The ASE noise of a Yb3+-doped phosphate fiber single-frequency laser at 1083 nm

A thorough investigation of the effect of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) on the noise characteristics of a heavily Yb-doped phosphate fiber single-frequency laser at 1083 nm was made. Both the intensity noise and the frequency noise were measured and analyzed by introducing a band pass filter (BPF) into the fiber laser. For the intensity noise, it was found that the ASE noise is present at frequencies beyond the resonant relaxation oscillation (RRO) and until 6 MHz at low pump intensity, while it is diminished in the high power regime. Under a pump power of 42 mW, a maximum reduction of over 3 dB of the relative intensity noise (RIN) was observed with the help of the BPF. As for the frequency noise, a transition of the dominating noise sources from ASE noise in the low pump intensity condition to pump noise in the high pump intensity condition was observed. In the low power condition, more than 7 dB of the ASE noise was found to add to the frequency noise spectrum. It is believed that the obtained results will be helpful in understanding and optimizing the noise characteristics of this type of fiber laser.