We report on femtosecond pulse combining with up to four parallel chirped-pulse fiber amplifier channels. Active phase locking is implemented using the LOCSET (Locking of Optical Coherence by Single-detector Electronic-frequency Tagging) single detector feedback technique, resulting in 96.4%, 94.0%, and 93.9% relative combining efficiency with two, three, and four channels respectively. Theoretical and experimental analysis of combining efficiency dependence on amplitude and phase noise shows convergence to a fixed value with increasing number of channels, indicating that multi-channel pulse combining with LOCSET feedback should be scalable to very large numbers of channels.

© 2012 OSA

1. D. J. Richardson, J. Nilsson, and W. A. Clarkson, “High power fiber lasers: current status and future perspectives [Invited],” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B27(11), B63–B92 (2010). [CrossRef]
2. T. Eidam, S. Hanf, E. Seise, T. V. Andersen, T. Gabler, C. Wirth, T. Schreiber, J. Limpert, and A. Tünnermann, “Femtosecond fiber CPA system emitting 830 W average output power,” Opt. Lett.35(2), 94–96 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
3. J. Limpert, F. Roser, D. N. Schimpf, E. Seise, T. Eidam, S. Hädrich, J. Rothhardt, C. J. Misas, and A. Tünnermann, “High repetition rate gigawatt peak power fiber laser systems: challenges, design, and experiment,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.15(1), 159–169 (2009). [CrossRef]
4. T. Schreiber, D. Schimpf, D. Müller, F. Röser, J. Limpert, and A. Tünnermann, “Influence of pulse shape in self-phase-modulation-limited chirped pulse fiber amplifier systems,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B24(8), 1809–1814 (2007). [CrossRef]
5. T. Y. Fan, “Laser beam combining for high-power, high-radiance sources,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.11(3), 567–577 (2005). [CrossRef]
6. G. D. Goodno, C. P. Asman, J. Anderegg, S. Brosnan, E. C. Cheung, D. Hammons, H. Injeyan, H. Komine, W. H. Long, M. McClellan, S. J. McNaught, S. Redmond, R. Simpson, J. Sollee, M. Weber, S. B. Weiss, and M. Wickham, “Brightness-scaling potential of actively phase-locked solid-state laser arrays,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.13(3), 460–472 (2007). [CrossRef]
7. J. Anderegg, S. Brosnan, M. Weber, H. Komine, and M. Wickham, “8-W coherently phased 4-element fiber array,” Proc. SPIE4974, 1–6 (2003), doi:. [CrossRef]
8. E. C. Cheung, M. Weber, and R. R. Rice, “Phase locking of a pulsed fiber amplifier,” in Advanced Solid-State Photonics, OSA Technical Digest Series (CD) (Optical Society of America, 2008), paper WA2.
9. E. Seise, A. Klenke, J. Limpert, and A. Tünnermann, “Coherent addition of fiber-amplified ultrashort laser pulses,” Opt. Express18(26), 27827–27835 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
10. L. Daniault, M. Hanna, L. Lombard, Y. Zaouter, E. Mottay, D. Goular, P. Bourdon, F. Druon, and P. Georges, “Coherent beam combining of two femtosecond fiber chirped-pulse amplifiers,” Opt. Lett.36(5), 621–623 (2011). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
11. G. J. Swanson, J. R. Leger, and M. Holz, “Aperture filling of phase-locked laser arrays,” Opt. Lett.12(4), 245–247 (1987). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
12. M. Tempus, W. Luthy, and H. P. Weber, “Coherent recombination of laser beams with interferometrical phase control,” Appl. Phys., B Photophys. Laser Chem.56(2), 79–83 (1993). [CrossRef]
13. R. Uberna, A. Bratcher, and B. G. Tiemann, “Coherent polarization beam combination,” IEEE J. Quantum Electron.46(8), 1191–1196 (2010). [CrossRef]
14. E. C. Cheung, J. G. Ho, G. D. Goodno, R. R. Rice, J. Rothenberg, P. Thielen, M. Weber, and M. Wickham, “Diffractive-optics-based beam combination of a phase-locked fiber laser array,” Opt. Lett.33(4), 354–356 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
15. R. Uberna, A. Bratcher, T. G. Alley, A. D. Sanchez, A. S. Flores, and B. Pulford, “Coherent combination of high power fiber amplifiers in a two-dimensional re-imaging waveguide,” Opt. Express18(13), 13547–13553 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
16. G. D. Goodno, H. Komine, S. J. McNaught, S. B. Weiss, S. Redmond, W. Long, R. Simpson, E. C. Cheung, D. Howland, P. Epp, M. Weber, M. McClellan, J. Sollee, and H. Injeyan, “Coherent combination of high-power, zigzag slab lasers,” Opt. Lett.31(9), 1247–1249 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
17. T. M. Shay, “Theory of electronically phased coherent beam combination without a reference beam,” Opt. Express14(25), 12188–12195 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
18. T. M. Shay, V. Benham, J. T. Baker, A. D. Sanchez, D. Pilkington, and C. A. Lu, “Self-synchronous and self-referenced coherent beam combination for large optical arrays,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.13(3), 480–486 (2007). [CrossRef]
19. W. Liang, N. Satyan, F. Aflatouni, A. Yariv, A. Kewitsch, G. Rakuljic, and H. Hashemi, “Coherent beam combining with multilevel optical phase-locked loops,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B24(12), 2930–2939 (2007). [CrossRef]
20. C. D. Nabors, “Effects of phase errors on coherent emitter arrays,” Appl. Opt.33(12), 2284–2289 (1994). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
21. W. H. Renninger, A. Chong, and F. W. Wise, “Pulse shaping and evolution in normal-dispersion mode-locked fiber lasers,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.18(1), 389–398 (2012). [CrossRef]
22. G. D. Goodno, C. C. Shih, and J. E. Rothenberg, “Perturbative analysis of coherent combining efficiency with mismatched lasers,” Opt. Express18(24), 25403–25414 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
23. S. J. Augst, T. Y. Fan, and A. Sanchez, “Coherent beam combining and phase noise measurements of ytterbium fiber amplifiers,” Opt. Lett.29(5), 474–476 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
24. H. Tünnermann, J. H. Pöld, J. Neumann, D. Kracht, B. Willke, and P. Weßels, “Beam quality and noise properties of coherently combined ytterbium doped single frequency fiber amplifiers,” Opt. Express19(20), 19600–19606 (2011). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
25. A. Klenke, E. Seise, J. Limpert, and A. Tünnermann, “Basic considerations on coherent combining of ultrashort laser pulses,” Opt. Express19(25), 25379–25387 (2011). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
26. L. Daniault, M. Hanna, L. Lombard, Y. Zaouter, E. Mottay, D. Goular, P. Bourdon, F. Druon, and P. Georges, “Impact of spectral phase mismatch on femtosecond coherent beam combining systems,” Opt. Lett.37(4), 650–652 (2012). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Appl. Opt.

• C. D. Nabors, “Effects of phase errors on coherent emitter arrays,” Appl. Opt.33(12), 2284–2289 (1994). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Appl. Phys., B Photophys. Laser Chem.

• M. Tempus, W. Luthy, and H. P. Weber, “Coherent recombination of laser beams with interferometrical phase control,” Appl. Phys., B Photophys. Laser Chem.56(2), 79–83 (1993). [CrossRef]

IEEE J. Quantum Electron.

• R. Uberna, A. Bratcher, and B. G. Tiemann, “Coherent polarization beam combination,” IEEE J. Quantum Electron.46(8), 1191–1196 (2010). [CrossRef]

IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.

• T. M. Shay, V. Benham, J. T. Baker, A. D. Sanchez, D. Pilkington, and C. A. Lu, “Self-synchronous and self-referenced coherent beam combination for large optical arrays,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.13(3), 480–486 (2007). [CrossRef]
• J. Limpert, F. Roser, D. N. Schimpf, E. Seise, T. Eidam, S. Hädrich, J. Rothhardt, C. J. Misas, and A. Tünnermann, “High repetition rate gigawatt peak power fiber laser systems: challenges, design, and experiment,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.15(1), 159–169 (2009). [CrossRef]
• T. Y. Fan, “Laser beam combining for high-power, high-radiance sources,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.11(3), 567–577 (2005). [CrossRef]
• G. D. Goodno, C. P. Asman, J. Anderegg, S. Brosnan, E. C. Cheung, D. Hammons, H. Injeyan, H. Komine, W. H. Long, M. McClellan, S. J. McNaught, S. Redmond, R. Simpson, J. Sollee, M. Weber, S. B. Weiss, and M. Wickham, “Brightness-scaling potential of actively phase-locked solid-state laser arrays,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.13(3), 460–472 (2007). [CrossRef]
• W. H. Renninger, A. Chong, and F. W. Wise, “Pulse shaping and evolution in normal-dispersion mode-locked fiber lasers,” IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.18(1), 389–398 (2012). [CrossRef]

J. Opt. Soc. Am. B

• T. Schreiber, D. Schimpf, D. Müller, F. Röser, J. Limpert, and A. Tünnermann, “Influence of pulse shape in self-phase-modulation-limited chirped pulse fiber amplifier systems,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B24(8), 1809–1814 (2007). [CrossRef]
• D. J. Richardson, J. Nilsson, and W. A. Clarkson, “High power fiber lasers: current status and future perspectives [Invited],” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B27(11), B63–B92 (2010). [CrossRef]
• W. Liang, N. Satyan, F. Aflatouni, A. Yariv, A. Kewitsch, G. Rakuljic, and H. Hashemi, “Coherent beam combining with multilevel optical phase-locked loops,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B24(12), 2930–2939 (2007). [CrossRef]

