Multi-kilowatt Peak Power Transmission through Infrared Fibers in the 3 - 5 mm Region.

摘要

We have demonstrated high power transmission through selected chalcogenide glass clad fibers using an Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) with output in the 3 - 5 mm wavelength region. These results show great promise for implementing these fibers to connect the laser to the Jam Head in IR countermeasures systems. The maximum peak power used was 26.9 kW and the peak power density at the focus into the fiber was 1.07 GW/cm2, which to our knowledge is the highest reported for these types of fibers. Results will also be shown of analyses of the near field profile exiting the fibers, in which no speckle was observed in the output distribution due to the large spectral bandwidth of the OPO. Such a smooth spatial profile is desirable for systems where the output needs to be free from hot spots or distortions which are usually obtained with multimode fiber laser delivery.