Fiber laser pump reflector

Abstract

A pump reflector for efficiently recycling unabsorbed pump radiation in a diode-pumped fiber laser includes a core for guiding a laser beam, a pump cladding, and a tapered capillary tube. Pump radiation is adiabatically guided in the tapered capillary tube, which includes a mirror that is reflective for the pump radiation. The pump reflector may be packaged as a fiber component for co-propagating or counter-propagating fiber laser amplifiers and resonators.

Claims

1. A pump reflector for reflecting pump radiation, comprising: a core extending between a first end and a second end of the pump reflector, the core made of a glass; a pump cladding made of another glass, the pump cladding having a refractive index lower than a refractive index of the core; the pump cladding concentric with and enveloping the core, the pump cladding extending from the first end to the second end; and a capillary tube made of the same glass as the pump cladding, the capillary tube concentric with and surrounding the pump cladding, the capillary tube having a large end and a small end, the capillary tube tapered from a larger outside diameter at the large end to a smaller outside diameter at the small end, the small end of the capillary tube fused to the pump cladding at the first end, the large end being reflective for the pump radiation; wherein an annular space is defined between an outside diameter of the pump cladding and an inside diameter of the capillary tube at the large end of the capillary tube, the annular space being filled with air.

2. The pump reflector of claim 1, wherein pump radiation propagating into the pump reflector at the first end and propagating into the capillary tube, is reflected at the large end of the capillary tube, thereby being directed to propagate back towards and out of the pump reflector at the first end.

3. The pump reflector of claim 2, wherein the pump radiation propagates into the pump reflector at the first end and propagates out of the pump reflector at the first end with an efficiency of at least 80%.

4. The pump reflector of claim 1, wherein a laser beam propagating into the core at the first end, propagates within the core from the first end to the second end.

5. The pump reflector of claim 1, wherein an end-face of the large end of the capillary tube includes a thin-film dielectric coating for reflecting the pump radiation.

6. The pump reflector of claim 1, wherein an end-face of the large end of the capillary tube includes a metal coating for reflecting the pump radiation.

7. The pump reflector of claim 1, wherein the large end of the capillary tube includes a Bragg grating for reflecting the pump radiation.

8. The pump reflector of claim 1, wherein a mirror in the large end is reflective at a pump wavelength and transmitting at a laser wavelength.

9. The pump reflector of claim 8, wherein the pump radiation at the pump wavelength is unabsorbed pump radiation from a fiber laser.

10. The pump reflector of claim 1, wherein the capillary tube is adiabatically tapered for the pump radiation.

11. A method for making a pump reflector for reflecting pump radiation, comprising the steps of: cleaving or polishing a capillary tube to form an end-face; heating the capillary tube above its softening point in a region between ends thereof; tapering the heated capillary tube by pulling on the ends thereof to form a small segment, a tapered segment, and a large segment thereof; depositing a mirror coating on the end-face of the large segment; etching one end of a double-clad optical fiber partially through a pump cladding thereof, the partially-etched end having an outside diameter that is just smaller than an inside diameter of the small segment of the tapered capillary tube, the pump cladding and the capillary tube made of the same glass; inserting the partially-etched end of the optical fiber through the small segment of the tapered capillary tube; and heating at least a portion of the small segment of the tapered capillary tube to collapse and fuse the portion of the small segment onto the partially-etched end of the optical fiber; wherein an annular space is defined between the outside diameter of the partially-etched pump cladding and an inside diamete of the large segment of the capillary tube, the annular space being filled with air.

12. The method for making a pump reflector of claim 11, wherein the end-face of the large segment is polished flat.

13. The method for making a pump reflector of claim 11, wherein the mirror coating is a thin-film dielectric coating for reflecting the pump radiation.

14. The method for making a pump reflector of claim 11, wherein the mirror coating is a metal coating for reflecting the pump radiation.

15. The method for making a pump reflector of claim 11, wherein the mirror coating is reflective at a pump wavelength and transmitting at a laser wavelength.

16. The method for making a pump reflector of claim 11, further comprising the step of cleaving the fused portion of the small segment and the partially-etched end to make an end of the pump reflector that is ready for splicing.

