Patent ID: 6366356
Filing Date: 2002-04-02
Classification: H01S

Abstract:
A high average power fiber laser system comprising:a master oscillator for generating a primary laser signal; a beam splitter array for splitting said primary laser signal into a reference laser signal and N secondary laser signals where N is a positive integer; an optical frequency shifter for shifting the frequency of the reference laser signal; a phase modulator array for providing phase compensation of said N secondary laser signals; N single-mode dual clad fiber amplifiers for amplifying said N secondary laser signals and generating an output beam; a beam sampler for sampling the wavefront of said output beam, defining an array of sampled signals; means responsive to said array of sampled signals for interferometrically combining said array of sampled signals and the shifted reference laser signal into an array of heterodyne optical signals, each having a phase that corresponds to the state of phase of the array of sampled signals; and means responsive to said array of heterodyne optical signals for providing a plurality of feedback signals to said phase modulator array that are linearly proportional to the state of phase over at least one wave to provide phase compensation of said secondary laser signals.