Fiber- or rod-based optical source featuring a large-core, rare-earth-doped photonic-crystal device for generation of high-power pulsed radiation and method
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a first photonic-crystal optical device that includes a first waveguide that has a diameter of about 40 microns or more within a pump cladding and maintains a single transverse mode with operation at a peak power of at least about one megawatt (1 MW) and a beam quality M2 of less than 1.5.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus use a photonic-crystal fiber having a very large core while maintaining a single transverse mode. In some fiber lasers and amplifiers having large cores problems exist related to energy being generated at multiple-modes (i.e., polygamy), and of mode hopping (i.e., promiscuity) due to limited control of energy levels and fluctuations. The problems of multiple-modes and mode hopping result from the use of large-diameter waveguides, and are addressed by the invention. This is especially true in lasers using large amounts of energy (i.e., lasers in the one-megawatt or more range). By using multiple small waveguides in parallel, large amounts of energy can be passed through a laser, but with better control such that the aforementioned problems can be reduced. An additional advantage is that the polarization of the light can be maintained better than by using a single fiber core.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
a first photonic-crystal optical device that includes a first waveguide that has a diameter of about 40 microns or more within a pump cladding and maintains a single transverse mode with operation at a peak power of at least about one megawatt (1 MW) and a beam quality M2 of less than 1.5. - View Dependent Claims (2, 10, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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3. An apparatus comprising:
a first photonic-crystal optical device that includes a first waveguide that has a diameter of about 40 microns or more within a pump cladding and maintains a single transverse mode with operation at a peak power of at least about one megawatt (1 MW) and a beam quality M2 of less than 1.5, and one or more wavelength-conversion optical media operable to receive high-peak-power input radiation having a first wavelength from the first waveguide of the first photonic-crystal device, and to generate radiation having a peak power of about 100 kW or more and of a shorter second wavelength through wavelength conversion. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6)
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7. An apparatus comprising:
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a first photonic-crystal optical device that includes a first waveguide that has a diameter of about 40 microns or more within a pump cladding and maintains a single transverse mode with operation at a peak power of at least about one megawatt (1 MW) and a beam quality M2 of less than 1.5, wherein the first optical device is a first photonic-crystal rod and the first waveguide is a first core of the first photonic-crystal device that supports a mode area having a diameter of about 50 microns or larger and a cladding having a diameter of about 1,000 microns or larger.
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8. An apparatus comprising:
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a first photonic-crystal optical device that includes a first waveguide that has a diameter of about 40 microns or more within a pump cladding and maintains a single transverse mode with operation at a peak power of at least about one megawatt (1 MW) and a beam quality M2 of less than 1.5, wherein the first optical device is a first photonic-crystal fiber and the first waveguide is a first core of the first photonic-crystal device; a first optical isolator; a first narrow-bandwidth filter; and a first master-oscillator seed laser operable to generate a narrow-linewidth seed-laser signal of a first wavelength operably coupled to the first core of the first photonic-crystal fiber through the first optical isolator and the first narrow-bandwidth filter. - View Dependent Claims (9, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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11. A method comprising:
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providing a first photonic-crystal device that includes a first waveguide having a diameter of about 40 microns or more; and optically amplifying light in the first waveguide in a single transverse mode to a peak power of about 1 MW or more. - View Dependent Claims (23, 25)
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12. A method comprising:
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providing a first photonic-crystal device that includes a first waveguide having a diameter of about 40 microns or more; optically amplifying light in the first waveguide in a single transverse mode to a peak power of about 1 MW or more; and converting high-peak-power light having a first wavelength from the first waveguide of the first photonic-crystal device to generate light having a peak power of about 100 kW or more of a shorter second wavelength through non-linear wavelength conversion. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A method comprising:
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providing a first photonic-crystal device that includes a first waveguide having a diameter of about 40 microns or more; and optically amplifying light in the first waveguide in a single transverse mode to a peak power of about 1 MW or more, wherein the first core of the first photonic-crystal device supports a mode area having a diameter of about 50 microns or larger and has a cladding having a diameter of about 1000 microns or larger.
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16. A method comprising:
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providing a first photonic-crystal device that includes a first waveguide having a diameter of about 40 microns or more; and optically amplifying light in the first waveguide in a single transverse mode to a peak power of about 1 MW or more, wherein the first optical device is a first photonic-crystal fiber and the first waveguide is a first core of the first photonic-crystal device; generating a narrow-linewidth seed-laser signal; optically isolating the narrow-linewidth seed-laser signal; narrow-bandwidth filtering the narrow-linewidth seed-laser signal; and amplifying the isolated filtered narrow-linewidth seed-laser signal using the first waveguide of the first photonic-crystal device. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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24. A method comprising:
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providing a first photonic-crystal device that includes a first waveguide having a diameter of about 40 microns or more; and optically amplifying light in the first waveguide in a single transverse mode to a peak power of about 1 MW or more, wherein the first photonic-crystal fiber further includes a plurality of other waveguides that each have a diameter of about 40 microns or more;
the method further comprisingmaintaining a single transverse mode in each of the plurality of waveguides.
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38. An apparatus comprising:
a first photonic-crystal optical device that includes a first waveguide that has a diameter of about 40 microns or more within a pump cladding and maintains a single transverse mode with operation at a peak power of at least about one megawatt (1 MW) and a beam quality M2 of less than 1.5, further comprising beam-expanding endcaps.
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39. An apparatus comprising:
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a first photonic-crystal optical device that includes a first waveguide that has a diameter of about 40 microns or more within a pump cladding and maintains a single transverse mode with operation at a peak power of at least about one megawatt (1 MW) and a beam quality M2 of less than 1.5, and means for passing pulses of one megawatt (1 MW) out of the first photonic-crystal optical device.
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Specification