All-fiber highly efficient delivery of 2 kW laser over 2.45 km hollow-core fiber

Abstract

Anti-resonant hollow-core fibers (AR-HCFs) have emerged as an important medium for high-power laser delivery due to their low optical nonlinearity and high damage threshold. However, current delivery systems of high-power laser based on AR-HCFs mainly rely on free-space optical components, which limits long-term stability in dynamic environments. Here, we report an all-fiber delivery of 2 kW laser with 85.3% transmission efficiency over 2.45 km, using a self-fabricated AR-HCF with a record low transmission loss of 0.175 dB/km at 1080 nm. This represents a nearly 500-fold improvement in the power-distance product compared to reported all-fiber AR-HCF-based laser transmission systems, achieving a record transmission distance for high-power laser delivery. Notably, we observed the phenomenon of stimulated Raman scattering amplified within the silica nested tubes in AR-HCF for the first time. By effectively suppressing the Raman noise from the laser source, we achieve an all-fiber laser delivery without stimulated Raman scattering of silica glass. This work marks a significant breakthrough in multi-kilometer and multi-kilowatt power delivery that is potentially useful for industrial manufacturing, nuclear decommissioning, laser drilling of oil, particle acceleration and so on.