A stable, single-frequency 1083 nm ytterbium-doped fiber laser with a singly-pumped DFB-MOPA architecture

We demonstrate a single-frequency ytterbium-doped fiber laser operating at 1083 nm that employs a simplified master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) architecture based on a distributed feedback (DFB) seed laser. The system is uniquely powered by a single 976 nm laser diode, whose output is efficiently split to simultaneously pump both the DFB seed and MOPA stages, eliminating the need for multiple pump sources. A robust theoretical model predicts a three-stage power scaling behavior, which is experimentally validated. The system achieves a maximum continuous-wave output power of 62.98 mW. The output exhibits high stability, with a peak-to-peak power fluctuation below 0.058% over 600 s and frequency stability better than 20 MHz over 17 min. The output maintains high polarization purity with a polarization extinction ratio (PER) of ∼ 30.68 dB. This combination of simplified design, high stability, and robust performance highlights the system’s potential for applications in quantum technologies such as helium magnetometry.