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- Title
- Transverse mode selection and brightness enhancement in laser resonators by means of volume Bragg gratings.
- Creator
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Anderson, Brian, Glebov, Leonid, Zeldovich, Boris, Schulzgen, Axel, Rahman, Talat, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The design of high power lasers requires large mode areas to overcome various intensity driven nonlinear effects. Increasing the aperture size within the laser can overcome these effects, but typically result in multi-transverse mode output and reduced beam quality, limiting the brightness of the system. As one possible solution, the angular selectivity of a diffractive optical element is proposed as a spatial filter, allowing for the design of compact high brightness sources not possible...
Show moreThe design of high power lasers requires large mode areas to overcome various intensity driven nonlinear effects. Increasing the aperture size within the laser can overcome these effects, but typically result in multi-transverse mode output and reduced beam quality, limiting the brightness of the system. As one possible solution, the angular selectivity of a diffractive optical element is proposed as a spatial filter, allowing for the design of compact high brightness sources not possible with conventional methods of transverse mode selection. This thesis explores the angular selectivity of volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) and their use as spatial transverse mode filters in a laser resonator. Selection of the fundamental mode of a resonator is explored using transmission Bragg gratings (TBGs) as the spatial filter. Simulations and experimental measurements are made for a planar, 1 cm long resonator demonstrating near diffraction limited output (M2 (<) 1.4) for aperture sizes as large as 2.0 mm. Applications to novel fiber laser designs are explored. Single mode operation of a multi-mode Yb3+ doped ribbon fiber laser (core dimensions of 107.8 ?m x 8.3 ?m) is obtained using a single transmission VBG as the filter in an external cavity resonator. Finally, a novel method of selecting a pure higher order mode to oscillate within the gain medium while simultaneously converting this higher order mode to a fundamental mode at an output coupler is proposed and demonstrated. A multiplexed transmission VBG is used as the mode converting element, selecting the 12th higher order mode for amplifications in an Yb3+ doped ribbon fiber laser, while converting the higher order mode of a laser resonator to a single lobed output beam with diffraction limited divergence.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005754, ucf:50103
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005754
- Title
- Applications of Volume Holographic Elements in High Power Fiber Lasers.
- Creator
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Jain, Apurva, Glebov, Leonid, Zeldovich, Boris, Schulzgen, Axel, Likamwa, Patrick, Rahman, Talat, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The main objective of this thesis is to explore the use of volume holographic elements recorded in photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass for power scaling of narrow linewidth diffraction-limited fiber lasers to harness high average power and high brightness beams. Single fiber lasers enable kW level output powers limited by optical damage, thermal effects and non-linear effects. Output powers can be further scaled using large mode area fibers, however, at the cost of beam quality and...
Show moreThe main objective of this thesis is to explore the use of volume holographic elements recorded in photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass for power scaling of narrow linewidth diffraction-limited fiber lasers to harness high average power and high brightness beams. Single fiber lasers enable kW level output powers limited by optical damage, thermal effects and non-linear effects. Output powers can be further scaled using large mode area fibers, however, at the cost of beam quality and instabilities due to the presence of higher order modes. The mechanisms limiting the performance of narrow-linewidth large mode area fiber lasers are investigated and solutions using intra-cavity volume Bragg gratings (VBG) proposed. Self-pulsations-free, completely continuous-wave operation of a VBG-stabilized unidirectional fiber ring laser is demonstrated with quasi single-frequency ((<) 7.5 MHz) output. A method for transverse mode selection in multimode fiber lasers to reduce higher order mode content and stabilize the output beam profile is developed using angular selectivity of reflecting VBGs. By placing the VBG output coupler in a convergent beam, stabilization of the far-field beam profile of a 20 ?m core large mode area fiber laser is demonstrated.Beam combining techniques are essential to power scale beyond the limitations of single laser sources. Several beam combining techniques relevant to fiber lasers were compared in this study and found to be lacking in one or more of the following aspects: the coherence of the individual sources is compromised, the far-field beam quality is highly degraded with significant power in side lobes, spectrally broad and unstable, and uncertainty over scaling to larger arrays and