Abstract: An optical fiber may include a core in which core-guided light generated by one or more light sources propagates along a length of the at least one optical fiber, one or more claddings, surrounding the core, to guide cladding-guided light generated by the one or more light sources along the length of the at least one optical fiber, and a reflector structure machined into the at least one optical fiber. The reflector structure may include multiple angled facets arranged at one or more respective angles relative to an axis of the optical fiber to reflect at least a portion of the core-guided light and/or the cladding-guided light passing through the optical fiber.

Abstract: A laser beam delivery system includes an optical beam launcher device and a waveguide assembly. The optical beam launcher device includes an optical relay system that includes a beam splitting optic that is configured to cause a laser beam that is input into the optical beam launcher device to be split into a first laser sub-beam and a second laser sub-beam, cause the first laser sub-beam to transmit to a first region of an input lens of the waveguide assembly, and cause the second laser sub-beam to transmit to a second region of the input lens. The waveguide assembly is configured to transmit the first laser sub-beam and the second laser sub-beam from the input lens to an output lens of the waveguide assembly, wherein the first laser sub-beam and the second laser sub-beam transmit from the waveguide assembly and form an output laser beam.

Abstract: In some implementations, an optical device (e.g., a monolithic master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) diode) may include a first facet, one or more gratings, an amplifier structure terminated with a second facet, and an oscillator array that includes multiple singlemode oscillators coupled to the first facet and to the one or more gratings. In some implementations, the multiple singlemode oscillators may be configured to generate multiple seed beams and to transmit the multiple seed beams into the amplifier structure through the one or more gratings.

Abstract: In some implementations, a fiber optic combiner may comprise an enclosing tube having a geometric shape and multiple optical fibers bundled within the enclosing tube. In some implementations, the multiple fibers comprise at least one optical fiber having a core and a non-circular cladding surrounding the core. The non-circular cladding may cause the multiple optical fibers to have a larger tube fill factor and a lower expected beam parameter product increase factor relative to the multiple optical fibers all having circular claddings.

Abstract: An optical fiber heat exchanger includes an outer body and an inner body inserted into the outer body. The inner body includes a plurality of guide walls to guide a cooling liquid through the optical fiber heat exchanger to exchange heat from an optical fiber inserted in the optical fiber heat exchanger, a first set of parallel straight channels, extending along an inlet portion of the inner body, formed by a first subset of the plurality of guide walls, a set of U-shaped channels, extending through a transition section of the inner body, formed by a second subset of the plurality of guide walls, and a second set of parallel straight channels, extending along an outlet portion of the inner body, formed by a third subset of the plurality of guide walls.

Abstract: An optical fiber device may include an optical waveguide to guide a laser output from a first end of the optical waveguide to a second end of the optical waveguide. The optical fiber device may include a fiber telescope optically coupled to the second end of the optical waveguide to modify the laser output. The fiber telescope may include a first graded-index optical element, a first facet of the first graded-index optical element being fused to the second end of the optical waveguide; and a second graded-index optical element, a first facet of the second graded-index optical element being fused to a second facet of the first graded-index optical element.

Abstract: An optical assembly provides dispersion control, modelocking, spectral filtering, and/or the like in a laser cavity. For example, the optical assembly may comprise a diffraction grating pair arranged to temporally and spatially disperse a beam on a forward pass through the optical assembly, a reflective device at an end of the optical assembly, and a focusing optic arranged to create a beam waist at the reflective device. The beam waist created at the reflective device may cause the beam to be inverted on a reverse pass through the optical assembly, and a temporal dispersion and a spatial dispersion of the beam may be doubled on the reverse pass through the optical assembly to form a temporally and spatially dispersed output from the optical assembly.

Abstract: In some implementations, a waveguide may comprise an inner core to receive a first beam and an outer core surrounding the inner core to receive a second beam that is displaced from the first beam by an offset. The outer core may comprise a beam guiding region that rotationally expands over a length of the waveguide into an annulus that concentrically surrounds the inner core or a partial annulus that partially surrounds the inner core. For example, the beam guiding region may be defined by one or more low refractive index features that have a varied orientation and/or a varied shape over the length of the waveguide such that the second beam enters the waveguide as an offset beam and exits from the waveguide as a ring-shaped beam or a partial ring-shaped beam.

Abstract: An optical fiber device may include an optical waveguide to guide a laser output from a first end of the optical waveguide to a second end of the optical waveguide. The optical fiber device may include a fiber telescope optically coupled to the second end of the optical waveguide to modify the laser output. The fiber telescope may include a first graded-index optical element, a first facet of the first graded-index optical element being fused to the second end of the optical waveguide; and a second graded-index optical element, a first facet of the second graded-index optical element being fused to a second facet of the first graded-index optical element.

Abstract: An optical fiber device may include a core including a primary section and a secondary section. The secondary section may include at least one insert element inserted within the primary section at an off-center location with respect to a center of the primary section. The secondary section may twist about an axis of the optical fiber device along a length of the optical fiber device. A rate of twist at which the secondary section twists about the axis may increase from a first end of the optical fiber device toward a second end of the optical fiber device. The secondary section being twisted about the axis may cause an optical beam, launched at the first end of the optical fiber device, to be at least partially converted to a rotary optical beam at the second end of the optical fiber device.

