FIBER LASER SYSTEM WITH MECHANISM FOR INDUCING PARASITIC LIGHTS LOSSES

Abstract

A method of inducing light losses at a parasitic wavelength in a fiber laser system includes providing a wavelength discriminator (WD) spaced from and between feeding and process fibers or from the end output of the feeding fiber so as to induce losses of light at parasitic wavelength. The device implementing the disclosed method is configured with a laser source, the delivery fiber and WD spaced at a distance between the surface to be treated and the end of the delivery fiber, wherein the WD receives the parasitic light over free space and is configured as a dichroic filter inducing losses to the light at the parasitic wavelength.

Claims

1. A device for suppressing light at parasitic wavelength propagating along a path, comprising: a dispersive medium guiding laser light at a signal wavelength which has optical intensity sufficient to exceed a threshold for generating light at the parasitic wavelength; and a wavelength discriminator (WD) being in free space communication with the dispersive medium and configured to suppress propagation of at least a portion of the light at the parasitic light and transmit the light at the signal wavelength.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising a beam expander between the dispersive medium and WD, the dispersive medium being an optical fiber selected from the group which consists of passive fibers, active fibers and a combination of active and passive fibers.

3. The device of 2, wherein the WD is a dichroic film filter coated upon an output surface of the beam expander or a bulk dichroic filter, and reflecting the portion of the light at the parasitic wavelength so that the reflected portion is not coupled into the dispersive medium.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the light at the signal wavelengths is in a 1060-1080 nm spectral range, and the WD is configured with the coefficient of reflection greater than 99.6% in a 1115-1150 nm range corresponding to a range of the parasitic wavelengths of stimulated Raman scattering.

5. The device of claim 1 further comprising a beam switch or fiber-to-fiber coupler, the dispersive medium being an optical fiber, wherein the beam switch or fiber-to-fiber coupler is located between two opposing and spaced apart inner ends of the optical fiber.

6. The fiber laser system of claim 5, wherein the WD is tiltably mounted relative to a plane of light path so as to deflect light at the parasitic wavelength away from the plane, wherein the WD increases an output power of a source corresponding to a threshold of generation of stimulated emission of light at the parasitic wavelength at more than 30% compared to the same fiber laser system without the WD.

7. A wavelength discriminator comprising a spectral filter receiving light at signal and parasitic wavelengths which propagate over free space, wherein the spectral filter is configured to suppress propagation of the light at the parasitic light and transmit the light at the signal wavelength.

8. The wavelength discriminator of claim 7, wherein the spectral filter is a dichroic film or a bulk dichroic filter, the spectral and reflecting the portion of the light at the parasitic wavelength so that the reflected portion is not coupled into the dispersive medium.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein the light at the signal wavelengths is in a 1060-1080 nm spectral range, and the WD is configured with the coefficient of reflection greater than 99.6% in a 1115-1150 nm range corresponding to a range of the parasitic wavelengths of stimulated Raman scattering.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The above and other aspects are discussed in detail in the following specific description which is accompanied with the drawings, in which:

[0028] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic optical schematic illustrating of a fiber laser system in accordance with the state of the art;

[0029] FIG. 2 is a reflective spectrum of the high reflection fiber Bragg grating (HRFBG) at 1070 nm wavelength of FIG. 1;

[0030] FIG. 3 is emission spectra of the laser of FIG. 1 during generation of Raman signal;

[0031] FIG. 4 is an optical schematic of the disclosed fiber laser system with a WD operative to induce losses of light at parasitic wavelengths by retro-reflecting the back reflected light at parasitic wavelengths;

[0032] FIG. 5 is a reflective spectrum of the WD of FIG. 4;

[0033] FIG. 6 is a schematic of experimental fiber laser system used for determining a threshold for nonlinear effects, such as SRS, with and without the WO of FIG. 4;

[0034] FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate watt-ampere characteristics of the output of the experimental system of FIG. 6 at different lengths of the delivery fiber;

