Fiber laser beam combining and power scaling progress: Air Force Research Laboratory Laser Division

T. J. Wagner

doi:10.1117/12.912154

15 February 2012 Fiber laser beam combining and power scaling progress: Air Force Research Laboratory Laser Division

T. J. Wagner

Proceedings Volume 8237, Fiber Lasers IX: Technology, Systems, and Applications; 823718 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.912154
Event: SPIE LASE, 2012, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Numerous achievements have been made recently by researchers in the areas of fiber laser beam combining and power scaling. Industry has demonstrated multi-kW power from a single fiber amplifier, and a US national laboratory has coherently combined eight fiber amplifiers totaling 4 kW. This paper will survey the recent literature and then focus on fiber laser results from the Laser Division, Directed Energy Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Progress has been made in the power scaling of narrow-linewidth fiber amplifiers, and we are transitioning lessons learned from PCF power scaling into monolithic architectures. SBS suppression has been achieved using a variety of techniques to lower the Brillioun gain, including acoustically tailored fiber, laser gain competition resulting from multitone seeding and inducing a longitudinal thermal gradient. We recently demonstrated a 32-channel coherent beam combination result using AFRL's phaselocking technique and are focused on exploring the limitations of this technique including linewidth broadening, kW-induced phase nonlinearities and auto-tuning methods for large channel counts. Additionally, we have recently refurbished our High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office-sponsored 16-amplifier fiber testbed to meet strict PER, spatial drift, power stability and beam quality requirements.

Citation Download Citation

T. J. Wagner "Fiber laser beam combining and power scaling progress: Air Force Research Laboratory Laser Division", Proc. SPIE 8237, Fiber Lasers IX: Technology, Systems, and Applications, 823718 (15 February 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.912154

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available