Mitigation of mode instabilities by dynamic excitation of fiber modes

By dynamically varying the power content of the excited fiber modes of the main amplifier of a fiber-based MOPA system at high average output power levels, it was possible to mitigate mode instabilities to a large extent. In order to achieve the excitation variation, we used an acousto-optic deflector in front of the Yb-doped rod-type fiber. Therewith, it was possible to significantly increase both the average and the instantaneous minimum power content of the fundamental mode. This, consequently, led to a substantial improvement of the beam quality and pointing stability at power levels well beyond the threshold of mode instabilities.