Low-Threshold Broadband Spectrum Generation by Amplification of Cascaded Stimulated Raman Scattering in an Ytterbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier

We present an experimental study on low-threshold broadband spectrum generation mainly due to the amplification of the cascaded stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) effect in a four-stage fiber master oscillator power amplifier system. The cascaded SRS is achieved by using a long passive fiber pumped by a pulsed fiber laser centered at wavelength 1064 nm. The amplified spontaneous emission during the amplification process is efficiently suppressed by cutting the length of the passive fiber and by using a double-clad ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier. The generated broadband spectrum spans from 960 nm to 1700 nm with maximum average output 13.6 W and average spectral power density approximately 17.7 mW/nm.