Compact and low-cost superfluorescent fiber source assisted narrow linewidth Yb-Raman fiber amplifier

Recent work has shown that temporally stable optical sources are required in a narrow linewidth Yb-Raman fiber amplifier to suppress the spectral broadening phenomenon. Superfluorescent fiber sources (SFSs) with different spectral widths are used as the Raman-pumped lasers in a 200-watt level narrow linewidth Yb-Raman fiber amplifier for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The experimental results reveal that the spectral broadening phenomenon could be well controlled by using the broadband SFS. Therefore, the narrow linewidth operation could be well maintained during the power scaling process. Moreover, the suppression of the spectral broadening phenomenon would deteriorate when the spectral width of the SFS decreases. This work could provide a compact, low-cost choice for the Raman-pumped laser in narrow linewidth Yb-Raman fiber amplifiers.