Open AccessHigh power, single-frequency, monolithic fiber amplifier for the next generation of gravitational wave detectors
Author(s) -
F. Wellmann,
M. Steinke,
F. Meylahn,
N. Bode,
B. Willke,
Ludger Overmeyer,
Jörg Neumann,
Dietmar Kracht
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.27.028523
Subject(s) - optics , amplifier , brillouin scattering , physics , relative intensity noise , single mode optical fiber , noise (video) , extinction ratio , detector , materials science , optical fiber , optoelectronics , laser , semiconductor laser theory , wavelength , cmos , artificial intelligence , computer science , image (mathematics)
Low noise, high power single-frequency lasers and amplifiers are key components of interferometric gravitational wave detectors. One way to increase the detector sensitivity is to increase the power injected into the interferometers. We developed a fiber amplifier engineering prototype with a pump power limited output power of 200 W at 1064 nm. No signs of stimulated Brillouin scattering are observed at 200 W. At the maximum output power the polarization extinction ratio is above 19 dB and the fractional power in the fundamental transverse mode (TEM 00 ) was measured to be 94.8 %. In addition, measurements of the frequency noise, relative power noise, and relative pointing noise were performed and demonstrate excellent low noise properties over the entire output power slope. In the context of single-frequency fiber amplifiers, the measured relative pointing noise below 100 Hz and the higher order mode content is, to the best of our knowledge, at 200 W the lowest ever measured. A long-term test of more than 695 h demonstrated stable operation without beam quality degradation. It is also the longest single-frequency fiber amplifier operation at 200 W ever reported.