17. The method for making a pump reflector of claim 11, further comprising the step of sheathing glass surfaces of the pump reflector in a protective coating.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, schematically illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment given below, serve to explain principles of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating one preferred embodiment of a pump reflector in accordance with the present invention, including a core, a pump cladding, a capillary tube, and a mirror, for reflecting unabsorbed pump radiation from an optical fiber back into the optical fiber, while a laser beam from the optical fiber propagates through the core.

(3) FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the pump reflector and the optical fiber of FIG. 1A, with shading indicating material guiding the pump radiation.

(4) FIGS. 1C and 1D are different cross-sectional views of the pump reflector and the optical fiber of FIG. 1A, shaded in the manner of FIG. 1B.

(5) FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view schematically illustrating further details of the pump reflector of FIG. 1A, with arrows indicating propagation of the pump radiation and the laser beam.

(6) FIG. 3 schematically illustrates one preferred embodiment of a fiber laser amplifier in accordance with the present invention, including an optically-active gain fiber, a pump laser, a seed laser, a pump combiner, and the pump reflector of FIG. 1A, in a co-propagating arrangement.

(7) FIG. 4 schematically illustrates another preferred embodiment of a fiber laser amplifier in accordance with the present invention, similar to the fiber laser amplifier of FIG. 3, in a counter-propagating arrangement.

(8) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the pump reflector and the optical fiber of FIG. 1A, which indicates dimensions of the pump reflector.

(9) FIG. 6 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method for making the pump reflector of FIG. 1A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(10) Referring now to the drawings, wherein like components are designated by like numerals, FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating one preferred embodiment 10 of a pump reflector in accordance with the present invention. Pump reflector 10 comprises a core 12, a pump cladding 14 that envelopes core 12, and a capillary tube 16 that surrounds pump cladding 14. Pump cladding 14 and capillary tube 16 are concentrically arranged around core 12. Core 12, pump cladding 14, and capillary tube 16 are all preferably made of glasses to enable high-power operation. For example, the core, the pump cladding, and the capillary tube are made of silica or fluoride glasses. Pump cladding 14 and capillary tube 16 are preferably made of the same glass. Core 12 has a higher refractive index than pump cladding 14 and capillary tube 16. Core 12 and pump cladding 14 extend along the whole length of the pump reflector, from a first end 18 to a second end 20.

(11) Capillary tube 16 has large segment at a large end, a small segment at an opposite small end, and a tapered segment therebetween. This taper is formed by heating and stretching a uniform capillary tube, which approximately maintains the aspect ratio of outside diameter to inside diameter along the whole length of the tapered capillary tube. The small segment of capillary tube 16 is fused to pump cladding 14 at first end 18. A fused interface is indicated by a broken line on the drawing. However, melting while fusing erases any discontinuity such that the pump cladding and capillary tube become essentially one piece of glass.

(12) Pump reflector 10 is depicted spliced to an optical fiber 22, which by way of example, could be a gain fiber in a fiber laser. The pump reflector and the optical fiber are joined by a splice 24 at first end 18. Here, optical fiber 22 has a core that is the same diameter as core 12 and a pump cladding that is the same outside diameter as pump reflector 10 at first end 18, which is preferred for high-power operation. Any differences in these dimensions would cause power losses and unwanted heating around splice 24. Therefore, capillary tube 16 is tapered to match the outside diameter of the small segment to the outside diameter of the pump cladding of optical fiber 22. Similarly, any lateral misalignment between the cores and pump claddings of the pump reflector and the optical fiber would cause power loss and unwanted heating.

(13) Here, pump cladding 14 is the pump cladding of another optical fiber that has been etched at first end 18 to have a uniform outside diameter that is slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the small segment of capillary tube 16 prior to fusing. The opposite end of this other fiber becomes the second end of pump reflector 10. The transition between the etched and unetched portions of this fiber could be tapered as depicted or abrupt. An outer coating 26 having a lower refractive index than pump cladding 14 provides mechanical and chemical protection to the unetched portion. The unetched portion of the pump reflector that is sheathed in outer coating 26 has been foreshortened for purposes of illustration. However, this portion would have a length determined by practical considerations. For example, a short length sufficient to allow splicing to another optical component or a long length sufficient to deliver an output laser beam to an application. It should be noted, here, that the pump cladding of such a double-clad fiber is essentially a core for pump radiation and is sometime referred to as a pump core by practitioners of the art.

