Fiber-laser monolithic coherent beam combiner based on multicore photonic crystal fiber

A monolithic coherent combiner scheme for combining multiple fiber lasers based on a photonic crystal fiber is described. Beam propagation method (BPM) simulations show that the beam combiner efficiency can reach 96% for a 4 x 1 combiner, 94% for an 8 x 1 combiner, and 91% for a 16 x 1 combiner, provided the fiber lasers are phase matched. In addition, a 2 x 1 intensity polarization combiner is proposed and simulated through full vectorial BPM, yielding a combining efficiency of 95%. This concept can lead to a rugged and efficient combiner for multiple fiber lasers. (C) 2015 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)