Single-frequency Raman fiber amplifier emitting 11 μJ 150 W peak-power at 1645 nm for remote methane sensing applications

Remote methane concentration measurement using a Differential Absorption Lidar system can be performed using a single-frequency pulsed laser source at 1645.55 nm. This wavelength cannot be efficiently amplified in conventional Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier as the gain band stops around 1620 nm. We report on a single-frequency polarization-maintaining pulsed amplifier at 1645 nm relying on stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in highly nonlinear silica fibers (HNLF). Considering that SRS converts pump photons to photons frequency-downshifted by 13.2 THz with a gain bandwidth of 2 THz, a 1545 nm pump can efficiently amplify a 1645 nm seed laser. The drawback of using a HNLF is that the single-frequency signal will also experience stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) through its amplification. This issue has been partially solved by designing a two-stage amplification setup minimizing SBS. In the first stage, a 20 m piece of HNLF has been used so that the effective length of the amplified signal stays under SBS threshold. In the second stage, we used a 2.5 m piece of HNLF and high pump peak-power to significantly reduce the effective length, allowing more amplification. We report on generation of single-frequency 11 mu J energy pulses at 1645 nm corresponding to 150 W peak-power and 80 ns pulse duration at 20 kHz pulse repetition frequency.