High-average-power picosecond Yb-doped fiber amplifier

Area of Science:

• Laser Physics
• Fiber Optics
• Nonlinear Optics

Background:

• High-power fiber lasers are crucial for various applications.
• Ytterbium-doped large-core-area fibers offer potential for high-power amplification.
• Nonlinear effects can limit power scaling in pulsed fiber amplifiers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report on the performance of a cladding-pumped, ytterbium-doped large-core-area fiber amplifier.
• To investigate power scaling limitations in such amplifiers.
• To analyze the impact of nonlinear distortions on amplified pulses.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a cladding-pumped, ytterbium-doped large-core-area fiber amplifier.
• Operated at a 1064-nm center wavelength with an 80-MHz repetition rate and 10-ps pulse duration.
• Measured average power and beam quality (M^2).

Main Results:

• Achieved 51.2 W of average power from the fiber amplifier.
• Amplified pulses to 43.2 W with diffraction-limited beam quality (M^2~1.3) in a large-mode-area fiber.
• Identified self-phase modulation and stimulated Raman scattering as key power scaling limitations.

Conclusions:

• Demonstrated a high-power ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier.
• Highlighted the trade-offs between power, pulse quality, and nonlinear effects.
• Provided insights into power scaling challenges for ultrafast fiber lasers.