Coherent addition

The first nonlinear theory of the coherent addition of laser sets had been developed by Nikolay Basov with co-workers in 1965.

[1] For Nd:YAG laser set beam combination had been realized by means of SBS phase conjugating mirror.

However, active coherent combining of lasers has the potential to scale to very large numbers of channels.

[6] Nonlinear interactions of light waves are used widely to synchronize the laser beams in multichannel optical systems.

Self-adjusting of phases may be robustly achievable in binary-tree array of beam-splitters and degenerate four-wave mixing Kerr Phase conjugation[7] in Chirped pulse amplification extreme light facilities.

Constructive interference due to Talbot self-imaging forces the lasers in the array to transverse mode locking.

element laser array phase-locked by Talbot cavity Fresnel number

Talbot phase-locking techniques are applicable to thin disk diode-pumped solid-state laser arrays.

[11] Laser beam combination of a dozens fiber laser via multispectral technique at 50 kW output power level had been implemented in Dragonfire (weapon) laser system with promising deployment at onboard future Royal Navy warships, British Army armoured vehicles and fighter aircraft of the Royal Air Force, including the BAE Systems Tempest.