Fully planar solar-pumped fiber laser with 0.1% slope efficiency

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Renewable Energy Technologies
• Laser Physics

Background:

• Solar-pumped fiber lasers (SPFLs) offer a promising avenue for direct solar energy conversion into laser light.
• Previous SPFL designs have faced limitations in efficiency, output power, and operational flexibility, particularly concerning solar tracking requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the performance of a fully planar solar-pumped fiber laser (SPFL) with a 30 cm diameter.
• To assess the potential for increasing laser output power through fiber length optimization.
• To quantify the device's tolerance to solar tracking errors and evaluate its performance without active tracking.

Main Methods:

• Experimental setup of a fully planar SPFL with a 30 cm diameter and 400 m fiber length.
• Numerical simulations to predict maximum laser output power with extended fiber length.
• Quantitative analysis of solar tracking error tolerance by measuring output power variations.

Main Results:

• Achieved a slope efficiency of 0.1% and an output power of 34 mW.
• Numerical simulations indicate a potential output power of 113 mW by extending the fiber length.
• Sustained over 80% of maximum output power with a solar tracking error of up to ±23°.

Conclusions:

• The fully planar SPFL demonstrates significant potential for efficient solar energy utilization.
• Extending fiber length is a viable strategy for enhancing laser output power.
• The SPFL exhibits robust performance under considerable solar tracking misalignment, enabling operation without active solar tracking.