Can one passively phase lock 25 fiber lasers?

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that passively phase locking 25 fiber lasers is feasible but limited to short durations, with phase locking levels affected by array size and connectivity.

Contribution

It provides experimental insights into the phase locking behavior of large fiber laser arrays, highlighting the effects of array size and connectivity on phase coherence.

Findings

Average phase locking level is 20-30%

Rare instantaneous events can exceed 90% locking

Phase locking decreases with more lasers, increases with connectivity

Abstract

Yes, it is possible to phase lock 25 fiber lasers but only for a short time. Our experiments on passively phase locking two-dimensional arrays of coupled fiber lasers reveal that the average phase locking level of 25 lasers is low ($20%-30%$) but can exceed 90% on rare instantaneous events. The average phase locking level was found to decrease for larger number of lasers in the array and increase with the connectivity of the array.