[0035] FIG. 8 illustrates a Raman generation threshold as a function of the length of the delivery fiber in the system of FIG. 6;

[0036] FIGS. 9A-9B illustrate emission spectra upstream from the HR FBG in the experimental laser system of FIG. 6 with and without the WD of FIG. 4 at output powers corresponding to respective thresholds for nonlinear effects, such as SRS;

[0037] FIG. 10 illustrates additional light losses at the parasitic Raman wavelength as function of external reflection of this light in the disclosed fiber laser system of FIG. 4;

[0038] FIG. 11 illustrates the output power, representing the difference between outputs of system 4, which correspond to respective thresholds of nonlinear effects, such as SRS, with and without the WD, from external reflection of the parasitic light, wherein two graphs represent the fiber laser systems with respective different lengths of the delivery fiber;

[0039] FIG. 12 is a general schematic of the disclosed fiber laser optical system provided with the WD which is configured to induce losses of parasitic light in Raman-active medium.

[0040] FIG. 13 is the detailed schematic of the fiber laser system of FIG. 12;

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION

[0041] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention. Wherever possible, same or similar reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts or steps. The drawings are in simplified form and are not to precise scale. The term “couple” and similar terms do not necessarily denote direct and immediate connections, but also include connections through intermediate elements or devices.

[0042] FIG. 4 illustrates one of the aspects of this disclosure. As shown, a fiber laser system 30 is configured to implement the inventive method of maximizing losses of light at a parasitic wavelength in a parasitic resonator. The latter is formed, during the operation of system 30, by a gain medium, which is a fiber waveguide extending between a laser-treated surface 16 reflecting light and any formation in the fiber waveguide between the output end of a delivery fiber 38 capable of retro-reflecting the back reflected light.

[0043] The fiber laser system 30 is structured similarly to system 10 of FIG. 1 and includes laser source with gain block 12 which is configured with light emitters-doped active signal fiber 22 input, passive signal fibers 18 and 20 and passive output fiber 21 which are spliced at 24 to one another. The gain block 12 may be configured as a laser or amplifier, and for the illustration purposes it is configured as the fiber laser defined between HR FBG 26 and low reflectivity (LF) FBG 28 written in respective passive signal fibers 18 and 20.

[0044] The beam expander 25 is configured with a WD 32 realizing one of the main concepts of the disclosure: inducement of losses of light at a parasitic wavelength in fiber laser system 30. In particular, WD 32 of FIG. 4 increases losses of parasitic light in the parasitic resonator. As losses of the parasitic light increase in the resonator, a threshold for nonlinear effects, such as SRS, becomes higher which, in turn, leads to a higher and more stable output of system light and better processed surface 16 of the work piece.

[0045] The laser 12 is a single transverse mode (SM) Fabry-Perot oscillator operating in quasi-continuous regime (QCW) which emits signal light at a central signal λ.sub.1sl working wavelength of 1070 nm and optical intensities sufficient to exceed a threshold for generating parasitic light in feeding fiber 14. In the context of this disclosure, parasitic light is a result of Raman scattering; yet, as one of ordinary skill readily realizes, other non-linear effects causing generation of light at parasitic wavelengths are also considered here. It may also be configured to output system light in multiple transverse modes and operate in CW or pulsed regimes at central wavelengths different from 1070 nm which depend on the type of light emitting ions in active fiber 22.

[0046] As seen in FIG. 5, WD 32 is transparent to signal light at 1070±2 nm signal wavelength λ1. However, WD 32 can be configured to prevent external back reflection light at parasitic wavelengths λ3ebr and retro-reflect it back to surface 16, as indicated by λ3eprr. The WD 32 includes a dichroic mirror. As known to one of ordinary skill, the dichroic filter is configured with alternating layers of optical coatings having different refractive indices built up upon a glass substrate. The interfaces between the layers of different refractive index and high reflectivity index (up to 99%) produce phased reflections, selectively reinforcing certain wavelengths of light and interfering with other wavelengths. By controlling the thickness and number of the layers, the wavelength of the passband of the filter can be tuned and made as wide or narrow as desired. Because unwanted wavelengths are reflected rather than absorbed, dichroic filters do not absorb this unwanted energy during operation which otherwise leads to prohibitively high temperatures and eventual destruction of the filters.

