Optimized absorption in a chaotic double-clad fiber amplifier.

Double-clad fibers with a doped single-mode core and a noncylindrical multimode chaotic cladding are shown to provide optimal pump-power absorption in power amplifiers. Based on the chaotic dynamics of rays in such fibers, we propose a quantitative theory for the pump-absorption ratio and favorably compare the predictions of the theory with numerical results obtained through an adapted beam-propagation scheme.