3 × 3 multicore, Yb-doped fiber amplifier with 3.2 kW output power

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Multi-core fibers offer a path to mitigate thermal and nonlinear effects in high-power fiber lasers.
• Scaling core count in fiber lasers is crucial for high-average-power applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the first multi-kilowatt, multi-core fiber laser system.
• To achieve high average power output with stable performance.

Main Methods:

• Development of a Yb-doped multi-core fiber laser system.
• Characterization of output power, stability, and efficiency.

Main Results:

• The system delivered up to 3.2 kW of average power across all cores.
• Excellent short- and long-term power stability was achieved.
• A high slope efficiency of 86.3% with respect to launched power was recorded.

Conclusions:

• The Yb-doped multi-core fiber laser system successfully achieved multi-kilowatt power levels.
• The demonstrated system represents a significant step towards practical high-average-power fiber laser applications.
• Output power was limited by pump power availability, indicating potential for further scaling.