Highly scalable femtosecond coherent beam combining demonstrated with 19 fibers.

Coherent beam combining in the femtosecond regime of a record number of 19 fibers is demonstrated. The interferometric phase measurement technique, particularly well suited to phase-lock a very large number of fibers, is successfully demonstrated in the femtosecond regime. A servo loop is implemented to control piezoelectric fiber stretchers for both phase and delay variation compensation. The residual phase errors are below λ/60 rms. Nearly 50% of the total energy is contained in the far-field central lobe. After compression, we obtain a combined pulse width of 300 fs identical to the master oscillator pulse width.

Collective phase measurement of an array of fiber lasers by quadriwave lateral shearing interferometry for coherent beam combining.

We present a new configuration of quadriwave lateral shearing interferometer dedicated to phase detection for beam-combining purposes. Assuming that the fibers are disposed in a matrix arrangement, our scheme gives direct access to the phase step between adjacent fibers in two dimensions. Experimentally recorded interferograms are made only of two-wave interference fringes that scroll as the phase evolves in the fibers. This simplicity allows fast treatment by the spatial demodulation process, and the phase map from the fibers can be estimated in real time. No external reference is required, and the technique is fully compatible with a high number of fibers.

Nonlinear spectroscopic properties of Yb3+-doped sesquioxides Lu2O3 and Sc2O3.

We report on the measurements of near-UV excited-state absorption (ESA) spectra and refractive index changes (RICs) in the two ytterbium doped laser crystals Yb:Lu2O3 and Yb:Sc2O3. ESA is assigned to ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) absorption transitions and RICs to the polarizability changes experienced by the Yb3+ ions due to these strong electric-dipole allowed absorption bands.

Phase and amplitude control of a multimode LMA fiber beam by use of digital holography.

Amplitude and phase control of the output beam of a multimode LMA fiber supporting 4 modes is demonstrated by digital holography in both continuous and ns pulsed regimes at 1064 nm. Our system allows dynamic compensation of beam pointing instabilities, external perturbations introducing low order aberrations and fluctuations of the relative phase of the modes supported by the fiber.

Coherent fiber combining by digital holography.

We present an original technique for coherent beam combining of an array of fiber amplifiers based on self-adaptive digital holography. In this method, the phase errors between the fibers of the array are compensated by using the diffracted phase-conjugated -1 order of a digital hologram. The proposed method is compatible with a large number of fibers and simply implemented with a CCD detector matrix and a spatial light modulator. This concept is analyzed and experimentally demonstrated with three polarization-maintaining passive fibers at 1.06 microm.

Assessment of space radiation effects on solid-state Brillouin phase conjugate mirrors.

Optical phase conjugation (OPC) provides a means of dynamical correction of thermally induced aberrations in high-power laser systems. This method is particularly interesting for space applications because it is passive, mechanically simple, and allows for improved beam quality with only a small loss in power. To exploit it one has to assess the effect of the space environment, and in particular of space radiation, on the properties of the materials that are suitable for phase-conjugating mirrors (PCMs). We have investigated both materials providing OPC via stimulated Brillouin scattering and actual PCMs with regard to their radiation hardness. Proton- and gamma-irradiated PCMs in the form of 30-cm long silica rods and 5-cm long TeO(2) crystals were tested in a single frequency flash-lamp pumped Nd:YAG system delivering up to 220 mJ pulses with a 20 ns duration at a 50 Hz repetition rate. The difference in the reflectivity between irradiated and nonirradiated components was found to be within the measurement errors. Gamma irradiation of TeO(2) resulted in a decrease of the laser-induced damage threshold, while for silica possible changes were below the detection limit. Our results show that synthetic fused silica, and Lithosil in particular, can be used for generating the OPC in laser systems operating in a space radiation environment.

High energy, single-mode, narrow-linewidth fiber laser source using stimulated Brillouin scattering beam cleanup.

We propose an original nonlinear beam cleaning fiber laser architecture to obtain high energy pulses with a good beam quality and a narrow linewidth. The output beam of a large core Er:Yb co-doped multimode fiber amplifier (M(2) approximately 6, 220 microJ) is converted into a near diffraction limited beam (M(2) = 1.6) through a stimulated Brillouin scattering injection seeded beam cleanup process. We report in this experiment a multimode to single mode conversion efficiency of 50% while preserving the master oscillator linewidth.

Beam cleanup in a self-aligned gradient-index Brillouin cavity for high-power multimode fiber amplifiers.

We propose a beam cleanup setup to convert a multimode beam into a single-mode beam by use of the Brillouin effect in a multimode gradient-index (GI) fiber. Phase conjugation and beam cleanup regimes in highly multimode fibers are discussed, and the self-aligned GI fiber Brillouin cavity is presented. We report a preliminary conversion from an M2=6.5 beam into an M2=1.3 beam with 31% efficiency.

Diffraction-limited polarized emission from a multimode ytterbium fiber amplifier after a nonlinear beam converter.

The multimode and depolarized output beam of a highly multimode diode-pumped Yb-doped fiber amplifier is converted to a diffraction-limited, linearly polarized beam by a self-referencing two-wave-mixing process in an infrared-sensitive photorefractive crystal (Rh:BaTiO3). As much as 11.6 W of single-mode output is achieved with a 78% multimode-to-single-mode photorefractive conversion efficiency.

Spatial mode control of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser by an intracavity liquid-crystal light valve.

We present a new beam-shaping technique with an intracavity optically addressed liquid-crystal spatial light modulator. The Nd:YAG resonator is able to deliver beams with various spatial profiles such as flat-topped super-Gaussian and square-shaped beams.