higher power. Keeping in mind the key requirements of coherence, good far-field beam quality, narrow and stable spectra, and scalability in both array size and power, a new passive coherent beam combining technique using multiplexed volume Bragg gratings (M-VBGs) is proposed.In order to understand the mechanism of radiation exchange between multiple beams via these complex holographic optical elements, the spectral and beam splitting properties a 2nd order reflecting M-VBG recorded in PTR glass is experimentally investigated using a tunable single frequency seed laser. Two single-mode Yb-doped fiber lasers are then coherently combined using reflecting M-VBGs in both linear and unidirectional-ring resonators with (>)90% combining efficiency and diffraction-limited beam quality. It is demonstrated that the combining bandwidth can be controlled in the range of 100s of pm to a few pm by angular detuning of the M-VBG. Very narrow-linewidth ((<) 210 MHz) operation in a linear cavity and possibility of single-frequency operation in a unidirectional ring cavity of the coherently combined system is demonstrated using this technique. It is theoretically derived and experimentally demonstrated that high combining efficiency can be achieved even by multiplexing low-efficiency VBGs, with the required diffraction efficiency of individual VBGs decreasing as array size increases. Scaling of passive coherent beam combining to four fiber lasers is demonstrated using a 4th order transmitting M-VBG. Power scaling of this technique to 10 W level combined powers with 88% combining efficiency is demonstrated by passively combining two large mode area fiber lasers using a 2nd order reflecting M-VBG in a unidirectional ring resonator. High energy compact single-frequency sources are highly desired for several applications (-) one of which is as a seed for high power fiber amplifiers. Towards achieving the goal of a monolithic solid-state laser, a new gain medium having both photosensitive and luminescence properties is investigated (-) rare-earth doped PTR glass. First lasing is demonstrated in this new gain element in a VBG-stabilized external cavity.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004553, ucf:49230
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004553
- Title
- ULTRASHORT LASER PULSE INTERACTION WITH PHOTO-THERMO-REFRACTIVE GLASS.
- Creator
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Siiman, Leo, Glebov, Leonid, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass is an ideal photosensitive material for recording phase volume holograms. It is a homogeneous multi-component silicate glass that demonstrates all the advantages of optical glass: thermal stability, high laser damage threshold, and a wide transparency range. Moreover the ability to record phase patterns (i.e. spatial refractive index variations) into PTR glass has resulted in the fabrication of volume holograms with diffraction efficiency greater than 99%....
Show morePhoto-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass is an ideal photosensitive material for recording phase volume holograms. It is a homogeneous multi-component silicate glass that demonstrates all the advantages of optical glass: thermal stability, high laser damage threshold, and a wide transparency range. Moreover the ability to record phase patterns (i.e. spatial refractive index variations) into PTR glass has resulted in the fabrication of volume holograms with diffraction efficiency greater than 99%. The conventional method of recording a hologram in PTR glass relies on exposure to continuous-wave ultraviolet laser radiation. In this dissertation the interaction between infrared ultrashort laser pulses and PTR glass is studied. It is shown that photosensitivity in PTR glass can be extended from the UV region to longer wavelengths (near-infrared) by exposure to ultrashort laser pulses. It is found that there exists a focusing geometry and laser pulse intensity interval for which photoionization and refractive index change in PTR glass after thermal development occur without laser-induced optical damage. Photoionization of PTR glass by IR ultrashort laser pulses is explained in terms of strong electric field ionization. This phenomenon is used to fabricate phase optical elements in PTR glass. The interaction between ultrashort laser pulses and volume holograms in PTR glass is studied in two laser intensity regimes. At intensities below ~10^12 W/cm^2 properties such as diffraction efficiency, angular divergence, selectivity, and pulse front tilt are shown to agree with the theory of linear diffraction for broad spectral width lasers. A volume grating pair arrangement is shown to correct the laser pulse distortions arising from pulse front tilt and angular divergence. At higher intensities of irradiation, nonlinear generation and diffraction of third harmonic is observed for three types of interactions: sum-frequency generation, front-surface THG generation, and THG due to phase-matching with a grating formed by modulation of the nonlinear refractive index of PTR glass.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- CFE0002349, ucf:47804
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002349
- Title
- Ultra High Density Spectral Beam Combining By Thermal Tuning of Volume Bragg Gratings in Photo-Thermo-Refractive Glass.
