Title: Waveguide design for line selection in fiber lasers and amplifiers

Abstract

Rare earth doped fiber lasers can be robust and efficient sources of high quality light, but are usually limited to the highest gain transitions of the active species. But rare earths typically possess a multitude of potentially useful transitions that might be accessed if the dominant transition can be suppressed. In fiber lasers this suppression is complicated by the very high net gain the dominant transitions exhibit; effective suppression requires some mechanism distributed along the length of the fiber. We have developed a novel waveguide with resonant leakage elements that frustrate guidance at well-defined and selectable wavelengths. Based on this waveguide, we have fabricated a Large Mode Area Neodymium doped fiber with suppression of the four-level transition around 1060 nm, and demonstrated lasing on the three-level transition at 930 nm with good efficiency.

Inventors:

Pax, Paul H.; Allen, Graham S.; Dawson, Jay W.; Drachenberg, Derrek Reginald; Khitrov, Victor V.; Messerly, Michael J.; Schenkel, Nick

Issue Date:

2018-07-24

Research Org.:

Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE

OSTI Identifier:

1464121

Patent Number(s):

10033148

Application Number:

15/288,590

Assignee:

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (Livermore, CA)

Patent Classifications (CPCs):

H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01S - DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT

G - PHYSICS G02 - OPTICS G02B - OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS

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H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01S - DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT

H01S3/1611 - {neodymium}
H01S3/06716 - {Fibre compositions

G - PHYSICS G02 - OPTICS G02B - OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS

G02B6/14 - Mode converters
G02B6/02338 - {Structured core, e.g. core contains more than one material, non-constant refractive index distribution in core, asymmetric or non-circular elements in core unit, multiple cores, insertions between core and clad}
G02B6/0238 - {Longitudinal structures having higher refractive index than background material, e.g. high index solid rods}

H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01S - DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT

H01S3/08045 - {Single-mode emission}
H01S3/094007 - {Cladding pumping, i.e. pump light propagating in a clad surrounding the active core}
H01S3/06733 - {Fibre having more than one cladding}
H01S3/06741 - {Photonic crystal fibre, i.e. the fibre having a photonic bandgap}

G - PHYSICS G02 - OPTICS G02B - OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS

G02B6/02347 - {Longitudinal structures arranged to form a regular periodic lattice, e.g. triangular, square, honeycomb unit cell repeated throughout cladding}

H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01S - DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT

H01S3/1603 - {rare earth}

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DOE Contract Number:  

AC52-07NA27344

Resource Type:

Patent

Resource Relation:

Patent File Date: 2016 Oct 07

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE