All-fiber 7x1 signal combiner for incoherent laser beam combining
2011
We demonstrate an all-fiber 7x1 signal combiner for incoherent laser beam combining. This is a potential key
component for reaching several kW of stabile laser output power. The combiner couples the output from 7 single-mode
(SM) fiber lasers into a single multi-mode (MM) fiber. The input signal fibers have a core diameter of 17 μm and the
output MM fiber has a core diameter of 100 μm. In a tapered section light gradually leaks out of the SM fibers and is
captured by a surrounding fluorine-doped cladding. The combiner is tested up to 2.5 kW of combined output power and
only a minor increase in device temperature is observed. At an intermediate power level of 600 W a beam parameter
product (BPP) of 2.22 mm x mrad is measured, corresponding to an M 2 value of 6.5. These values are approaching the
theoretical limit dictated by brightness conservation.
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