Ultra Large Mode Area Fiber Lasers for Remote Sensing Instruments

We propose to develop ultra large mode area (ULMA) fiber laser technology to serve as the primary laser transmitter platform for future topographic lidars and trace gas remote sensing instrumentation. This effort will focus on using recent advances in fusion splicing technology to create a monolithic ULMA fiber laser using rod-type photonic crystal fiber (PCF) as the gain medium. The proposed ULMA fiber laser will demonstrate state-of-the-art peak power output over an operating range of 1020-1070 nm, with ns-class pulse widths and high (>50 kHz) repetition rates.

Global surface topography and vegetation, trace gas sensing, and terrestrial ecosystem structure are all critical science targets, with lidar as the most likely measurement approach for each. Fiber lasers are the preferred laser technology as they can operate at the high repetition rates and average powers required by the new generation of high-resolution lidars. Successful development of the ULMA fiber laser platform would give GSFC a state-of-the-art 1 um fiber laser transmitter suitable for use in airborne or space-based instruments, with peak power handling capabilities exceeding any commercially available product. After successful demonstration of the technology at 1 um, we will seek to adapt the design to accommodate other important rare earth dopants such as erbium and thulium to produce high-power laser light at 1.5 and 2 um, respectively. 1.5 um is a particularly important wavelength for ongoing NASA efforts in free-space optical communications. Fiber laser transmitters based on the ULMA architecture will provide far higher power levels and offer much greater range capabilities than currently available 1.5 um fiber telecommunications lasers. Integrated Path Differential Absorption (IPDA) lidars at 1.5 um targeting CO₂ column concentrations would also benefit from the high-power output from an erbium-doped ULMA laser. Further down the road, a thulium-doped ULMA version could similarly be developed for long-range topographic lidars at 2 um, where atmospheric absorption and Rayleigh scattering effects are greatly reduced.

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