High Power Random Fiber Laser: From Demonstration to Application

We present the demonstration and manipulation of high power random fiber laser (RFL) with unique temporal stability, spectrum and polarization features and the application exploration of RFL in high power MOPA and mid-infrared laser generation.

1. INTRODUCTION

Random fiber laser (RFL), whose operation is based on the remarkable distributed feedback without a conventional resonator, has attracted growing attention for its unique mode-free, cavity-free, and structural simplicity characteristics and broadband application potentials in many fields, such as speck free imaging, long distance sensing as well as new pump source [1]-[3]. There are many reported investigations focus on various features of RFL [4]-[9]. Nevertheless, RFL was once treated only as low-power photonics device [1], [4]-[9]. In recent years, power scaling of RFL has been achieved, which could extend the application fields of RFL significantly [10]-[13]. In this paper, we will review our recent research progresses on the demonstration and application exploration of high power RFL.