High Energy and High Power Single Frequency 1572 nm Laser With an All-Fiber MOPA

A high pulse energy and high power all-fiber-optic single frequency laser at 1572 nm has been demonstrated and delivered for CO2 LIDAR applications. The main amplifier is made with the company’s proprietary large mode area highly erbium-doped silicate glass fiber with a core diameter of 50
$\mu$
m. The pump laser is a high power 1480 nm Raman fiber laser. A maximum pulse energy of 2.2 mJ has been achieved at 2.5 kHz pulse repetition rate with diffraction limited beam quality, which is the highest pulse energy and average power combination for an all-fiber based laser at 1572 nm to the best of our knowledge. For purpose of extended lifetime and consistent performance, the output pulse energy from the delivered unit was limited to 1.8 mJ with a pulse duration of ~600 ns, corresponding to a peak power of ~3.0 kW.