title: Thermal characteristics of an end-pumped high-power ytterbium-sensitized erbium-doped fiber laser under natural convection.
abstract: We investigate the thermal characteristics of a polymer-clad fiber laser under natural convection when it is strongly pumped up to the damage point of the fiber. For this, we utilize a temperature sensing technique based on a fiber Bragg grating sensor array. We have measured the longitudinal temperature distribution of a 2.4-m length ytterbium-sensitized erbium-doped fiber laser that was end-pumped at approximately 975 nm. The measured temperature distribution decreases exponentially, approximately, decaying away from the pump-launch end. We attribute this to the heat dissipation of absorbed pump power. The maximum temperature difference between the fiber ends was approximately 190 K at the maximum pump power of 60.8 W. From this, we estimate that the core temperature reached approximately 236 degrees C.
authors.affiliation: Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom. yoj@orc.soton.ac.uk
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dupriez
authors.forename: J-N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Maran
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Sahu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lee