TY - GEN

T1 - Monolithic fiber amplifiers for the next generation of gravitational wave detectors

AU - Hochheim, Sven

AU - Wellmann, Felix

AU - Theeg, Thomas

AU - De Varona, Omar

AU - Booker, Phillip

AU - Wessels, Peter

AU - Steinke, Michael

AU - Neumann, Jörg

AU - Kracht, Dietmar

PY - 2018/5/17

Y1 - 2018/5/17

N2 - Single-frequency Yb 3+ and Er 3+ :Yb 3+ fiber amplifiers (YDFA/EYDFA) in MOPA configuration operating at 1064 nm and around 1550 nm are promising candidates to fulfill the challenging requirements on laser sources for the next generation of interferometric gravitational wave detectors (GWDs). They offer high beam quality, long-term stability and allow for excellent thermal management. We developed an engineering fiber amplifier prototype at 1064 nm emitting around 200W of linearly-polarized light in the TEM 00 mode. The system consists of three modules: the seed source, the pre-amplifier and the main amplifier. The modular design ensures reliable long-term operation, decreases system complexity and simplifies maintenance procedures and repair. In addition, commercial available fibers increase the flexibility of the entire system. We also developed and characterized a fiber amplifier prototype at 1556 nm that emits 100W of linearly-polarized light in the TEM 00 mode. The EYDFA is pumped off-resonantly at 940 nm to enhance the Yb 3+ -to-Er 3+ energy transfer efficiency and enable a higher amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) threshold. In addition to that, we performed measurements to study phase to intensity noise coupling via the Kramers-Kronig relation above the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold, as it was proposed based on numerical simulations. This effect is based on an asymmetric gain spectrum, which we measured experimentally and used for the reconstruction of the broadband excess intensity noise.

AB - Single-frequency Yb 3+ and Er 3+ :Yb 3+ fiber amplifiers (YDFA/EYDFA) in MOPA configuration operating at 1064 nm and around 1550 nm are promising candidates to fulfill the challenging requirements on laser sources for the next generation of interferometric gravitational wave detectors (GWDs). They offer high beam quality, long-term stability and allow for excellent thermal management. We developed an engineering fiber amplifier prototype at 1064 nm emitting around 200W of linearly-polarized light in the TEM 00 mode. The system consists of three modules: the seed source, the pre-amplifier and the main amplifier. The modular design ensures reliable long-term operation, decreases system complexity and simplifies maintenance procedures and repair. In addition, commercial available fibers increase the flexibility of the entire system. We also developed and characterized a fiber amplifier prototype at 1556 nm that emits 100W of linearly-polarized light in the TEM 00 mode. The EYDFA is pumped off-resonantly at 940 nm to enhance the Yb 3+ -to-Er 3+ energy transfer efficiency and enable a higher amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) threshold. In addition to that, we performed measurements to study phase to intensity noise coupling via the Kramers-Kronig relation above the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold, as it was proposed based on numerical simulations. This effect is based on an asymmetric gain spectrum, which we measured experimentally and used for the reconstruction of the broadband excess intensity noise.

KW - Gravitational waves

KW - Monolithic fiber amplifier

KW - Single-frequency

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85049773624&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1117/12.2306725

DO - 10.1117/12.2306725

M3 - Conference contribution

AN - SCOPUS:85049773624

T3 - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering

BT - Fiber Lasers and Glass Photonics

A2 - Taccheo, Stefano

A2 - Mackenzie, Jacob I.

A2 - Ferrari, Maurizio

PB - SPIE

T2 - Fiber Lasers and Glass Photonics: Materials through Applications 2018

Y2 - 22 April 2018 through 26 April 2018

ER -