摘要:
In various embodiments, an optical fiber includes a core having a relatively large area selected so as to raise a threshold of stimulated Raman scattering or stimulated Brillouin scattering, or both, the core having a high aspect ratio elongated cross-section and having a first refractive index. The core is narrower in a fast-axis direction and wider in a slow-axis direction, such that the fiber is mechanically flexible in the fast-axis direction and is mechanically rigid in the slow-axis direction.
摘要:
An optical fiber includes multiple cores and a cladding. At least one of the multiple cores forms an optical waveguide and has an elongated cross-section with a narrower dimension in a fast-axis direction and a wider dimension in a slow-axis direction. The cladding surrounds the multiple cores and has a refractive index that differs from at least one refractive index of the multiple cores. The multiple cores could be stacked such that a first of the multiple cores is located at least partially over a second of the multiple cores in the fast-axis direction. The optical fiber could include an additional core within the cladding and having a substantially circular cross-section. The cores could be used to transport a high-power laser beam, an illumination laser beam, and an alignment laser beam. The optical fiber could have a length of at least two meters.
摘要:
According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a Raman generator includes a Raman medium and one or more optical elements. The Raman medium is configured to receive a pump pulse at a first wavelength and shift at least a portion of the pump pulse energy or power into a Stokes-shifted pulse at a second wavelength. The one or more optical elements are configured to synchronize one or more subsequent passages of the Stokes-shifted pulse through the Raman medium with one or more subsequent pump pulses at the first wavelength. The synchronized passage of the Stokes-shifted pulse and one or more subsequent pump pulses through the Raman medium increases a power of the Stoke-shifted pulse.
摘要:
In various embodiments, an optical element, e.g., an optical fiber, may be configured to compensate for thermal lensing. For example, thermal lensing may be caused by light power dissipation within an optical fiber, which may include a fiber core that guides amplified light along the longitudinal dimension of the fiber core. Thermal lensing from a thermally induced change in material refractive index as a function of position along dimensions perpendicular to the fiber's longitudinal dimension may be at least partially compensated or offset when light is guided by the fiber core by a designed-in effective refractive index profile selected such that the designed-in material refractive index of the fiber core changes as a function of transverse position within the fiber core, or by selection of a favorable cross-sectional core shape in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal dimension of the fiber core.
摘要:
A planar laser gain medium and laser system. The novel laser gain medium includes an active core having a high aspect ratio cross-section with a fast-axis dimension and a slow-axis dimension, signal claddings adapted to form reflective boundaries at fast-axis boundaries of the core, and a material adapted to minimize reflections at slow-axis boundaries of the core. In an illustrative embodiment, the laser gain medium is an optical fiber. The core and claddings form a waveguide adapted to control modes propagating in the fast-axis direction. When the laser gain medium is employed as a laser oscillator, a high reflectivity mirror and an outcoupler are positioned at opposite ends of the core to form a laser resonator adapted to control modes in the slow-axis direction.
摘要:
A system includes a laser configured to generate a pump beam at a pump wavelength. The system also includes a multi-media Raman resonator configured to receive the pump beam and generate an output beam. The multi-media Raman resonator includes multiple mirrors and multiple Raman media optically located between the minors. Output power in the output beam is spectrally concentrated around a single dominant wavelength that is longer than a pump wavelength. The longer wavelength of the output beam is associated with a combination of at least one Stokes shift associated with each of the individual Raman media. A filter could be configured to absorb light at a wavelength that is absorbed by one of the Raman media or to redirect light at the wavelength absorbed by one of the Raman media away from that Raman medium.
摘要:
An optical fiber coupler configured to couple signal beams into a non-circularly shaped output optical beam or device is provided. The coupler includes an adiabatically tapered optical device. The tapered optical device has a core taper ratio equal to the ratio between a second core diameter and a first core diameter and a mode taper ratio equal to the ratio between a second mode field diameter and a first mode field diameter. The mode taper ratio is greater than the core taper ratio. A spacing between adjacent cores at the output end is less than a spacing between adjacent cores at the input end by approximately the core taper ratio, thereby increasing brightness of a combined output optical signal relative to the combined brightness of the plurality of input optical fibers by approximately a factor equal to the ratio of the mode taper ratio to the core taper ratio.
摘要:
In various embodiments, a semi-guiding optical fiber includes a core having a first refractive index and a high aspect ratio elongated cross-section along a slow axis direction. First and second signal claddings having a second refractive index sandwich the core. A third cladding having a third refractive index substantially surrounds at least side edges of the core. The first refractive index of the core, the third refractive index of the third cladding, and/or the second refractive index of the first and second signal claddings, are selected so as to maximize a differential loss between a lowest order mode propagating in the optical fiber and next order modes so as to discriminate in favor of the lowest order mode and against the next order modes. In another embodiment, a method for mode control in a semi-guiding medium includes controlling either the first refractive index of the core, the second refractive index of the first and second signal claddings, and/or the third refractive index of the third cladding, to maximize a differential loss between a lowest order mode propagating in the optical fiber and next order modes so as to discriminate in favor of the lowest order mode and against the next order modes.
摘要:
An optical device includes an optical material comprising active dopant ions and absorber dopant ions spaced apart from the active dopant ions. The active dopant ions are provided to absorb a first radiation and convert a portion of the first radiation into sensible heat. A concentration profile of the absorber dopant ions is selected to absorb a second radiation different from the first radiation and optionally the first radiation in at least one direction of the optical material so as to control a refractive index profile in the at least one direction of the optical material. In another embodiment, a method of controlling a refractive index profile in an optical material includes exciting active dopant ions in the optical material with a first radiation, the active dopant ions converting at least a portion of the first radiation into sensible heat; and exciting absorber dopant ions in the optical material with a second radiation to control a refractive index profile in at least one direction of the optical material.
摘要:
A system and method for free space optical communication include at least one reconfigurable terminal (30) using dual-wavelength operation for isolation between transmitted and received signals in combination with polarization switching to separate and steer the transmitted and received signals to and from corresponding transmitters (40) and receivers (48). The polarization based switching provides wavelength independent beam steering to facilitate interchanging of wavelengths for transmitted and received signals. A controllable or passive polarization changer (56) such as a wave plate or polarization rotator allows the communication terminal (30) to be reconfigured without also requiring the repositioning and associated precision alignment of beam steering optics (54, 62, 66).