High-Power Single-Frequency Fiber Lasers

Single frequency laser sources are desired in many applications. Various architectures for achieving high power single frequency fiber laser outputs have been investigated and demonstrated. Axial gain apodization can affect the lasing threshold and spectral modal discrimination of DFB lasers. Modeling results show that if properly tailored, the lasing threshold can be reduced by 21% without sacrificing modal discrimination, while simultaneously increasing the differential output power between both ends of the laser. A dual-frequency 2 cm silica fiber laser with a wavelength spacing of 0.3 nm was demonstrated using a polarization maintaining (PM) fiber Bragg grating (FBG) reflector. The output power reached 43 mW with the optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR) greater than 60 dB. By thermally tuning the overlap between the spectra of PM FBG and SM FBG, a single polarisation, single frequency fibre laser was also demonstrated with an output power of 35 mW. From the dual frequency fiber laser, dual frequency switching was achieved by tuning the pump power of the laser. The dual frequency switching was generated by the thermal effects of the absorbed pump in the ytterbium doped fiber. Suppression and elimination of self pulsing in a watt level, dual clad ytterbium doped fiber laser was demonstrated. Self pulsations are caused by