(14) The large segment of capillary tube 16 includes a mirror 28 that is reflective to pump radiation. Here, mirror 28 is depicted as a reflective coating on an end-face of the large segment. By way of example, this coating could be a metal coating or a thin-film dielectric coating. Alternatively, a Bragg grating could be incorporated into the large segment. A thin-film dielectric coating is preferred for high-power operation because these coatings can be designed and deposited to have high optical-damage thresholds. An advantage of pump reflector 10 having capillary tube 16 is that mirror 28 has a large area compared to the cross sectional area of a pump cladding in a typical optical fiber, which reduces the intensity of incident unabsorbed pump radiation. A larger capillary tube 16 can be selected to further reduce this intensity. For example, the pump reflector could be tolerant of very high incident powers caused by the pump radiation being deliberately or accidently tuned away from an absorbing wavelength of a gain fiber.

(15) FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of pump reflector 10 and optical fiber 22, identical to FIG. 1A. Pump cladding 14, capillary tube 16, and the pump cladding of optical fiber 22 are all shaded in FIG. 1B. As discussed above, the shaded material preferably has the same composition and is essentially one piece of glass after the fusing to make pump reflector 10 and the splicing of pump reflector 10 to optical fiber 22. Guided pump radiation can therefore propagate through this shaded material with minimal losses. FIGS. 1C and 1D are different cross-sectional views in the planes indicated on FIG. 1B, with the same elements shaded. FIGS. 1C and 1D illustrate the concentric construction of the pump reflector. An annular space is defined between an outside diameter of the pump cladding and an inside diameter of the capillary tube at the large end of the capillary tube. Conveniently, air would fill this annular space, but it could be filled with another material having a lower refractive index than the pump cladding and the capillary tube.

(16) Pump reflector 10 is depicted in FIGS. 1A-1D having the same dimensions at second end 20 as optical fiber 22. While in some applications this fiber commonality could be useful, in other applications it may be beneficial to have claddings that are larger or smaller in diameter at second end 20. The second end can be designed accordingly and pump cladding 14 fabricated from an optical fiber having the required dimensions.

(17) FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view schematically illustrating further details near first end 18 of pump reflector 10 in FIG. 1A. The solid arrows indicate propagation of a laser beam through core 12. The open arrows indicate propagation of pump radiation. Unabsorbed pump radiation propagates out of optical fiber 22, through splice 24, and into pump reflector 10. Most of the unabsorbed pump radiation is guided into capillary tube 16, is reflected by mirror 28 (not depicted), and is then guided back through splice 24. This larger portion of the unabsorbed pump radiation is returned to optical fiber 22. A smaller portion of the unabsorbed pump radiation is guided into pump cladding 14 and cannot be returned to optical fiber 22. This smaller portion is depicted as a broken line and can be determined from dimensions of the pump reflector, as described below.

(18) FIG. 3 schematically illustrates one preferred embodiment 50 of a fiber laser amplifier in accordance with the present invention. Fiber laser amplifier 50 comprises an optically-active gain fiber 52, a pump laser 54 that provides pump radiation, a seed laser 56 that provides a laser beam to be amplified, a pump combiner 58 for guiding both the pump radiation and the laser beam into gain fiber 52, and pump reflector 10. These elements are connected as shown by optical fiber. Again, solid arrows indicate propagation of the laser beam and open arrows indicate propagation of the pump radiation. Fiber laser amplifier 50 is a co-propagating arrangement, having the pump radiation and the laser beam initially propagating in the same direction into gain fiber 52. The amplified laser beam, which emerges from pump reflector 10, may be further amplified or directed to an application. The pump reflector returns unabsorbed pump radiation, after a first pass through the gain fiber, back into the gain fiber for a second pass. Incorporating the pump reflector into the fiber laser amplifier improves its efficiency. It also enables the gain fiber to be shorter and therefore enables higher-power operation before being limited by non-linear processes, transverse mode instabilities, or self-absorption.

