Nowadays the use of fiber lasers in interferometric optical sensing and other fiber-optic systems has allowed extending their reach all around the world. Until recently all fiber lasers contained an amount of noise because of the influence of quantum noise and technical vibrations. Quantum noise may be presented in a system where conventional sources of noise such as industrial noise, vibrations, fluctuations of voltage in the electric power supply, thermal noise, etc. are suppressed, whereas technical noise contains temperature fluctuations, laser vibrations, extra noise of the pump source, etc.
Eventually the demand for optical sensor systems has evoked a need for low phase noise fiber laser sources. The main advantage of the low-noise lasers is the performance of high-precision operations that is necessary for accurate optical measurement. The optical systems are used in many areas, for example, in oil and gas exploitation, pipeline integrity monitoring, perimeter security, and wind detection. They overcome other traditional systems due to passivity (no need for electronics), compactness, lightweight, reliability, and the ability of being multiplexed to interrogate vast sensor arrays, as well as longer sensing ranges with high dynamic range and response.
In an optical sensing system the optical fiber lasers always work as a very sensitive continuous sensor that responds to acoustic vibrations from the surroundings. Even the smallest environmental influence evokes the optical path length change in the fiber. The fiber lasers of this type are called distributed-feedback design or DFB lasers and have a short and robust laser cavity. Moreover, DFB fiber lasers ensure essentially low laser phase noise and spectral linewidth. Also packaging design and use of low-noise pump sources allow to decrease vibrations, acoustic and technical noise. Finally, low phase noise fiber laser is compact, easy to use, it consumes less power and has narrow spectral linewidth.
Low-noise fiber lasers are used in different oil fields to help locate the oil deposits, in geoseismic and subsea systems, in meteorology to measure wind speed and turbulence, and even in space missions to measure the strength and direction of the satellite magnetic field. All the recited areas demand low phase noise as a crucial parameter of precise measurement data and clear images. The development of low phase noise fiber lasers continues and at the present time the laser systems become more compact, fiber coupled, high-reliability devices with low-phase-noise quality.
Optromix is a fiber laser, fiber sensors, and optical monitoring systems manufacturer who uses only its own technologies based on the advanced research work and patents of international R&D team. Optromix fiber lasers are exceptionally light and compact and can be embedded in other devices or used in mobile applications. If you have any questions or would like to purchase a low noise fiber laser, please contact us at info@optromix.com
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