- Creator
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Drachenberg, Derrek, Zeldovich, Boris, Bass, Michael, Schulzgen, Axel, Likamwa, Patrick, Glebov, Leonid, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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High power lasers with diffraction limited beam quality are desired for many applications in defense and manufacturing. A lot of applications require laser beams at the 100 kW power level along with divergence close to the diffraction limit. The figure of merit for a beam used in such applications should be radiance which determines the laser power delivered to a remote target. One of the primary limiting factors is thermal distortion of a laser beam caused by excessive heat generated in the...
Show moreHigh power lasers with diffraction limited beam quality are desired for many applications in defense and manufacturing. A lot of applications require laser beams at the 100 kW power level along with divergence close to the diffraction limit. The figure of merit for a beam used in such applications should be radiance which determines the laser power delivered to a remote target. One of the primary limiting factors is thermal distortion of a laser beam caused by excessive heat generated in the laser media. Combination of multiple laser beams is usually considered as a method to mitigate these limitations. Spectral beam combining (SBC) by volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) is a very promising method for the future of high radiance lasers that needs to achieve 100 kW-level power. This work is dedicated to development of methods to increase spectral density of combined beams keeping their divergence at an acceptably low level.A new figure of merit for a beam combining system is proposed, the Beam Combining Factor (BCF), which makes it possible to distinguish the quality of the individual beams from the quality of beam combining. Also presented is a method of including the effect of beam divergence and spectral bandwidth on the performance of VBGs, as well as a method to optimize VBG parameters in terms of thickness and refractive index modulation for an arbitrary number of beams.A novel thermal tuning technique and apparatus is presented with which the SBC system can be tuned for peak efficiency from low to high power without the need for mechanical re-alignment. Finally, a thermally tuned SBC system with five beams, with a spectral separation between beams of 0.25 nm at a total power of 685 W is presented. The results show the highest power spectral density and highest spectral radiance of any SBC system to date. Recent demonstrations in SBC by multiplexed VBGs and the use of super Gaussian beams for beam quality improvement are also discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0004104, ucf:49089
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004104
- Title
- Holographic Recording and Applications of Multiplexed Volume Bragg Gratings in Photo-thermo-refractive Glass.
- Creator
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Ott, Daniel, Glebov, Leonid, Zeldovich, Boris, Moharam, Jim, Rahman, Talat, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Recent developments in holographic recording of volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) in photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass have demonstrated their utility as components in high power laser systems for spectral narrowing, transverse mode control, beam combining, and pulse stretching/compression. VBG structures are capable of diffracting incident light into a single diffraction order with high efficiency given the Bragg condition is met. The Bragg condition depends on both the wavelength and angle of...
