High-brightness, fiber-coupled pump modules in fiber laser applications

D. M. Hemenway; Wolfram Urbanek; Kylan Hoener; Keith W. Kennedy; Ling Bao; David Dawson; Emily S. Cragerud; David Balsley; Gary Burkholder; Mitch Reynolds; Kirk Price; Jim Haden; Manoj Kanskar; Dahv A. Kliner

doi:10.1117/12.2040364

7 March 2014 High-brightness, fiber-coupled pump modules in fiber laser applications

D. M. Hemenway, Wolfram Urbanek, Kylan Hoener, Keith W. Kennedy, Ling Bao, David Dawson, Emily S. Cragerud, David Balsley, Gary Burkholder, Mitch Reynolds, Kirk Price, Jim Haden, Manoj Kanskar, Dahv A. Kliner

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8961, Fiber Lasers XI: Technology, Systems, and Applications; 89611V (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2040364
Event: SPIE LASE, 2014, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

High-power, high-brightness, fiber-coupled pump modules enable high-performance industrial fiber lasers with simple system architectures, multi-kW output powers, excellent beam quality, unsurpassed reliability, and low initial and operating costs. We report commercially available (element™), single-emitter-based, 9xx nm pump sources with powers up to 130 W in a 105 μm fiber and 250 W in a 200 μm fiber. This combination of high power and high brightness translates into improved fiber laser performance, e.g., simultaneously achieving high nonlinear thresholds and excellent beam quality at kW power levels. Wavelength-stabilized, 976 nm versions of these pumps are available for applications requiring minimization of the gain-fiber length (e.g., generation of high-peak-power pulses). Recent prototypes have achieved output powers up to 300 W in a 200 μm fiber. Extensive environmental and life testing at both the chip and module level under accelerated and real-world operating conditions have demonstrated extremely high reliability, with innovative designs having eliminated package-induced-failure mechanisms. Finally, we report integrated Pump Modules that provide < 1.6 kW of fiber-coupled power conveniently formatted for fiber-laser pumping or direct-diode applications; these 19” rack-mountable, 2U units combine the outputs of up to 14 elements™ using fused-fiber combiners, and they include high-efficiency diode drivers and safety sensors.

Citation Download Citation

D. M. Hemenway, Wolfram Urbanek, Kylan Hoener, Keith W. Kennedy, Ling Bao, David Dawson, Emily S. Cragerud, David Balsley, Gary Burkholder, Mitch Reynolds, Kirk Price, Jim Haden, Manoj Kanskar, and Dahv A. Kliner "High-brightness, fiber-coupled pump modules in fiber laser applications", Proc. SPIE 8961, Fiber Lasers XI: Technology, Systems, and Applications, 89611V (7 March 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2040364

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