Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
  • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
  • H01S3/09—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping
  • H01S3/091—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping using optical pumping
  • H01S3/094—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping using optical pumping by coherent light
  • H01S3/094003—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping using optical pumping by coherent light the pumped medium being a fibre
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
  • G02B6/28—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals
  • G02B6/2804—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals forming multipart couplers without wavelength selective elements, e.g. "T" couplers, star couplers
  • G02B6/2817—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals forming multipart couplers without wavelength selective elements, e.g. "T" couplers, star couplers using reflective elements to split or combine optical signals
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/42—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
  • G02B6/4201—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details
  • G02B6/4204—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details the coupling comprising intermediate optical elements, e.g. lenses, holograms
  • G02B6/4214—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details the coupling comprising intermediate optical elements, e.g. lenses, holograms the intermediate optical element having redirecting reflective means, e.g. mirrors, prisms for deflecting the radiation from horizontal to down- or upward direction toward a device
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
  • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
  • H01S3/05—Construction or shape of optical resonators; Accommodation of active medium therein; Shape of active medium
  • H01S3/06—Construction or shape of active medium
  • H01S3/063—Waveguide lasers, i.e. whereby the dimensions of the waveguide are of the order of the light wavelength
  • H01S3/067—Fibre lasers
  • H01S3/06708—Constructional details of the fibre, e.g. compositions, cross-section, shape or tapering
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
  • G02B6/28—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals
  • G02B6/2804—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals forming multipart couplers without wavelength selective elements, e.g. "T" couplers, star couplers
  • G02B6/2852—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals forming multipart couplers without wavelength selective elements, e.g. "T" couplers, star couplers using tapping light guides arranged sidewardly, e.g. in a non-parallel relationship with respect to the bus light guides (light extraction or launching through cladding, with or without surface discontinuities, bent structures)
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
  • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
  • H01S3/09—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping
  • H01S3/091—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping using optical pumping
  • H01S3/094—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping using optical pumping by coherent light
  • H01S3/094069—Multi-mode pumping

