Patent · US Expired

Fiber amplifiers and pumping sources for fiber amplifiers

US6081369A · kind A · utility

95Cited by
6References
48Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 2, 1999
Grant dateJun 27, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 2, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01S2301/02
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An optical amplifier system includes a fiber amplifier doped with rare earth dopant provided in its fiber core. A plurality of fiber lasers have their light outputs optically coupled together for launching into the fiber amplifier for optically pumping the amplifier. Each of the fiber lasers have a rare earth dopant provided in its fiber core for stimulated lasing emission with the rare earth dopant of the fiber amplifier being different from the rear earth dopant of the fiber lasers. A reflector may be provided in each of the coupling fibers for reflecting a portion of the respective light outputs back into the fiber lasers to control their wavelength of operation, the wavelength of operation of the reflectors chosen to be within a high absorption region of the absorption band of the fiber amplifier. Where the pump source is a semiconductor laser source, the source may include a flared gain section to increase the output intensity of the light output of the source.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.