Coherent Beam Combination and Vortex Beam Generation Enabled by Silicon-Based Phase-Control Module in Phased Fiber Laser Array

Abstract

We propose a silicon-based phase-control module that dramatically improves the integration density of phase modulators used in the phased fiber laser array (PFLA) system for the first time. Experimental results reveal nearly ideal coherent beam combining in the far-field, achieving a 32.57-fold increase in peak intensity. The silicon-based phase-control module exhibits exceptional phase stability, with a measured residual phase error of approximately λ/38 across the entire closed-loop system. Additionally, the vortex beam can be generated by adjusting the phase distribution of the silicon-based phase-control module. The experimental results align well with the simulation results, and the generated vortex beam has been successfully verified. This work provides an integrated solution for phase control in large-scale PFLA, offering significant potential for applications in free-space optical communications, laser atmospheric transmission, special light field generation, and other related fields.