| Sol No.: |
Navy SBIR FY2012.1 |
| Topic No.: |
N121-068 |
| Topic Title: |
Multi kW Etched Air Taper Counter Pump Fiber Combiner |
| Proposal No.: |
N121-068-1295 |
| Firm: |
Optical Engines Inc
842 S Sierra Madre St STE D
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903-4100 |
| Contact: |
Donald Sipes |
| Phone: |
(815) 383-8303 |
| Web Site: |
www.opticalenginesinc.com |
| Abstract: |
Optical Engines has developed and demonstrated a high power pump combiner in the co-propagating direction with 94.5% pump efficiency and a 20dB PER with zero brightness drop. This combiner has been tested for extended periods (approx 1 Hr) with 1.5kW of pump power with no degradation. This was combining into PM PCF Yb doped gain fiber. Optical Engines unique Etched Air Taper Technology will be used to extend this highly successful design into the counter pumped direction. For the Phase 1, Optical Engines will develop and demonstrate a Etched Air Taper counter pump combiner into 25/400 Yb doped Step Index fiber with 6 200um pumps and will test the device to 1.5kW. In the Phase II program this design will be extended to PCF fiber and tested to over 3kW. |
| Benefits: |
Successful development of this combiner will enable the deployment of highly compact, low cost multi-kW fiber amplifiers with near diffraction limited beam quality. These same devices will enable low cost, high power fiber lasers for material processing applications. |