Suppression of stimulated Raman scattering in a high power Yb-doped fiber amplifier using a W-type core with fundamental mode cut-off

We demonstrate the suppression of stimulated Raman scattering in a high power, single- mode Yb- doped fiber amplifier using a W- type core structure. Raman- scattered light is not guided by the core. The amplifier consists of a master oscillator power amplifier ( MOPA) system, seeded with 103 ps pulses at 32 MHz repetition rate in the final amplification stage. An average output power of 53 W, which corresponds to 13 kW of peak power, was achieved in the 23 m long W- type double- clad fiber without any significant loss of power due to transfer from the signal wavelength at 1060 nm to the Raman Stokes wavelength at 1114 nm and amplified spontaneous emission from Yb- ions at longer wavelengths (similar to 1070 nm). The power conversion efficiency at 1060 nm was 80% with respect to the absorbed pump power. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.