High Power Laser Applications of Hollow Core Fibres

中空芯光纤(HCF)基于精心设计的玻璃微结构，允许在中央空气芯内引导光，使峰值功率水平的传输远远超出实芯石英玻璃光纤的损伤和光学非线性阈值，并有可能在紧凑、受限的环境中实现强光：气体在扩展长度范围内的相互作用。在这个项目中，我们希望在各种高功率激光应用中利用这些使能特性，包括远距离(连续和脉冲)传输强激光，以及使用克尔和拉曼非线性在充满气体的HCF中进行波长转换。这项工作将是实验性的，但也将包括一些数值建模，以及在光纤设计和制造、高功率激光开发和计量方面的广泛研究小组之间的合作。这项研究将包括开发可靠和高效地将高功率激光耦合到HCF的手段和相关的热管理，准确地描述输入和输出光束的空间、光谱和时间特性，并与该技术的不同潜在最终用户合作。

Hollow core fibres (HCFs) are based on carefully designed glass microstructures which allow the guidance of light within a central air core, enabling the transmission of peak power levels far beyond the damage and optical nonlinearity thresholds of solid core silica glass fibres, as well as the possibility to achieve strong light:gas interactions over extended length scales in a compact, confined environment. Within this project we look to exploit these enabling properties in a variety of high power laser applications including the delivery of intense laser light over long distances (both CW and pulsed) and wavelength conversion in gas-filled HCFs using Kerr and Raman nonlinearities. The work will be experimental in nature, but will also include some numerical modelling, as well as collaboration across a wide range of research groups working on fibre design and fabrication, high-power laser development and metrology. Included within the research will be the development of means of reliably and efficiently coupling high power laser light into HCFs and associated thermal management, accurate spatial, spectral and temporal characterisation of the input and output beams and working with different potential end users of the technology.