Fiber- or rod-based optical source featuring a large-core, rare-earth-doped photonic-crystal device for generation of high-power pulsed radiation and method

An apparatus comprising:

• a first photonic-crystal optical device that includes a first waveguide that has a diameter of about 40 microns or more within a pump cladding and maintains a single transverse mode with operation at a peak power of at least about one megawatt (1 MW) and a beam quality M2 of less than 1.5, wherein the first optical device is a first photonic-crystal fiber and the first waveguide is a first core of the first photonic-crystal device;
• a first optical isolator;
• a first narrow-bandwidth filter;
• and
• a first master-oscillator seed laser operable to generate a narrow-linewidth seed-laser signal of a first wavelength operably coupled to the first core of the first photonic-crystal fiber through the first optical isolator and the first narrow-bandwidth filter.

A method comprising:

• providing a first photonic-crystal device that includes a first waveguide having a diameter of about 40 microns or more;
• optically amplifying light in the first waveguide in a single transverse mode to a peak power of about 1 MW or more;
• and
• converting high-peak-power light having a first wavelength from the first waveguide of the first photonic-crystal device to generate light having a peak power of about 100 kW or more of a shorter second wavelength through non-linear wavelength conversion.

A method comprising:

• providing a first photonic-crystal device that includes a first waveguide having a diameter of about 40 microns or more;
• and
• optically amplifying light in the first waveguide in a single transverse mode to a peak power of about 1 MW or more,
• wherein the first core of the first photonic-crystal device supports a mode area having a diameter of about 50 microns or larger and has a cladding having a diameter of about 1000 microns or larger.

A method comprising:

• providing a first photonic-crystal device that includes a first waveguide having a diameter of about 40 microns or more;
• and
• optically amplifying light in the first waveguide in a single transverse mode to a peak power of about 1 MW or more, wherein the first optical device is a first photonic-crystal fiber and the first waveguide is a first core of the first photonic-crystal device;
• generating a narrow-linewidth seed-laser signal;
• optically isolating the narrow-linewidth seed-laser signal;
• narrow-bandwidth filtering the narrow-linewidth seed-laser signal;
• and
• amplifying the isolated filtered narrow-linewidth seed-laser signal using the first waveguide of the first photonic-crystal device.

A method comprising:

• providing a first photonic-crystal device that includes a first waveguide having a diameter of about 40 microns or more;
• and
• optically amplifying light in the first waveguide in a single transverse mode to a peak power of about 1 MW or more,
• wherein the first photonic-crystal fiber further includes a plurality of other waveguides that each have a diameter of about 40 microns or more;
• the method further comprising
• maintaining a single transverse mode in each of the plurality of waveguides.