Article comprising a cladding-pumped optical fiber laser
US5708669A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 24, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jan 13, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 24, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/094007
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A cladding pumped optical fiber laser comprises a length of optical fiber having a rare earth-doped region of diameter d.sub.RE >d.sub.01 where d.sub.01 is the mode diameter of the LP.sub.01 mode of the fiber at the laser radiation at wavelength .lambda.. In one embodiment the fiber has a core diameter d.sub.c selected such that the LP.sub.01 mode is the only guided spatial mode of the fiber, and d.sub.RE is greater than d.sub.c. In another embodiment the fiber supports at least one higher order guided spatial mode, typically LP.sub.11 or LP.sub.02, and d.sub.RE is approximately equal to or larger than d.sub.c. Currently preferred embodiments comprise a grating-defined laser cavity that comprises a mode-coupling refractive index grating. Cladding pumped lasers according to the invention will typically have efficient conversion of pump radiation to laser radiation, and consequently can typically be shorter than analogous prior art cladding pumped lasers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.