Spatial mode control of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser by use of an intracavity holographic phase plate.

We present a new method of realizing phase plates by phase-volume holography on a photopolymer film. We implement such a component in a diode-pumped Nd:YAG oscillator to control the output spatial beam profile. Flattop super-Gaussian and square-shaped beams are obtained.

In-line Nd:YAG resonator using self-pumped phase conjugation in Cr(4+):YAG.

We report the operation of an in-line Nd:YAG resonator using self-pumped phase conjugation in Cr(4+): YAG at lambda=1.064microm in the nanosecond regime. The output beam has a high-quality diffraction-limited TEM(00) mode and a pulse shape of ~15ns , showing the self- Q -switching ability of the resonator. A maximum extraction of 18mJ and a maximum reflectivity of 2.0 are measured. A transient model provides insight into the energy characteristics and the dynamics of such an in-line resonator.

Self-pumped phase-conjugate diode-pumped Nd:YAG loop resonator.

We demonstrate a self-pumped phase-conjugate diode-pumped Nd:YAG loop resonator. In the injected configuration a maximum phase-conjugate reflectivity of 32 is obtained. The output beam has a pulse shape of ~30 ns , which shows the self- Q -switching ability of the resonator. By use of a low-refractive-output coupler, a self-starting version was produced. The resonator operated in a stable diffraction-limited TEM(00) mode, even with severe intracavity phase aberrations. A maximum energy of 5.5 mJ (2.4% of the energy of the high-brightness stacks that was incident upon the Nd:YAG crystals) in a 20-ns single-longitudinal-mode pulse was measured.

Rhodium-Doped Barium Titanate Phase-Conjugate Mirror for an All-Solid-State, High-Repetition-Rate, Diode-Pumped Nd:YAG Master-Oscillator Power Amplifier Laser.

Self-pumped phase conjugation in infrared-sensitive photorefractive rhodium-doped barium titanate (Rh:BaTiO(3)) is investigated with a kilohertz-repetition-rate, diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser. We also demonstrate the operation of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG master-oscillator power-amplifier system with such a compact and solid-state phase-conjugate mirror for wave-front restoration. We obtain near-diffraction-limited output pulses of 20-mJ energy at a repetition rate of 200 Hz and a 1-min response time of the phase-conjugate mirror. The performances of the Rh:BaTiO(3) crystal are compared with those obtained with a conventional Brillouin mirror.

Nd:YAG master-oscillator power amplifier with a rhodium-doped BaTiO(3) self-pumped phase-conjugate mirror.

We investigate Nd:YAG master-oscillator power amplifier arrangements with an infrared-sensitive rhodium-doped BaTiO(3) photorefractive phase-conjugate mirror. In these setups the phase-conjugate mirror is simple to implement, compact, passive, and completely self-contained. We demonstrate a reasonable extraction efficiency (~50%), response times in the range of several minutes with our experimental conditions and an excellent ability of the phase-conjugate mirror to compensate for severe phase aberrations.

Self-pumped phase conjugation in rhodium-doped BaTiO(3) with 1.06-microm nanosecond pulses.

Efficient internal-loop self-pumped phase conjugation is demonstrated in a photorefractive rhodium-doped barium titanate crystal by repetitively pulsed nanosecond pulses from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser operating at 1.06 microm . Phase-conjugate reflectivities as high as 32% are obtained with a response time of ~5 min at a repetition rate of 30 Hz. The ability of the phase conjugator to correct severe phase distortions is also demonstrated.

Large-field-of-view, high-gain, compact diode-pumped Nd:YAG amplifier.

We present a compact diode-end-pumped Nd:YAG amplifier with a FWHM angular bandwidth of 100 degrees . Using a 1.064-microm probe beam, we measured a 2-pass gain of 23 (13.6dB) and a 4-pass gain of 420 (26.2dB). High-gain image amplification with such a laser amplifier is also demonstrated.

Signal-beam amplification by two-wave mixing in a liquid-crystal light valve.

A new two-wave-mixing interaction with gain through a Bi(12)SiO(20) liquid-crystal light valve is presented. We show that the diffraction of a pump beam in the direction of a weak signal leads to a net amplification of the signal beam, with no need for a phase shift between the interference pattern and the induced index grating. A two-wave-mixing gain of 10 and a 150-ms response time are obtained with a 8.8-microm -thick liquid-crystal layer, a total intensity of the interacting beams of only 200 muW/cm(2), and an ac external voltage of +/-6 V . Image amplification is also demonstrated.

Spatial beam cleanup of a Nd:YAG laser operating at 1.06 mum with two-wave mixing in Rh:BaTiO(3).

Spatial beam cleanup of a distorted cw Nd:YAG laser operating at lambda = 1.06 mum is demonstrated with two-wave mixing in an infrared-sensitive rhodium-doped barium titanate crystal. Because of the high coupling gain of our crystal, high efficiencies are achieved in agreement with the standard photorefractive model.

Phase conjugation in Cr(4+):YAG at 1.06 microm.

Phase conjugation in a Cr(4+):YAG saturable absorber by degenerate four-wave mixing with nanosecond pulses at lambda = 1.06 mu m is demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. An experimental phase-conjugate energy ref lectivity of ~2% and an overall eff iciency of ~0.4% are achieved. Because of the presence of absorbing dipoles oriented along specif ic directions, it is shown that the phase-conjugated beam can be made orthogonally polarized relative to the signal beam or to both pump beams with almost no reduction of the energy reflectivity.