Wavelength selectable fiber laser system
US6061369A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 1, 1999 |
| Grant date | May 9, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 1, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/2383
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A fiber laser system including multiple fiber lasers fabricated to emit at respective different wavelengths when optically pumped by radiation at a pump wavelength. A pump laser emits the pump radiation and pumps one or more of the fiber lasers. The outputs of the fiber lasers are recombined onto a transmission fiber, preferably for use in a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) telecommunication system. In one set of embodiments, an optical switch switches the pump radiation to only one of the fiber lasers. A second switch controlled in correspondence to the first switch or a passive combiner, preferably a wavelength-division multiplexer, directs the output of the lasing fiber to an optical output path. In another embodiment, the one pump laser simultaneously pumps all the fiber lasers. One or more pump laser may be placed in parallel, and their outputs are combined. The parallel pump lasers may either be individually activated for redundancy or simultaneously operated for higher power.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.