Fiber lasers are attractive because they can avoid many problems associated with free-space optics. However, the large mode area required in high power fiber lasers and amplifiers causes several new difficulties in fiber and component design and in fusion assembly methods. Mode transformation technology allows optimization of the design of the gain fibers with independent control of the characteristics of the input and output beams. The quality of the output beam is decoupled from the mode shape in the gain fiber. Even with the desired signal properties, the high optical powers and multimode pump operation cause new issues with reliability of the fused fibers and components. To achieve high reliability operation, care must be taken to minimize and dissipate stray light.

Date Published: 23 February 2006
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 6102, Fiber Lasers III: Technology, Systems, and Applications, 61021L (23 February 2006); doi: 10.1117/12.661253

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6102:
Fiber Lasers III: Technology, Systems, and Applications
Andrew J. W. Brown; Johan Nilsson; Donald J. Harter; Andreas Tünnermann, Editor(s)