Fundamentals of Fiber Lasers and Fiber Amplifiers

This book covers the fundamental aspects of fiber lasers and fiber amplifiers, and includes a wide range of material from laser physics fundamentals to state-of-the-art topics in this rapidly growing field of quantum electronics. This expanded and updated new edition includes substantial new material on nonlinear frequency conversion and Raman fiber lasers and amplifiers, as well as an expanded list of references inclusive of the recent literature in the field.  

Emphasis is placed on the nonlinear processes taking place in fiber lasers and amplifiers, their similarities, differences to, and their advantages over other solid-state lasers. The reader will learn the basic principles of solid-state physics and optical spectroscopy of laser active centers in fibers, the main operational laser regimes, and will receive practical recommendations and suggestions on fiber laser research, laser applications, and laser product development. 

The book will be useful for students, researchers, and professional physicists and engineers who work with lasers in the optical and telecommunications field, as well as those in the chemical and biological industries.

Introduction.- Optical properties and optical spectroscopy of rare-earth ions in solids.- Electron-phonon coupling in solids.- Physical and optical properties of laser glass.- Mechanical and thermal properties of glass.- Fiber fabrication and high quality glasses for gain fibers.- Spectroscopic properties of and gain fibers.- Propagation of light and spatial modes in optical fibers.- Fiber laser physics fundamentals.- Main fiber laser operational regimes.- Main optical components for fiber lasers and fiber amplifiers design.- High power fiber lasers. Nonlinear frequency conversion.- Raman fiber lasers and amplifiers.- Fiber lasers’ industrial applications.

Vartan (Valerii) Ter-Mikirtychev received his MSc and PhD with honors in optics and laser physics from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI) in Moscow, Russia, in 1990 and 1994, respectively. His PhD thesis focused on the development of tunable solid-state lasers, passive Q-switches, and optical spectroscopy of condensed matter and was performed at the A. M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute (GPI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia. He then received a research fellowship from the Japanese government and spent 5 years working at the Kyoto Sangyo University in Kyoto, Japan. Since 1999, he has been working in the United States in the laser and optical industries, including advanced R&D groups at Spectra-Physics Lasers, Inc. and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc, developing solid-state and fiber lasers targeting many applications from medical, military, optical communication to green house gasses detection. Between 2013 and 2014 he was a part-time teaching professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy of San Jose State University in San Jose, California. Currently he is a laser engineering manager at Coherent, Inc. His present field of interest includes laser physics and technology, semiconductor lasers, fiber optics and fiber lasers, free-space optical systems, nonlinear optics, and optical spectroscopy of laser materials. Dr. Ter-Mikirtychev's publication record includes numerous papers in peer-reviewed technical journals including review papers, as well as presentations at international conferences. He has served as the editor of the SPIE Milestone Book on “Selected Papers on Tunable Solid-State Lasers,” published by SPIE Press in 2002. Dr.Ter-Mikirtychev is a member of the Optical Society of America and currently works for Coherent, Inc.