Radiation tolerant frequency comb fiber laser for space applications

Advanced radiation tolerant Erbium doped fibers have been developed surviving an accumulated dose of 1 kGy*. Femtosecond fiber lasers and amplifiers manufactured from such fibers have been packaged and irradiated under active operation to test for accelerated ageing with dose rates up to 10 mGy/s using a Cobalt 60 source. The laser output power degraded by about 11% after exposure of a dose of 1 kGy. Compared to conventional Erbium fiber lasers this represents a significant improvement in radiation tolerance.