This article is cited in 5 papers

Lasers

Microsecond gain-switched master oscillator power amplifier (1958 nm) with high pulse energy

Ke Yin, Weiqiang Yang, Bin Zhang, Ying Li, Jing Hou

College of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, Hunan

Abstract: An all-fibre master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) emitting high-energy pulses at 1958 nm is presented. The seed laser is a microsecond gain-switched thulium-doped fibre laser (TDFL) pumped with a commercial 1550-nm pulsed fibre laser. The TDFL operates at a repetition rate f in the range of 10 to 100 kHz. The two-stage thulium-doped fibre amplifier is built to scale the energy of the pulses generated by the seed laser. The maximum output pulse energy higher than 0.5 mJ at 10 kHz is achieved which is comparable with the theoretical maximum extractable pulse energy. The slope efficiency of the second stage amplifier with respect to the pump power is 30.4% at f = 10 kHz. The wavelength of the output pulse laser is centred near 1958 nm at a spectral width of 0.25 nm after amplification. Neither nonlinear effects nor significant amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) is observed in the amplification experiments.

Keywords: all-fibre master oscillator power amplifier, thuliumdoped fibre laser, high pulse energy, gain-switching.

PACS: 45.55.Wd, 42.60.Fc, 42.60.Jf

Received: 03.09.2013
Revised: 08.10.2013

 English version: Quantum Electronics, 2014, 44:2, 163–166

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