Opt. Express

• R. Uberna, A. Bratcher, T. G. Alley, A. D. Sanchez, A. S. Flores, and B. Pulford, “Coherent combination of high power fiber amplifiers in a two-dimensional re-imaging waveguide,” Opt. Express18(13), 13547–13553 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• E. Seise, A. Klenke, J. Limpert, and A. Tünnermann, “Coherent addition of fiber-amplified ultrashort laser pulses,” Opt. Express18(26), 27827–27835 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• G. D. Goodno, C. C. Shih, and J. E. Rothenberg, “Perturbative analysis of coherent combining efficiency with mismatched lasers,” Opt. Express18(24), 25403–25414 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• H. Tünnermann, J. H. Pöld, J. Neumann, D. Kracht, B. Willke, and P. Weßels, “Beam quality and noise properties of coherently combined ytterbium doped single frequency fiber amplifiers,” Opt. Express19(20), 19600–19606 (2011). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• A. Klenke, E. Seise, J. Limpert, and A. Tünnermann, “Basic considerations on coherent combining of ultrashort laser pulses,” Opt. Express19(25), 25379–25387 (2011). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• T. M. Shay, “Theory of electronically phased coherent beam combination without a reference beam,” Opt. Express14(25), 12188–12195 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Opt. Lett.

• L. Daniault, M. Hanna, L. Lombard, Y. Zaouter, E. Mottay, D. Goular, P. Bourdon, F. Druon, and P. Georges, “Impact of spectral phase mismatch on femtosecond coherent beam combining systems,” Opt. Lett.37(4), 650–652 (2012). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• S. J. Augst, T. Y. Fan, and A. Sanchez, “Coherent beam combining and phase noise measurements of ytterbium fiber amplifiers,” Opt. Lett.29(5), 474–476 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• L. Daniault, M. Hanna, L. Lombard, Y. Zaouter, E. Mottay, D. Goular, P. Bourdon, F. Druon, and P. Georges, “Coherent beam combining of two femtosecond fiber chirped-pulse amplifiers,” Opt. Lett.36(5), 621–623 (2011). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• G. J. Swanson, J. R. Leger, and M. Holz, “Aperture filling of phase-locked laser arrays,” Opt. Lett.12(4), 245–247 (1987). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• E. C. Cheung, J. G. Ho, G. D. Goodno, R. R. Rice, J. Rothenberg, P. Thielen, M. Weber, and M. Wickham, “Diffractive-optics-based beam combination of a phase-locked fiber laser array,” Opt. Lett.33(4), 354–356 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• G. D. Goodno, H. Komine, S. J. McNaught, S. B. Weiss, S. Redmond, W. Long, R. Simpson, E. C. Cheung, D. Howland, P. Epp, M. Weber, M. McClellan, J. Sollee, and H. Injeyan, “Coherent combination of high-power, zigzag slab lasers,” Opt. Lett.31(9), 1247–1249 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• T. Eidam, S. Hanf, E. Seise, T. V. Andersen, T. Gabler, C. Wirth, T. Schreiber, J. Limpert, and A. Tünnermann, “Femtosecond fiber CPA system emitting 830 W average output power,” Opt. Lett.35(2), 94–96 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Proc. SPIE

• J. Anderegg, S. Brosnan, M. Weber, H. Komine, and M. Wickham, “8-W coherently phased 4-element fiber array,” Proc. SPIE4974, 1–6 (2003), doi:. [CrossRef]

Other

• E. C. Cheung, M. Weber, and R. R. Rice, “Phase locking of a pulsed fiber amplifier,” in Advanced Solid-State Photonics, OSA Technical Digest Series (CD) (Optical Society of America, 2008), paper WA2.

Click here to see a list of articles that cite this paper

Related Journal Articles

• Coherent addition of fiber-amplified ultrashort laser pulses (OE)
• Coherently combined fiber laser system delivering 120 μJ femtosecond pulses (OL)
• Coherent beam combining of two femtosecond fiber chirped-pulse amplifiers (OL)
• 88 W 0.5 mJ femtosecond laser pulses from two coherently combined fiber amplifiers (OL)
• Passive coherent beam combining of two femtosecond fiber chirped-pulse amplifiers (OL)

Related Conference Papers

• 120 µJ Pulses from Coherently Coupled Femtosecond Fiber Laser Systems
• Fiber Laser CPA System Delivering 120 μJ Femtosecond Pulses Using Coherent Combining
• 3mJ Coherently Combined Two Channel Femtosecond Fiber CPA Laser System
• Analytical and Experimental Analysis of the Stability of Coherently Combined Femtosecond Laser Systems
• Coherent combining of two femtosecond chirped-pulse amplifiers in a passive architecture