[0047] The total light at parasitic wavelength in system 30 provided with WD 32 is a sum of two variables: internally reflected light from the WD and externally reflected light from system internal or external to the system obstacle, such surface 16. The share of the internal parasitic light λip is defined as R*D.sup.2/(2*L*A).sup.2, where D—diameter of delivery fiber, R—coefficient of reflection of WD at the parasitic wavelength, A—NA of laser radiation and L—distance at which laser light propagates over free space within the beam expander. The external light at the parasitic wavelength coupled in to the resonator has no effect on the internal light.

[0048] The share of externally generated parasitic back reflected light at parasitic wavelength λepbr is determined as R1*(1−R).sup.2, where R1 is back reflected light at parasitic wavelength coupled into the resonator. Accordingly, this share of light can be considerably reduced and even practically eliminated by adjusting the reflectivity R of WD 32. For example, with R=0.95, system 30 experiences a 400 fold increase in losses of light at parasitic wavelength compared to system 10 of FIG. 1 with the normal WD.

[0049] Returning to FIG. 4, WD 32 is coated on output surface 40 of the end connector, such as beam expander 25 and configured to process parasitic light that propagates in both forward and back reflected propagating directions. Alternatively, WD 32 may be a separate element with both of the opposite faces reflecting light at the parasitic wavelength in respective directions. Regardless of the particular configuration, WD 32 induces losses to the light at the parasitic wavelength in the parasitic resonator.

[0050] The WD 32 scatters internally generated light at parasitic wavelength λ3ip which propagates over free space in beam expander 25 in the forward propagating direction before it is incident on WD 32. Only an insignificant portion of the back reflected internally generated parasitic light λ3ipbr is coupled back into the core of feeding fiber 14, the lion's share of this light is scattered and does not enter the core of fiber 14, as indicated by blue arrows. As a result, WD 32 greatly minimizes propagation of the internally generated parasitic light towards surface 16 which remains largely unaffected by this light depending, of course, on the coefficient of reflection of WD 32.

[0051] The externally generated back reflected light at parasitic wavelength λ3epbr, i.e., a portion of internally generated parasitic light that managed to propagate through WD 32, is back reflected from surface 16 towards the waveguide of system 30. However, WD 32 retro-reflects back reflected light λ3eprr and thus thus minimizes the external parasitic light from coupling into the resonator. Without WD 32, if coupled into the resonator and amplified, the externally generated parasitic light may damage optical components of laser 12 in the back reflected direction and detrimentally affect surface 16 in the forward direction when it is retro-back reflected from any given formation in the waveguide.

[0052] As known, the generation of light, in this case parasitic light, in the laser occurs when the gain experienced by parasitic light in the resonator equals to the losses of this light. Accordingly, the additional losses of SRS lead to higher output powers. The following table illustrates the results continuing the above.

TABLE-US-00001 Power at Power at Power at beginning of beginning of beginning of Backreflection Backreflection Raman Raman Raman at 1070 nm at 1150 nm generation. generation. generation. WD into core of into core of Fiber length Fiber length Fiber length configuration fiber fiber 36 m 16 m 6 m Normal −15.5 dB −15.5 dB 430 W  690 W 1030 W Disclosed −15.5 dB −39.8 dB 625 W 1027 W 1500 W
As follows from the above-disclosed table, the threshold for Raman generation in the system with the disclosed WD occurs at powers approximately 1.4-2-times higher than in systems with the normal WD, provided the length of the delivery fiber is the same in both systems.

