High power, high efficiency diode pumped Raman fiber laser

Abstract

We demonstrate a high power high efficiency Raman fiber laser pumped directly by a laser diode module at 976 nm. 80 Watts of CW power were obtained at a wavelength of 1020 nm with an optical-to-optical efficiency of 53%. When working quasi-CW, at a duty cycle of 30%, 85 W of peak power was produced with an efficiency of 60%. A commercial graded-index (GRIN) core fiber acts as the Raman fiber in a power oscillator configuration, which includes spectral selection to prevent generation of the 2nd Stokes. In addition, significant brightness enhancement of the pump beam is attained due to the Raman gain distribution profile in the GRIN fiber. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest power Raman fiber laser directly pumped by laser diodes, which also exhibits a record efficiency for such a laser. In addition, it is the highest power Raman fiber laser (regardless of pumping source) demonstrated based on a GRIN fiber.