A model for diffraction-limited high-power multimode fiber amplifiers using seeded stimulated Brillouin scattering phase conjugation

Diffraction-limited polarized stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) Stokes output from a multimode fiber is possible when the Stokes beam is the phase conjugate of diffraction-limited polarized pump light from a narrow-band master oscillator. Net amplification can be obtained by interposing a gain medium, such as a fiber amplifier between the master oscillator and the region of SBS generation. This paper proposes and studies numerically a model which describes the space-time dynamics of SBS generation, including phase conjugation, attenuation, phonon decay, thermal noise, inhomogeneous broadening, and amplifier gain. Noise reduction and phase locking are obtained by seeding the low-power end of the fiber at the Stokes frequency. Simulations are described for the case of 1.064 /spl mu/m light amplification in a dual-clad Yb-doped multimode fiber amplifier.