High-Power Coherent Beam Combining of Two Photonic Crystal Fiber Lasers

Coherent beam combining of two large mode area photonic crystal fiber (LMA PCF) lasers is studied experimentally by using a self-imaging technique. Steady interference strips with high visibility of 35% are observed in high-power operation, which demonstrates the obvious advantages of the LMA PCF over the conventional double-clad fiber in coherent beam combining. Experiments also show that the reflectivity of coupling output mirror affects the coherent output power. The maximum coherent output power of 80 W with approximate 90% combining efficiency is achieved when the pump power is 130 W and the reflectivity of coupling output mirror is 5%.