in these crystals is not circular, which can degrade beam quality in high power operation.

Self-focusing in multicore fibers

Self-focusing is the ultimate power limit of single mode fiber amplifiers. As fiber technology is approaching this limit, ways to mitigate self-focusing are becoming more and more important. Here we show a theoretical analysis of this limitation in coupled multicore fibers. Significant scaling of the self-focusing limit is possible even for coupled multicore fibers if the out-of-phase mode is chosen. On the other hand the in-phase mode can - depending on the coupling strength - be prone to instabilities.