(19) FIG. 4 schematically illustrates another preferred embodiment 70 of a fiber laser amplifier in accordance with the present invention. Fiber laser amplifier 70 has the same components as fiber laser amplifier 50, but in a counter-propagating arrangement. Pump radiation is directed into gain fiber 52 through pump combiner 58. The laser beam to be amplified is directed into gain fiber 52 through pump reflector 10. The pump radiation and the laser beam thereby initially propagating in opposite directions into the gain fiber. The amplified laser beam emerges from pump combiner 58. The pump reflector again returns unabsorbed pump radiation, after a first pass through the gain fiber, back into the gain fiber for a second pass. Incorporating the pump reflector into fiber laser amplifier 70 provides the same advantages as incorporating it into fiber laser amplifier 50.

(20) Although embodiments 50 and 70 of FIGS. 3 and 4 are fiber laser amplifiers, the inventive pump reflector could be incorporated in a fiber laser resonator in the same manner. Equivalent laser resonators would omit seed laser 56, but would include a high-reflecting mirror and an output-coupling mirror at opposite ends of gain fiber 52. These mirrors define the fiber laser resonator. Typically, these resonator mirrors would be fiber Bragg gratings.

(21) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of pump reflector 10 and optical fiber 22, identical to FIG. 1A, which indicates dimensions of the pump reflector. D.sub.1 is the diameter of the small segment of capillary tube 16, D.sub.2 is the outside diameter of the etched portion of pump cladding 14, D.sub.3 is the inside diameter of the large segment of capillary tube 16, D.sub.4 is the outside diameter of the large segment of capillary tube 16, D.sub.5 is the diameter of the unetched portion of pump cladding 14, and D.sub.6 is the diameter of core 12. L.sub.1 is the length of the small segment of capillary tube 16, L.sub.2 is the length of the tapered segment of capillary tube 16, L.sub.3 is the length of the large segment of capillary tube 16, L.sub.4 is the distance between the capillary tube and the taper of pump cladding 14, L.sub.5 is the length of the taper between the etched and unetched portions of pump cladding 14, and T is the thickness of the capillary tube wall.

(22) An exemplary pump reflector for a fiber laser that has a ytterbium-doped gain fiber energized by pump radiation having a wavelength of about 976 nanometers (nm) and producing amplified laser radiation having a wavelength of about 1070 nm has the following dimensions: diameter D.sub.1 is about 250 micrometers (m), diameter D.sub.2 is about 80 m, diameter D.sub.3 is about 250 m, diameter D.sub.4 is about 750 m, diameter D.sub.5 is about 250 m, diameter D.sub.6 is about 25 m, length L.sub.2 is about 20 millimeters (mm), and thickness T is about 250 m. Other dimensions are less critical for the operation of the pump reflector, but some practical ranges are: length L.sub.1 is from about 0.1 mm to about 50 mm, length L.sub.3 is from about 0 mm to about 50 mm, and length L.sub.5 is from about 0 mm to about 10 mm. It should be noted that, if necessary, pump cladding 14 could be fabricated without a taper between the etched and unetched portions.

(23) The etched portion of pump cladding 14 is depicted protruding from capillary tube 16. A practical range for distance L.sub.4 is from about 0 to about 50 mm. However, if diameter D.sub.3 is sufficiently large, it is possible to recess the etched portion within the capillary tube. This is a design option for the exemplary pump reflector. By making diameter D.sub.5 slightly smaller than diameter D.sub.3 and by partially recessing the unetched portion of the pump cladding into the capillary tube, the capillary tube can provide mechanical support for the pump cladding.

(24) One of skill in the art would recognize that length L.sub.2 could be any length that provides for adiabatic propagation of pump radiation between the small and large ends of capillary tube 16. A practical range for length L.sub.2 is from about 2 mm to about 50 mm. A practical range for diameter D.sub.1 is from about 100 m to about 600 m. The lower bound of about 100 m could be for splicing to a small single-mode optical fiber. The upper bound is around the maximum diameter for a flexible silica optical fiber. One of skill in the art would recognize that the pump reflector could be designed for use with a larger rod fiber, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. As discussed above, diameter D.sub.5 can be selected according to the requirements of an application, but otherwise with the same considerations as for selecting D.sub.1.