Show moreRecent developments in holographic recording of volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) in photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass have demonstrated their utility as components in high power laser systems for spectral narrowing, transverse mode control, beam combining, and pulse stretching/compression. VBG structures are capable of diffracting incident light into a single diffraction order with high efficiency given the Bragg condition is met. The Bragg condition depends on both the wavelength and angle of the incident light making VBGs useful for filtering and manipulating both the wavelength and angular spectrum of a source. This dissertation expands upon previous research in PTR VBGs by investigating multiplexed VBGs and their applications in laser systems. Multiplexing involves the integration of several VBGs into the same volume of PTR glass. This process enables the fabrication of splitting and combining elements which have been used for high power beam combining with significantly reduced complexity as compared to other combining schemes. Several configurations of multiplexed beam combiners were demonstrated for both spectral and coherent combining systems with high power results yielding a combined power of 420 W with 96% efficiency. Multiplexing was also used to produce unique phase structures within VBGs. This effect was exploited to create extremely narrowband spectral filters called moir(&)#233; Bragg gratings. The technical challenges of producing moir(&)#233; gratings in bulk glass have revealed new insights into the use of PTR glass as a recording medium and produced devices capable of narrowband filtering of only 15 pm in the near infrared. Experiments were performed using such devices as intra-cavity laser elements for longitudinal mode selection. Investigations have also been made into increasing the level of multiplexing possible within PTR glass. These explorations included scaling the number of beam combining channels, fabrication of integrated multi-notch filters, and generated several other potentially interesting devices for future research. The summation of this work indicates a promising future for multiplexed VBGs in PTR glass.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005392, ucf:50446
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005392
- Title
- Theoretical Study of Laser Beam Quality and Pulse Shaping by Volume Bragg Gratings.
- Creator
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Kaim, Sergiy, Zeldovich, Boris, Flitsiyan, Elena, Leuenberger, Michael, Likamwa, Patrick, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The theory of stretching and compressing of short light pulses by the chirped volume Bragg gratings (CBG) is reviewed based on spectral decomposition of short pulses and on the wavelength-dependent coupled wave equations. The analytic theory of diffraction efficiency of a CBG with constant chirp and approximate theory of time delay dispersion are presented. Based on those, we performed comparison of the approximate analytic results with the exact numeric coupled-wave modeling. We also study...
Show moreThe theory of stretching and compressing of short light pulses by the chirped volume Bragg gratings (CBG) is reviewed based on spectral decomposition of short pulses and on the wavelength-dependent coupled wave equations. The analytic theory of diffraction efficiency of a CBG with constant chirp and approximate theory of time delay dispersion are presented. Based on those, we performed comparison of the approximate analytic results with the exact numeric coupled-wave modeling. We also study theoretically various definitions of laser beam width in a given cross-section. Quality of the beam is characterized by the dimensionless beam propagation products (?x???_x)?? , which are different for each of the 21 definitions. We study six particular beams and introduce an axially-symmetric self-MFT (mathematical Fourier transform) function, which may be useful for the description of diffraction-quality beams. Furthermore, we discuss various saturation curves and their influence on the amplitudes of recorded gratings. Special attention is given to multiplexed volume Bragg gratings (VBG) aimed at recording of several gratings in the same volume. The best shape of a saturation curve for production of the strongest gratings is found to be the threshold-type curve. Both one-photon and two-photon absorption mechanism of recording are investigated. Finally, by means of the simulation software we investigate forced airflow cooling of a VBG heated by a laser beam. Two combinations of a setup are considered, and a number of temperature distributions and thermal deformations are obtained for different rates of airflows. Simulation results are compared to the experimental data, and show good mutual agreement.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005638, ucf:50210
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005638
- Title
- Novel solid state lasers based on volume Bragg gratings.
- Creator
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Hale, Evan, Glebov, Leonid, Divliansky, Ivan, Schulzgen, Axel, Vodopyanov, Konstantin, Lyakh, Arkadiy, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Since their invention in 1960, lasers have revolutionized modern technology, and tremendous amounts of innovation and development has gone into advancing their properties and efficiencies. This dissertation reports on further innovations by presenting novel solid state laser systems based on the volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) and the newly developed holographic phase mask (HPMs) for brightness enhancement, dual wavelength operation, and mode conversion. First, a new optical element was created...
