US 2026/0280219 A1Published application

Tunable thermo-optic fiber delay for coherent beam combining

AssigneeLumentum Operations LLC

InventorsBenedikt HERMANN, Peter JAKOPIC, Žan PIRNAR

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Abstract

A coherent beam combining system includes a plurality of thermal delay optical fibers, each thermal delay optical fiber arranged on a respective optical channel of a plurality of optical channels, and each thermal delay optical fiber including light-absorbing elements configured to absorb intensity-controlled pump light to convert the intensity-controlled pump light into a corresponding quantity of heat, thereby causing a controlled temperature within the thermal delay optical fiber corresponding to an intensity of the intensity-controlled pump light. A plurality of heater pump light sources are respectively coupled to the plurality of thermal delay optical fibers. Each heater pump light source is configured to inject the intensity-controlled pump light into a respective thermal delay optical fiber of the plurality of thermal delay optical fibers for regulating the controlled temperature within the respective thermal delay optical fiber. A beam combiner combines a plurality of amplified beamlets into a coherently-combined amplified beam.

Claims26

Dependent claims

A coherent beam combining system, comprising:

a seed light source configured to generate pulsed seed light comprising a plurality of pulses;
a beam splitter configured to split the pulsed seed light into a plurality of beamlets, and provide the plurality of beamlets to a plurality of optical channels, wherein each beamlet of the plurality of beamlets is provided to a respective optical channel of the plurality of optical channels;
a plurality of thermal delay optical fibers, wherein each thermal delay optical fiber of the plurality of thermal delay optical fibers is arranged on a respective optical channel of the plurality of optical channels, wherein each thermal delay optical fiber of the plurality of thermal delay optical fibers includes one or more light-absorbing elements configured to absorb intensity-controlled pump light to convert the intensity-controlled pump light into a corresponding quantity of heat, thereby causing a controlled temperature within the thermal delay optical fiber corresponding to an intensity of the intensity-controlled pump light;
a plurality of heater pump light sources respectively coupled to the plurality of thermal delay optical fibers, wherein each heater pump light source of the plurality of heater pump light sources is configured to inject the intensity-controlled pump light into a respective thermal delay optical fiber of the plurality of thermal delay optical fibers for regulating the controlled temperature within the respective thermal delay optical fiber;
a plurality of amplifier optical fibers configured to amplify the plurality of beamlets to generate a plurality of amplified beamlets, wherein each amplifier optical fiber of the plurality of amplifier optical fibers is arranged on a respective optical channel of the plurality of optical channels;
and
a beam combiner configured to combine the plurality of amplified beamlets into a coherently-combined amplified beam.

4 more elements

A coherent beam combining system, comprising:

a seed light source configured to generate pulsed seed light comprising a plurality of pulses;
a beam splitter configured to split the pulsed seed light into a plurality of beamlets, and provide the plurality of beamlets to a plurality of optical channels, wherein each beamlet of the plurality of beamlets is provided to a respective optical channel of the plurality of optical channels;
a plurality of amplifier optical fibers configured to amplify the plurality of beamlets to generate a plurality of amplified beamlets, wherein each amplifier optical fiber of the plurality of amplifier optical fibers is arranged on a respective optical channel of the plurality of optical channels, and wherein each amplifier optical fiber of the plurality of amplifier optical fibers includes one or more light-absorbing elements configured to absorb intensity-controlled pump light to convert the intensity-controlled pump light into a corresponding quantity of heat, thereby causing a controlled temperature within the amplifier optical fiber corresponding to an intensity of the intensity-controlled pump light;
a plurality of heater pump light sources respectively coupled to the plurality of amplifier optical fibers, wherein each heater pump light source of the plurality of heater pump light sources is configured to inject the intensity-controlled pump light into a respective amplifier optical fiber of the plurality of amplifier optical fibers for regulating the controlled temperature within the respective amplifier optical fiber;
and
a beam combiner configured to combine the plurality of amplified beamlets into a coherently-combined amplified beam.

3 more elements

A coherent beam combining system, comprising:

a seed light source configured to generate seed light;
a beam splitter configured to split the seed light into a plurality of beamlets, and provide the plurality of beamlets to a plurality of optical channels, wherein each beamlet of the plurality of beamlets is provided to a respective optical channel of the plurality of optical channels;
a plurality of amplifier optical fibers configured to amplify the plurality of beamlets to generate a plurality of amplified beamlets, wherein each amplifier optical fiber of the plurality of amplifier optical fibers is arranged on a respective optical channel of the plurality of optical channels, and wherein each amplifier optical fiber of the plurality of amplifier optical fibers includes one or more light-absorbing elements configured to absorb intensity-controlled pump light to convert the intensity-controlled pump light into a corresponding quantity of heat, thereby causing a controlled temperature within the amplifier optical fiber corresponding to an intensity of the intensity-controlled pump light;
a plurality of pump light sources respectively coupled to the plurality of amplifier optical fibers, wherein each pump light source of the plurality of pump light sources is configured to inject the intensity-controlled pump light into a respective amplifier optical fiber of the plurality of amplifier optical fibers for amplifying a respective beamlet of the plurality of beamlets and for regulating the controlled temperature within the respective amplifier optical fiber;
and
a beam combiner configured to combine the plurality of amplified beamlets into a coherently-combined amplified beam.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 19/222,242Filed 29 May 2025
Priority: 14 Mar 2025
Published: 17 Sep 2026
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification26 codes

H01S 3/0401
Arrangements for thermal management: of optical elements being part of laser resonator, e.g. windows, mirrors, lenses
H01S 3/005
Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range: optical devices…
H01S 3/0057
Optical devices external to the laser cavity, specially adapted for lasers, e.g. for homogenisation of the beam or for manipulating laser…
H01S 3/0085
Optical devices external to the laser cavity, specially adapted for lasers, e.g. for homogenisation of the beam or for manipulating laser…