Numerical Simulation of High-Power Optical Amplifiers at 2.3 µm Based on a Special Multicore Fiber

Abstract

The development of high-power laser sources at 2.3 µm is highly demanded for remote sensing and other applications. However, this wavelength is poorly covered by present-day lasers. To obtain 100 W class high-power radiation at 2.3 μm, we propose to use simultaneously cascade laser amplification at 2 and 2.3 µm with a commercially available diode pump at 793 nm and stimulated Raman scattering between the amplified signal waves in a special zinc–tellurite multicore fiber with ten trivalent-thulium-ion-doped cores arranged in a ring. We demonstrate numerically that the use of an out-of-phase supermode (with spatial phases differing by π in neighboring cores) can provide up to 50% efficiency conversion from the 793 nm pump to the 2.3 µm wave.

Keywords

• multicore fiber
• tellurite glass fiber
• stimulated Raman scattering (SRS)
• Raman gain
• trivalent thulium ions
• laser amplification