Theory of superfluorescent fiber lasers

We report a theoretical analysis of superfluorescence in short active fiber devices for fiber system applications requiring broad-band light sources. Using a mode overlap approach, we derive simple expressions for the threshold and energy conversion efficiency of this new class of devices, and study the effect of the fiber -number and internal loss on their overall performance. We show that near single-mode Nd:YAG single crystal fibers pumped near 810 nm, possibly with a high-power laser diode, are anticipated to exhibit thresholds on the order of a few milliwatts, conversion efficiencies in excess 35 percent, and power-independent bandwidths of several nanometers.