Definitions

• an optical signal propagating in an optical fiber is one of the most basic problems confronting scientist and engineers who design, build, and employ fiber optic systems
• the manipulation of optical signals once propagating in an optical fiber represents an equally challenging problem to those attempting to use optical fibers to transmit information or other signals It is generally accepted that an optical signal propagating in an optical fiber may be manipulated by launching or coupling light of differing wavelengths into the same fiber
• pigtailing is a preferred method
• single spatialmode, diffraction limited laser diodes with an emission aperture of approximately 1 x 3 ⁇ m are used to achieve efficient diode to fiber coupling
• Pump light is injected into the fiber core by proximity coupling into the polished face of the fiber, or by using small lenses between the laser aperture and the input face of the fiber
• This fiber pigtailing process is expensive because of the sub- ⁇ m alignment and mechanical stability required to achieve efficient and stable laser to fiber coupling
• the use of optical fibers with doped cores has become an indispensable tool in building optical systems for the transmission and amplification of optical information signals Doping these fibers with different ions produces optical gain for light propagating in the fiber core at various wavelength ranges
• Optical gam for a signal propagating in the doped fiber core occurs when population inversion in the inner core material is induced by the absorption of pump light.
• pump light is coupled directlv into the inner core via a wavelength selected fused fiber coupler
• these fused fiber couplers which allow the pump light coupling and constitute wavelength division multiplexers, add complexity and expense
• a current development in the art is the use of an active fiber configuration with a double cladded structure.
• the double cladded structure consists of a single mode fiber inner core, an outer core and an outer cladding.
• the refractive index is highest in the inner core and lowest in the outer cladding, so that both the fiber inner core and the outer core function as optical waveguides.
• the important feature of the double cladded structure is that light can be injected into the outer core where it propagates until it is absorbed by the active dopant in the fiber inner core.
• the index difference between the outer core and the outer cladding is made relatively large, so that the effective numerical aperture (critical angle) of the outer core waveguide is very large, typically above 0.3.
• the large diameter and numerical aperture of the outer core waveguide make it possible to efficiently couple spatially incoherent emission from high power, large aperture, broad area laser diodes or laser diode arrays.
• These pump lasers typically generate 1 -2 W from an emission area of 1 ⁇ m by 100 ⁇ m, or a factor of ten greater power than is available from single mode laser diodes pigtailed into a single mode fiber.
• An important advantage of the broad area laser diodes is that their cost is approximately ten times smaller that of pigtailed single mode laser diodes.
• Double core fiber amplifiers and lasers can be constructed by end- pumping using multiple large active area diodes. However, this configuration does not provide access to both ends of the fiber, thus diminishing flexibility in source placement.
• the double core design fibers can also in principle be pumped at multiple points by using special types of fused fiber couplers which allow pump light transfer from a multimode fiber into the outer core but do not disturb the signal propagating in the fiber inner core. This however, is accomplished at the expense of efficiency, complexity and cost.
• a further object of this invention is to eliminate the need for wavelength division multiplexing fiber couplers.
• Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a means for injecting pump light through the side of the fiber leaving the fiber ends accessible for input and output coupling of the signal light.
• Yet another objective is to reduce the cost of the overall system by permitting efficient coupling with less expensive lasers.
• Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a means for injecting pump light from multiple lasers through the side of the fiber leaving the fiber ends accessible for input and output coupling of the signal light
• the invention concerns a technique for the efficient coupling of pump light into a fiber by injecting the light through the side of a fiber leaving the fiber ends accessible to input and output coupling.
• This technique relies on the fabrication of a groove or a micro-prism into the side of the fiber.
• the groove shape is adapted effective to the variables of light wavelength, orientation of the source and variables relating to fiber construction so as to allow the efficient injection of pump light
• the vertical rays impinging on the grove facets are reflected and directed along the horizontal fiber axis of the outer core.
• the reflectivity of the groove facets approach 100% for a wide range of incidence angles In this manner one can launch external optical signals into an optical fiber
• FIG 1 is an elevational view of an optical fiber according to the invention.
• FIG 2. is a cross sectional view in the direction of 2-2 of FIG 1 .
• FIG 3. is a side eleveational view in the direction indicated as 3-3 in FIG 1 .
• FIG 4. is a top elevational view in the direction indicated as 4-4 in FIG 1 .
• FIG 5. is a front end view the fiber in the direction of lines 5-5 in FIG 1 .
• FIG 6. is a schematic view of one configuration for pumping light from multiple lasers.
• FIG 7. is a schematic illustration of one configuration for coupling multiple sources into a cladded fiber.
• Fiber 19 has an inner core 14, an outer core 12 disposed about the inner core, and an outer cladding 10 disposed about the outer core 12.
• the outer core and outer claddings 10, 12 have groove 18 and facets 22 disposed thereon.
• Laser light source 16 is disposed opposite groove 18 and facets 22 to direct light 30 across interface 20 into the fiber 19, and transverse to inner core 14 and outer core 12 and outer cladding 10.
• Groove 18 and facets 22 are selected so that light incident thereon from laser 16 will undergo specular reflection, for reasons discussed below.
• FIG 2 is a cross sectional view of the optical fiber.
