Optimization of pumping mode for double-clad fiber lasers

A theoretical modeling of Yb-doped double-clad fiber lasers under various pumping modes including arbitrary numbers of end-pump and side-pump is introduced. Approximate analytic expressions of distributed lasers along the whole fiber are derived, and their accuracies are investigated. The effect of the pumping mode on the output performance of fiber lasers is discussed. The numerical results show that the approximate analytic solution is in excellent agreement with the exact numerical solution of the rate equations, the output power in the side-pump scheme is lower than that in end-pumping scheme, and more uniform distributions of laser and pump powers can be achieved by adopting the distributed pump mode and optimizing the arrangement of pump powers. However, further flattening the pump distribution by using more pump points can degrade the laser efficiency.