Fiber amplifiers for coherent space communication

• Published in: IEEE journal of selected topics in quantum electronics Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 64 - 80
• Main Authors: Rochat, E., Dandliker, R., Haroud, K., Czichy, R.H., Roth, U., Costantini, D., Holzner, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.01.2001; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Amplification; Amplifiers; Coherence; Diodes; Doped fiber amplifiers; Doped fibers; Fiber lasers; Fibers; Gain; Noise levels; Optical fiber communication; Optical fiber polarization; Oscillators; Power amplifiers; Power generation; Solid lasers; Space communication
• ISSN: 1077-260X; 1558-4542
• DOI: 10.1109/2944.924012

We report on the application of double-clad doped fiber amplifiers for coherent space communication systems using a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) design at 1.06 /spl mu/m. The master oscillator is either a single-frequency Nd:YAG solid-state laser or a distributed-feedback fiber laser. The power amplifier is a diode-laser-pumped double-clad Nd doped fiber with polarization control, 20 dB gain, and about 1.3 W output power. A dual stage configuration using a solid-state Nd:YAG amplifier as second stage is presented as well, increasing the output power to 3.5 W with 28 dB gain. We also report on the possibility to integrate a single-frequency fiber laser, an all-fiber phase modulator, and a fiber amplifier to build an all-fiber phase-modulated MOPA. Up to 1 W continuous-wave output phase-modulated with a bandwidth of 196 MHz has been achieved.