Suppression of stimulated Brillouin scattering in optical fibers using a linearly chirped diode laser

The output of high power fiber amplifiers is typically limited by stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). An analysis of SBS with a chirped pump laser indicates that a chirp of 2.5 x 10(15) Hz/s could raise, by an order of magnitude, the SBS threshold of a 20-m fiber. A diode laser with a constant output power and a linear chirp of 5 x 10(15) Hz/s has been previously demonstrated. In a low-power proof-of-concept experiment, the threshold for SBS in a 6-km fiber is increased by a factor of 100 with a chirp of 5 x 10(14) Hz/s. A linear chirp will enable straightforward coherent combination of multiple fiber amplifiers, with electronic compensation of path length differences on the order of 0.2 m. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America