• the refraction index is usually lowest in outer cladding 10, with the highest index of refraction located in inner core 14.
• a lower index of refraction in outer cladding 10, allows outer core 12 and inner core 14 to function as optical waveguides, efficiently propagating light within the fiber 19, minimizing energy loss through the outer cladding 10.
• groove 18 is fabricated into fiber outer core 12 and outer cladding 10. Groove 18 extends through outer cladding 10, and into outer core 12.
• a broad area laser diode 16 is the laser light source 16; however other light sources which launch light 30 at useful wavelengths and intensities are suitable.
• laser light diode 16 launches light 30 through fiber outer cladding 10, and outer core 12 and onto faceted surface 22 of groove 18.
• the light 30, emitted by diode 16, impinges on faceted surface 22 of groove 18 and is specularly reflected into fiber 19 Specular reflection, ensures maximum reflection into outer core 12, because this minimizes further divergence of the incident light 30.
• the light 30 is reflected by faceted surface 22 of groove 18 and injected into outer core 12 of the fiber 19. In this manner, one can inject any optical signal into an optical fiber 19 having a groove such as 18.
• inner core 14 may contain an active medium, such as an Er or other dopant, which at a selected wavelength absorbs the light 30 propagating in the inner core 14, activating the Er and permitting it to function as an amplifier for any other optical signal propagating in inner core 14.
• an active medium such as an Er or other dopant
• the critical angle required for total internal reflection is 41 ° relative to the surface normal, and vertical rays impinging at 45 ° on air-to-glass groove facets 24 are totally reflected and directed along the horizontal fiber axis.
• the emission divergence angle in the junction plane is 10 ° FWHM in air or 6.6 ° inside fiber 19, so that substantially all of the pump emission would undergo total internal reflection at groove facets 22 thus launching light 30 in outer core 12 with very high efficiency.
• numerical aperture of 0.3 outer core waveguide 12 acceptance angle is 1 7 5 °, thus virtually all of the laser's emission would be captured by outer core waveguide 12.
• the reflectivity of groove facets 22 can approach 100% for a wide range of incidence angels when thin film reflective coating 55 is placed on groove surface 24
• a groove such as 18 permits injection of light from broad area laser diodes (i e inexpensive laser diodes) with high efficiency. This is equally so for the examples given below.
• the output light cone in the junction plane diverges to a width of 1 12 ⁇ m at the opposite side of fiber 19 cross section.
• substantially all of pump light 30 would therefore be intercepted and coupled into fiber 19.
• Fibers with large outer core diameters can be used to allow larger groove width.
• lenses could be placed, if one desired, in between laser diode 16 and fiber 19 to decrease the beam divergence or to project a reduced image of the laser emission aperture on the groove.
• Laser 16 can also be oriented as shown in FIG 3, or rotated by 90 ° , so that the emitting area is parallel to the apex of groove 18.
• the cylindrical fiber to air interface 99 provides a lensing effect which can be used to collimate or focus light 30 propagating in the plane perpendicular to the laser diode function.
• the effective cylindrical lens focal length is given by 1/3R, where R is the fiber radius.
• R is the fiber radius.
• this corresponds to a focal length of 21 ⁇ m.
• Coliimation is achieved with the laser diode facet placed approximately 21 ⁇ m from the fiber side-wall 10, whereas greater distances result in a converging beam.
• light 30 is injected into outer core 12 where it propagates until it is absorbed by the dopant in fiber inner core 14.
• FIG 7 illustrates one embodiment in which multiple grooves 18 are appropriately spaced along fiber 19 to couple light from multiple lasers 16 into fiber outer core 12
• This embodiment of the side pumping technique can be used to increase the total pump power in fiber 19 and scale up the fiber laser output or fiber amplifier saturation power
• the spacing (U of grooves 18 is such that almost all of the pump light injected from one groove 18 is absorbed by the gain medium before it reaches the adjacent groove 18'
• a For exponentially decaying pump light intensity, characterized by an absorption coefficient a, this corresponds to a spacing of approximately lla.
• the absorption lengths are in the range of 1 -10 m, while passive transmission losses for the single mode guided light are few dB/km
• Multiple pump diodes 16 are multiplexed along fiber 19 with active fiber lengths of 10-100 m
• the pump intensity must be of sufficient magnitude to achieve gain or transparency everywhere, including regions of low pump power Incomplete absorption of the pump power injected by one groove 18 results in coupling a portion oi the residual pump out of fiber 19 bv adjacent groove 18', causing a small drop in overall laser efficiency This effect is somewhat reduced by the fact that pump intensities from two grooves overlap, resulting in a more uniform pump distribution than would be the case for end-fire pumping from a single fiber facet

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Lasers (AREA)
• Optical Couplings Of Light Guides (AREA)
• Surface Treatment Of Glass Fibres Or Filaments (AREA)
• Manufacture, Treatment Of Glass Fibers (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=24273023

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (7)

Families Citing this family (56)

Citations (2)

Family Cites Families (16)

• 1995
  • 1995-12-07 US US08/568,859 patent/US5854865A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1996
  • 1996-12-09 JP JP9521452A patent/JP2000502193A/ja not_active Ceased
  • 1996-12-09 DE DE69631895T patent/DE69631895T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1996-12-09 AU AU17421/97A patent/AU725785B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1996-12-09 WO PCT/US1996/019452 patent/WO1997021124A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1996-12-09 EP EP96945924A patent/EP0865620B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 2007
  • 2007-03-20 JP JP2007073284A patent/JP2007249213A/ja active Pending

Patent Citations (2)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events