
Chapter 22
Optical Fibers for Industrial
Laser Applications
Adrian Carter, Kanishka Tankala, and Bryce Samson
Nufern, East Granby, Connecticut
22.1 FIBER LASERS AND AMPLIFIERS:
AN INTRODUCTION
Both optical amplifiers and lasers are based on the process of stimulated
emission; a concept first proposed by Albert Einstein in 1916 but not demon-
strated until 1954 when Charles Townes used stimulated emission to produce
microwave oscillation in the ‘‘maser’’ (microwave amplification by stimulation
emission of radiation). It was another 6 years later before Theodore Maiman
demonstrated the first laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radi-
ation). ...