[0053] Assume that additional losses of 24.3 dB are introduced by the disclosed WD in system 30. In order to reach a threshold for lasing parasitic Raman light, its gain should be 24.3/2=12.3 dB higher than that of system 10 of FIG. 1. The latter is explained by the fact that the signal in the resonator is twice amplified, while the losses occur only once upon back reflection of radiation into the resonator.

[0054] The data in the above-disclosed table has been obtained by a system 45 of FIG. 6 which is similar to systems of respective FIGS. 1 and 4. In particular, the laser source includes passive fibers 18, 20 and active fiber 22 each with a 14 μm mode field diameter (MFD) for light at the parasitic wavelength. The source is configured with a Fabry-Perot resonator operating in a QCW regime at 1070 nm signal working wavelength and outputting a peak power of 1500 W. The output end of the system is provided with SM optical connector/beam expander 25. The test was conducted by alternating between beam expander 25 with the normal coating and disclosed WD 32, which is transparent to signal light at 1070 nm and reflects parasitic light in a spectral region between 1115 and 1150 nm. The occurrence of the lasing threshold for Raman generation is controlled by determining the spectrum of laser radiation and radiation power increase upstream from HR FBG 26, and saturation of the power in the power meter downstream from plate 34.

[0055] FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate the output peak power of the system as a function of the input current at diode pumps 38 at each length of delivery fiber 14 disclosed in the table and obtained by experimental system 45 of FIG. 6 during the above-disclosed test. The disclosed system with WD 32 is characterized by substantially higher peak powers.

[0056] FIG. 8 illustrates a Raman generation threshold as a function of the length of delivery fiber 14. Confirming the conceptual basis of the present disclosure, the disclosed system with WD 32 has a substantially higher threshold than that of system 10 of FIG. 1.

[0057] FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate respective spectra of the laser emission upstream from HR FBG 26 of system 45 of FIG. 6 at powers triggering the Raman generation, FIG. 9A represents system 45 with disclosed WD 32, while FIG. 9B represents system 45 provided with the normal WD and characterized the threshold at lower powers than that of FIG. 9A.

[0058] Based on the above disclosed test results, the loss difference in the resonator for Raman generation of system 45 with and without WD 32 clearly depends on the level of back reflected light at the parasitic wavelength and is equal to the difference between the external and internal variables, FIG. 10 is the graph of additional losses of the parasitic light in system 45 of FIG. 6 with beam expander 25 provided with WD 32 and with the normal WD.

[0059] FIG. 11 shows the difference in the maximal output power of the laser emission in the disclosed and prior art systems (Wods-Wopa), as a function of the level of back reflected parasitic light before the threshold for nonlinear effects is reached. The blue curve corresponds to the output the difference between these systems provided with a 4-meter long delivery fiber, whereas the red curve corresponds to the disclosed and prior art systems provided with a 10-meter long delivery fiber. Even at the miniscule back reflection of approximately 0.1% coupled into the core of the delivery fiber, the difference in max output powers is about 150-200 W, which is substantial compared to a nominal output power in a 1000-1500 W range.

[0060] In summary, based on the foregoing, the disclosed WD incurs substantial additional losses of the parasitic light in the resonator as a result effective suppression of the back reflected light at parasitic wavelength. The suppression of the back reflected light contributes to high thresholds for generation of parasitic light in the resonators. The difference in the output power of the disclosed and prior art systems before reaching the threshold for nonlinear effects growths as the back reflection of the parasitic light in the resonator increases (See FIG. 11). For SM QCW lasers, depending on the level of back reflection and length of the delivery fiber, this difference may as high as 750 W.

[0061] FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate a high power fiber laser system 50, 55, respectively, configured with a dichroic WD 56 such as a bulk filter that in principle can be used in laser system 30 of FIGS. 4-11. The WD 56 may be located in a fiber-to-fiber coupler 60 (FIG. 12) which provides optical communication between feeding fiber 14 and passive process fiber 62 guiding light towards the final destination. Alternatively WD 56 may mounted in a beam switch 54 (FIG. 13) typically distributing the radiation from the laser source to different light recipients through respective passive process fibers 62. In either case, feeding fiber 14 is coupled to the passive output fiber of laser source 12 and functions as gain medium for the parasitic light while dichroic WD 56 operates to reflect forward propagating parasitic light before it is coupled into process fiber/gain medium 62. The amount of parasitic light coupled into gain medium 62 depends on coefficient of reflection of WD 62, which may prevent of up to 99% of this light from entering the gain medium without drastically attenuating signal light.

