Efficient chamber pumped fiber laser and amplifier

Abstract

Chamber pumped fiber lasers and/or amplifiers are provided having a high fiber packing efficiency. Chamber pumping a fiber entails substantially surrounding a doped region of the fiber with a chamber having reflective walls. Pump radiation introduced to the chamber that is not absorbed by the fiber is reflected back toward the fiber by the reflective chamber walls, thereby improving efficiency. The fiber packing efficiency η=2Af/As, where Af is the fiber side area and As, is the chamber surface area. In the present invention, η is greater than one and is preferably substantially greater than one. By increasing fiber packing efficiency, the pump power lost in reflection from chamber walls can be reduced, thereby increasing optical efficiency. Increased fiber packing efficiency can also reduce the sensitivity of optical performance to variation in pump wavelength.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.