Show moreSince their invention in 1960, lasers have revolutionized modern technology, and tremendous amounts of innovation and development has gone into advancing their properties and efficiencies. This dissertation reports on further innovations by presenting novel solid state laser systems based on the volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) and the newly developed holographic phase mask (HPMs) for brightness enhancement, dual wavelength operation, and mode conversion. First, a new optical element was created by pairing the HPM with two surface gratings creating an achromatic holographic phase mask. This new optical device successfully performed transverse mode conversion of multiple narrow line laser sources operating from 488 to 1550 nm and a broadband mode locked femtosecond source with no angular tuning. Also, two types of HPMs were tested on high power Yb fiber lasers to demonstrate high energy mode conversion.Secondly, the effects of implementing VBGs for brightness enhancement of passively Q-switched systems with large Fresnel numbers was investigated. Implementing VBGs for angular mode selection allowed for higher pulse energies to be extracted without sacrificing brightness and pulse duration. This technique could potentially be applied to construct compact cavities with 1 cm diameter beams and nearly diffraction limited beam quality.Lastly, a spectral beam combining approach was applied to create Tm3+ and Yb3+ based narrowband dual-wavelength pump sources for terahertz generation, using VBGs as frequency selectors and beam combiners. Comparison of pulse duration and synchronization was done between passive and active Q-switching operation. An experimental set up for THz generation and detection using high sensitive detectors was created, and modeling of terahertz conversion efficiencies were done
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007812, ucf:52333
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007812
- Title
- DENSE SPECTRAL BEAM COMBINING WITH VOLUME BRAGG GRATINGS IN PHOTO-THERMO-REFRACTIVE GLASS.
- Creator
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Andrusyak, Oleksiy, Zeldovich, Boris, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Beam combining techniques have become an important tool in the design of high-power high-brightness laser systems. Spectral beam combining (SBC) is an incoherent combining technique that does not require phase control of sources, allowing for a stable and robust system. Using SBC, beams from an array of lasers with each element operated at a different wavelength are combined into a single near-diffraction-limited beam with the same aperture using dispersive optical elements. SBC by means of...
Show moreBeam combining techniques have become an important tool in the design of high-power high-brightness laser systems. Spectral beam combining (SBC) is an incoherent combining technique that does not require phase control of sources, allowing for a stable and robust system. Using SBC, beams from an array of lasers with each element operated at a different wavelength are combined into a single near-diffraction-limited beam with the same aperture using dispersive optical elements. SBC by means of volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) utilizes unique spectral response of VBGs: diffraction efficiency is close to unity when the Bragg condition is satisfied and is close to zero at multiple points corresponding to particular wavelength offsets from Bragg condition. High-efficiency VBGs can be recorded in UV-sensitive photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass. Narrow-band reflecting VBGs allow multi-channel SBC with high spectral density of channels. In this dissertation, experimental results of SBC with high spectral density of combined channels in two spectral regions of interest (1064 and 1550 nm) are reported. The behavior of narrow-band VBGs under high-power laser radiation is investigated. A laser system with kW-level output power and near-diffraction-limited divergence of spectrally-combined output beam is demonstrated. The system combines five randomly-polarized Yb-doped fiber lasers with 0.5 nm spectral separation in central wavelengths using narrow-band reflecting VBGs with absolute efficiency of combining > 90%. A novel design of a multi-channel high-power SBC system is suggested. In this approach, a common-cavity is created for all channels such that wavelengths of the sources are passively controlled by the combination of a common output coupler and intra-cavity VBGs which also act as combining elements. Laser wavelengths are automatically selected to match resonant wavelengths of respective VBGs. We report successful demonstration of a passively-controlled SBC system consisting of two amplifiers in a common cavity configuration. A compact and rugged monolithic SBC module based on multiplexed VBGs is introduced. Experimental results of a four-channel implementation of such module are discussed. Modular design of high-power laser systems is suggested with multiple modules arranged in a series. We show that with basic combining parameters achieved up to date, laser systems with 10 kW output power can be constructed using this arrangement. Further scaling to 100 kW power level is discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- CFE0002662, ucf:48189
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002662