[0062] Turning specifically to FIG. 12, high power fiber laser system 50 may be limited to laser 12 or have one or more amplifying cascades or gain blocks 52 each including at least an active fiber, but typically having a combination of active and two passive input and output, fibers. The system output light is coupled into feeding fiber 14 guiding it to a fiber-to-fiber coupler 60 which provides optical communication over free space between feeding and process fibers 14 and 62 respectively.

[0063] The system 50 further includes a bulk light guiding and beam shaping unit 58. The system output light is incident on WD 56 that, along with unit 58 and possibly other optical components, may be housed, for example, in a casing 60.

[0064] The signal and parasitic light propagate through process fiber 62 which functions as additional gain medium for the unwanted light. Even if system 50 is configured with slanted fiber gratings of U.S. Pat. No. 7,912,099, which is fully incorporated herein by reference, process fiber 62 alone or in combination with feeding fiber 14 constitutes gain medium for parasitic light, such as Raman. As can be understood from FIGS. 12 and 13, system 50 may have a delivery (feeding and process) fiber covering a few hundred meter distance and, with the shown configuration, typically operates at high power levels of tens to hundreds kW. The fiber length and optical power density are the system characteristics which either individually or in combination with each other create favorable conditions for generation of parasitic light even without the parasitic resonator, let alone its presence. The damage that the forward propagating emitted parasitic light may inflict on surface 16 can be irreparable. In addition, if used in the surface treating process, the detrimental role of a parasitic resonator and back reflected parasitic light cannot be ignored. Accordingly, inducing losses of parasitic light in the gain medium substantially increases the system output at signal light wavelength and improves the quality of surface processing.

[0065] Referring specifically to FIG. 13, the advantages of using WD 56 capable of minimizing Raman generation in gain medium 62 were tested in system 55 that instead of the fiber-to-fiber coupler has a beam switch 54. The system is operative to measure and control the spectrum of the output beam and its power realized by unit 66 spaced from a beam expander 68 which is coupled to the output end of process fiber 62. The latter receives laser generated light from feeding fiber 14 via beam switch 54 where the light propagates over free space while being guided by mirrors 70 mounted along with a collimator 72 and WD 56 in the housing of beam switch 54.

[0066] The laser system 55 is an experimental system for determining the reflected SRS suppression at the output of process fiber 62. The WD 56 is configured as a plate with a 50 mm diameter and 2.5 mm thickness which transmits signal light at 1050-1080 nm working wavelength and reflects parasitic light at 1129-1200 nm wavelength and has transmission as shown in FIG. 15. The WD 56 is mounted in the housing at a 1°-relative to the optical axis of the collimator to prevent influence of reflected SRS radiation on laser 12. Hence the reflected SRS beam is deflected at 3.5 mm from the output end of feeding fiber 14.

[0067] The experimental system 55 is configured to output 31 kW using a Ø 100 μm, 112 m long feeding fiber. Two tests, one with WD 56 and the other without it, resulted in respective two spectra as shown in FIG. 16. The suppression of the SRS level, i.e., the difference between these spectra is 27 dB at 1135 nm. Additional tests were conducted with the same system operating at different full output powers with and without WD 56. The results are presented in FIG. 17 and demonstrate that the installation of dichroic WD 56 allows increasing the output power at more than 30%.

[0068] Although the present disclosure has been described in terms of the disclosed example, numerous modifications and/or additions to the above-disclosed embodiments would be readily apparent to one skilled in the laser arts without departing however from the scope and spirit of the following claims.