Fundamental mode evolution in long, large-core (>100 μm) adiabatic tapers

We have experimentally investigated fundamental mode propagation in few-meter-long adiabatic step-index tapers with high numerical aperture, core diameter up to 117μm (V=38), and tapering ratio up to 18. We confirmed single fundamental mode guiding in tapers with uniform core index profile by several experiments. We observed an annular near field distribution and degraded beam quality for large output core diameters, found to occur due to intrinsic mechanical stress in the fibers. We expect that eliminating the stress would prevent the mode deformation and allow constructing single-mode, diffraction-limited tapered large-mode-area amplifiers with a good beam shape.

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