Fiber Laser Chirped Pulse Amplifier

By Calmar Laser, Inc.

Fiber lasers are known to offer advantages in maintaining stable operation over years, low total cost of ownership, and predictable operation in a small package. Few mirrors need aligning. At high power, the fiber laser provides simpler heat removal of high powers in a long thin fiber. The simplicity of a fiber removes the need for water cooling, and usually air cooling or conduction cooling is sufficient. The fiber laser can usually be more compact, important for embedded applications. For these and other reasons, industrial and medical laser sources have been migrating to fiber lasers where possible.

Ultrashort pulses are a new technology with many applications from sampling to non-thermal machining and surgery. Fiber lasers provide a stable and reliable mode-locked platform for generation of these pulses. These ultrashort pulse fiber lasers are the primary expertise of Calmar Laser.

Rather than higher average power, higher energy pulses are sometimes required for applications such as non-thermal machining or surgery. But the small optical mode diameter in a fiber limits short pulse energy throughput due to nonlinear optical mechanisms. The Fiber Laser Chirped Pulse Amplifier (FLCPA) is an excellent method for increasing the energy output of a fiber to many µJ and above.