Abstract: An optical fiber may include a first core, a second core, and a cladding surrounding the first core and the second core. The second core may be at an off-center location with respect to a center of the optical fiber, or the second core may include an azimuthally nonuniform section at the off-center location. The second core may twist about an axis of the optical fiber along a length of the optical fiber, and the second core being twisted about the axis may cause an optical beam, launched into the second core at a first end of the optical fiber, to be at least partially converted to a rotary optical beam at a second end of the optical fiber.

Abstract: A pulse stretching fiber oscillator (or laser cavity) may comprise a chirped fiber Bragg grating (CFBG) and an optical circulator arranged such that a first portion of a beam that is transmitted through the CFBG continues to propagate through the laser cavity while a second portion of the beam that is reflected from the CFBG is stretched and chirped by the CFBG and directed out of the laser cavity by the optical circulator. Accordingly, a configuration of the CFBG and the optical circulator in the laser cavity may enable pulse stretching contemporaneous with outcoupling, which may prevent deleterious nonlinear phase from accumulating prior to stretching.

Abstract: An optical fiber may comprise a core doped with one or more active ions to guide signal light from an input end of the optical fiber to an output end of the optical fiber, a cladding surrounding the core to guide pump light from the input end of the optical fiber to the output end of the optical fiber, and one or more inserts formed in the cladding surrounding the core. The core may have a geometry (e.g., a cross-sectional size, a helical pitch, and/or the like) that varies along a longitudinal length of the optical fiber, which may cause an absorption of the pump light to be modulated along the longitudinal length of the optical fiber.

Abstract: An optical pump may include a polarization element to separate pump light into a first component beam and a second component beam, wherein the polarization element is to separate the pump light such that the first component beam has a first polarization and the second component beam has a second polarization that is different from the first polarization. The optical pump may include a gain medium to absorb a portion of the first component beam and a portion of the second component beam, and transmit an unabsorbed portion of the first component beam and an unabsorbed portion of the second component beam. The optical pump may include one or more optical elements to at least partially isolate a pump source from the unabsorbed portion of the first component beam and the unabsorbed portion of the second component beam.

Abstract: A graded index fiber having a refractive index profile that causes a beam to be re-imaged in the graded index fiber with a regular period may include a set of bends that have a bend period matched to or nearly matched to a pitch of the graded index fiber. For example, the set of bends may be formed in the graded index fiber using one or more bending devices that include one or more protrusions that have a periodicity matched to or nearly matched to a pitch of the graded index fiber. A first section of the one or more bending devices may be actuated to move towards a second section of the one or more bending devices such that the one or more protrusions cause the bends to be formed in the graded index fiber.

Abstract: A pulse stretching fiber oscillator (or laser cavity) may comprise a chirped fiber Bragg grating (CFBG) and an optical circulator arranged such that a first portion of a beam that is transmitted through the CFBG continues to propagate through the laser cavity while a second portion of the beam that is reflected from the CFBG is stretched and chirped by the CFBG and directed out of the laser cavity by the optical circulator. Accordingly, a configuration of the CFBG and the optical circulator in the laser cavity may enable pulse stretching contemporaneous with outcoupling, which may prevent deleterious nonlinear phase from accumulating prior to stretching.

Abstract: An optical fiber endcap device may include an input facet spliced onto an input fiber and an output end through which counterpropagating light enters the optical fiber endcap device. The optical fiber endcap device further includes a plurality of angled facets that are arranged at respective angles relative to an axis of the optical fiber endcap device to reflect at least a portion of the counterpropagating light back through the output end of the optical fiber endcap device.

Abstract: A graded index fiber having a refractive index profile that causes a beam to be re-imaged in the graded index fiber with a regular period may include a set of bends that have a bend period matched to or nearly matched to a pitch of the graded index fiber. For example, the set of bends may be formed in the graded index fiber using one or more bending devices that include one or more protrusions that have a periodicity matched to or nearly matched to a pitch of the graded index fiber. A first section of the one or more bending devices may be actuated to move towards a second section of the one or more bending devices such that the one or more protrusions cause the bends to be formed in the graded index fiber.

Abstract: An optical fiber may comprise a core doped with one or more active ions to guide signal light from an input end of the optical fiber to an output end of the optical fiber, a cladding surrounding the core to guide pump light from the input end of the optical fiber to the output end of the optical fiber, and one or more inserts formed in the cladding surrounding the core. Each of the one or more inserts may have a geometry (e.g., a cross-sectional size, a helical pitch, and/or the like) that varies along a longitudinal length of the optical fiber, which may cause an absorption of the pump light to be modulated along the longitudinal length of the optical fiber.

Abstract: An optical element may include a plurality of subsurface induced scattering centers formed in the optical element, where the plurality of subsurface induced scattering centers scatter light passing through the optical element. In some implementations, the plurality of subsurface induced scattering centers may form a scattering region in the optical element. Additionally, or alternatively, the plurality of subsurface induced scattering centers may spatially vary transmission of light through the optical element. The optical element may be an optical waveguide, a bulk optic, and/or the like.