(25) A practical lower bound for diameter D.sub.2 is about 35 m. Diameter D.sub.3 must be larger than D.sub.2. Diameter D.sub.4 is determined by selection of diameter D.sub.2 and thickness T. An advantage of pump reflector 10 is that thickness T can be increased as needed to reduce the intensity of unabsorbed pump radiation on mirror 28, to below an optical-damage threshold of a mirror coating. A practical range for thickness T is from about 100 m to about 1000 m. However, it is possible to fabricate the pump reflector with a capillary tube thicker than about 1000 m using the method described below.

(26) Core diameter D.sub.6 is selected to match the core diameter of optical fiber 22. A typical range for an industrial fiber laser is from about 6 m to about 40 m. Pump reflector 10 could have a core 12 containing optical active ions or could be a passive component in a laser. For high-power applications, it may be preferable to have an updoped core 12, to reduce heat load on the pump reflector itself.

(27) The overall reflectivity R of pump reflector 10 for unabsorbed pump radiation propagating out of optical fiber 22 can be calculated. As discussed above, a larger portion of the unabsorbed pump radiation is returned to optical fiber 22 after being reflected by mirror 28, which has a reflectivity of R.sub.M at the wavelength of the pump radiation. Using thin-film coating technology, it is not difficult to fabricate a mirror 28 having a reflectivity R.sub.M approaching 100%. A smaller portion that is guided into pump cladding 14 is lost and cannot be returned. These losses are the largest contributions to overall reflectivity R, which is therefore approximately:

(28) $\begin{array}{cc}R=\left(1-\frac{D_2^2}{D_1^2}\right)R_M.& \left(1\right)\end{array}$

(29) For the exemplary pump reflector described above, a reflectivity R.sub.M of about 95% would produce an overall reflectivity R of about 85%. It should be straight-forward to achieve an overall reflectivity of at least 80% for pump reflector 10, constructed as described above and fabricated as described below. A reflectivity in this range means that the inventive pump reflector effectively halves the length of gain fiber required to substantially absorb the pump radiation provided by a pump laser. For example, the length of gain fiber required to absorb 10 dB of the pump radiation.

(30) The coating of mirror 28 could also be designed to have a low reflectivity at the wavelength of the laser beam. Any reflection of the laser beam is usually undesirable in a fiber laser. In a fiber laser resonator, such reflections cause unstable operation. In a fiber laser amplifier, a reflected beam can be amplified and cause permanent optical damage.

(31) FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a preferred embodiment 80 of a method for making pump reflector 10 in accordance with the present invention. A capillary tube is selected and cleaved or polished to form an end-face that will later be coated. The capillary tube is heated above a softening point in a region between its ends and then tapered by pulling on the ends while simultaneously moving the heat source. The tapered capillary tube has an hourglass shape and a waist located in the region that was heated. There is (in order) a small segment, a tapered segment, and a large segment between the waist and the end-face. A mirror coating is deposited onto the end-face of the large segment. By way of example, a thin-film dielectric coating deposited, which is reflective at a pump wavelength and is transmitting at a laser wavelength. Coatings can be deposited onto a plurality of tapered capillary tubes in batch process.

(32) A double-clad optical fiber is selected. One end thereof is stripped of outer cladding and then etched partially through the pump cladding. The pump cladding is partially-etched to a diameter that is just smaller than an inside diameter of the small segment of the tapered capillary tube. The partially-etched end is inserted through the small segment of the tapered capillary tube and held while at least a portion of the small segment is heated, collapsed, and fused onto the partially-etched pump cladding. The fused portion of the small segment and partially-etched end are cleaved to make an end that is ready for splicing. The finished pump reflector would be spliced onto an optical fiber in a fiber-laser resonator or amplifier.

(33) Glass surfaces of the pump reflector could be sheathed in a protective coating, which could be the same material as the outer coating. The pump reflector could be fixedly attached to a baseplate or other supportive structure to make it mechanically robust. The pump reflector could be packaged as a fiber component. An unpackaged or packaged pump reflector could be attached or potted to a cooling plate to provide additional thermal resilience.

(34) The present invention is described above in terms of a preferred embodiment and other embodiments. The invention is not limited, however, to the embodiments described and depicted herein. Rather, the invention is limited only by the claims appended hereto.