Photonics (Oct 2023)

132 W 132 μJ Femtosecond Pulses from a Coherently Combined System of Two Rod-Type Photonic Crystal Fibers

  • Gehui Xie,
  • Daping Luo,
  • Zhenqiang Tang,
  • Zejiang Deng,
  • Lian Zhou,
  • Jiayi Pan,
  • Chenglin Gu,
  • Can Li,
  • Yang Liu,
  • Jinyong Leng,
  • Pu Zhou,
  • Wenxue Li

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics10101138
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 10
p. 1138

Abstract

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A coherent beam combination has the potential to revolutionize high-peak-power laser systems. However, achieving a high-average-power ultrashort pulse is difficult due to the accumulation of a nonlinear phase and gain narrowing. In this article, we demonstrate a coherent beam combination system that does not require pulse shaping or a spectral modulator. By optimizing the gain of each amplifier and using highly integrated optical components, we reduce the limitations caused by the accumulation of a nonlinear phase and gain narrowing. In our study, we used a polarization beam splitter to combine the pulses from two rod-type photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) in a Mach–Zehnder-type interferometer. A piezo-mounted mirror controlled with a Hänsch–Couillaud polarization detecting system was used to stabilize active phase locking. The system produces 165 W with a 91.6% combining efficiency compared to 90 W per amplifier. Compressed pulses with an energy of 132 µJ and Gaussian fitting pulse duration of 330 fs were achieved.

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