We report a novel coherent beam combining technique. This is the first actively phase locked optical fiber array that eliminates the need for a separate reference beam. In addition, only a single photodetector is required. The far-field central spot of the array is imaged onto the photodetector to produce the phase control loop signals. Each leg of the fiber array is phase modulated with a separate RF frequency, thus tagging the optical phase shift for each leg by a separate RF frequency. The optical phase errors for the individual array legs are separated in the electronic domain. In contrast with the previous active phase locking techniques, in our system the reference beam is spatially overlapped with all the RF modulated fiber leg beams onto a single detector. The phase shift between the optical wave in the reference leg and in the RF modulated legs is measured separately in the electronic domain and the phase error signal is feedback to the LiNbO3 phase modulator for that leg to minimize the phase error for that leg relative to the reference leg. The advantages of this technique are 1) the elimination of the reference beam and beam combination optics and 2) the electronic separation of the phase error signals without any degradation of the phase locking accuracy. We will present the first theoretical model for self-referenced LOCSET and describe experimental results for a 3 x 3 array.
Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) is a polarization-dependent, nonlinear process that is often the limiting factor for high-power fiber laser applications. We report the results of experiments measuring the SBS thresholds and the SBS gain bandwidths in several passive optical fibers. Fibers with nearly identical mode-field diameters and loss coefficients from different manufacturers were selected. Observations from these experiments indicate that the SBS gain coefficient for fibers from different manufacturers varied significantly resulting in a 70% deviation in SBS threshold. Also, polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber exhibited a significant increase in the SBS threshold for a linearly polarized pump beam that is launched into the PM fiber at 45° relative to the fiber's slow axis. This increase in threshold was not mirrored in non-PM fiber. These results suggest that the polarization multiplier in the SBS threshold equation may be highest when a PM fiber is used with the appropriate launch conditions, rather than a non-PM conventional single-mode fiber. We will present the experimental results and a theoretical model demonstrating the polarization dependent gain properties in both PM and non-PM fiber.
Conference Committee Involvement (5)
Fiber Lasers V: Technology, Systems, and Applications
21 January 2008 | San Jose, California, United States
Fiber Lasers IV: Technology, Systems, and Applications
22 January 2007 | San Jose, California, United States
Fiber Lasers III: Technology, Systems, and Applications
23 January 2006 | San Jose, California, United States
Fiber Lasers II: Technology, Systems, and Applications
24 January 2005 | San Jose, California, United States
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