Optik 126 (2015) 3145–3149

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Optik
journal homepage: www.elsevier.de/ijleo

Good guess functions for MATLAB BVP solvers in multipoint pumping

Yb3+ -doped fiber lasers
Xudong Hu a,b,c , Fanwen Zeng a , Tigang Ning b,c , Li Pei b,c , Qingyan Chen d , Li Zhang a ,
Yanjie Pang a , Shujing Zhao a , Shuo Jie a , Jing Li b,c,∗ , Chuanbiao Zhang b,c
a
Information Engineering Department, Gengdan Institute of Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 101301, China
b
Institute of Lightwave Technology, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
c
Key Lab of All Optical Network & Advanced Telecommunication Network of EMC, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
d
College of Mechanical Engineering, Wuhan Vocational College of Software and Engineering, Wuhan 430205, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Including constant, linear function and exponential function, three good guess functions of forward signal
Received 11 June 2014 power are developed to deal with the difficulty of setting suitable estimates in the multipoint pumping
Accepted 14 July 2015 Yb3+ -doped double-cladding fiber lasers (YDCFLs) model with boundary conditions using MATLAB BVP
solvers. Simulation results show that three good guess functions can get rapidly the exact values of YDCFLs
Keywords: after only one iteration times. Among three good guess functions, conversion efficiency critical guesses of
Guess functions
linear functions are more stable than those of constant and exponential functions at different fiber lengths.
Multipoint pumping
Furthermore, the more pump points, the smaller fluctuations of conversion efficiency critical guesses in
Yb3+ -doped fiber
Fiber laser
linear functions at different fiber lengths. Conversion efficiency critical guesses of linear functions keep
MATLAB BVP solvers small fluctuations with the increases of pump powers at different points pump.
© 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
MATLAB BVP solvers have been developed for solving end
pumping Yb3+ -doped double-cladding fiber lasers (YDCFLs) model
[1] or Raman fiber amplifiers (RFAs) model [2,3] in recent years.
Compared to shooting method [4–8], MATLAB BVP solvers as a
popular technique for solving boundary value problems, is approx-
imated over the whole interval and the boundary conditions are
automatically satisfied at all time. A good guess is absolutely essen-
tial to solve the MATLAB BVPs’ flaws itself failing to converge or
convergent to error results [9]. That is, when the MATLAB BVP
solvers of bvp4c/bvp5c using some unsuitable predicted initial
values are to be solved the YDCFLs model directly, the following
two things will happen: (1) the numerical solutions are unable to
meet the accuracy requirements; (2) the numerical solutions of
YDCFLs are beyond the certain physical value ranges in practice
even the numerical solutions are convergent. Number sequence
transition method based on MATLAB BVP solvers (NSTM-BVPs) can
automatically update the initial trial values and succeed to handle
the mentioned poor initial values with more iteration times [1].
Comparing to end-pump structure, multipoint pump scheme can
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 13681429960.
E-mail address: lijing@bjtu.edu.cn (J. Li).
overcome the limitation of pump source and the thermal effect
in YDCFLs [10–12]. Obviously, multipoint side-pumping YDCFLs
model need more computing time than end-pump YDCFLs model
using MATLAB BVP solvers in one iteration times. It is necessary
to give good guess for MATLAB BVP solvers to solve multipoint
side-pumping YDCFLs.
In this paper, the multipoint side-pumping YDCFLs model is
briefly introduced in Section 2. In Section 3, three good guess
functions, including constant, linear functions and exponential
functions, are proposed for solving the difficulty of setting unrea-
sonable initial values using MATLAB BVP solvers in multipoint
side-pumping YDCFLs. Then, we discuss how the fiber length to
take effect on the constant and exponential functions, linear func-
tions in 6-point side-pumping YDCFLs. Finally, for the advantages
of linear functions, the influence of fiber lengths and pump power
are simultaneously discussed in detail with different pump point
side-pumping YDCFLs.
2. Multipoint side-pumping Yb3+ -doped double-cladding
fiber lasers model
A typical multipoint side-pumping linear cavity Yb3+ -doped
double-cladding fiber lasers (YDCFLs), including n + 1 point pump,
is described schematically in Fig. 1. In the YDCFLs numerical model,
signal stimulated emission and absorption, stimulated emission at

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijleo.2015.07.070
0030-4026/© 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
3146 X. Hu et al. / Optik 126 (2015) 3145–3149

The boundary conditions can be expressed as follows:

Ps+ (0) = R1 (s )Ps− (0) (4a)

Pp+ (0) = p0 PL + R1 (p )Pp− (0)

f
(4b)
0

Ps+ (Li +) = (1 − lsi )Ps+ (Li −) 1 ≤ i ≤ n − 1 (4c)

Ps− (Li −) = (1 − lsi )Ps− (Li +) 1≤i≤n−1 (4d)

Pp+ (Li +) + (1 − lpi )Pp+ (Li −)

f
Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of multipoint side-pumping Yb -doped double- 3+
= pi PL 1≤i≤n−1 (4e)
cladding fiber laser i

Pp− (Li −) = pi PLb + (1 − lpi )Pp− (Li +) 1 ≤ i ≤ n − 1 (4f)

i
the pump wavelength and scattering losses both for the signal and
the pump are considered, but spontaneous emission and excited Ps− (L) = R2 (s )Ps+ (L) (4g)
state absorption (ESA) are negligible for strong pumping conditions Pp− (L) = pL PLbn + R2 (p )Pp+ (L) (4h)
[13].
The steady-state rate equations in YDCFLs are described by the f f
where PL (P0 ) and PLbn (PLb ) represent the pump power at z = 0 and
0
following set of nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations f
z = L, respectively. PL and PLb are the forward and backward pump
(1)–(3) [14]. i i
  powers at side pump position z = Li (1 ≤ i ≤ n − 1), respectively.
p ap Pp+ (z)+Pp− (z) p s as (Ps+ (z)+Ps− (z))s R1 (s ) and R2 (s ) are the input and output mirror reflectivity at
N2 (z) +
=  hcA
 hcA signal wavelength at z = 0 and z = L, respectively. R1 (p ) and R2 (p )
N p (ap +ep ) Pp+ (z)+Pp− (z) p s (as +es )(Ps+ (z)+Ps− (z))s are the input and output mirror reflectivity at pump wavelength
1
hcA
+  + hcA at z = 0 and z = L, respectively. p0 and pL are the pump coupling
(1)
efficiency at z = 0and z = L, respectively. pi and lpi are the pump
coupling efficiency and loss coefficient at z = Li , correspondingly.
  The loss coefficient of signal propagating in the fiber core at z = Li is
dPp± (z)
± = −p ap N − (ap + ep )N2 (z) Pp± (z) − ˛p Pp± (z) (2) lsi , respectively. For simplicity, each the pump coupling efficiency,
dz
pump and signal losses coefficient on the side pump positions are
dPs± (z)     the same, i.e. pi = p , lpi = lp and lsi = ls .
± = s [es + as ]N2 (z) − as N − ˛s Ps± (z) (3)
dz
where N is the rare earth ion dopant concentration. N2 (z) is the 3. Three guess functions for multipoint side-pumping
upper lasing level population density. Pp± (z) and Ps± (z) are the pump YDCFLs
power and the laser signal power along the fiber, respectively. The
plus and minus superscripts represent propagation along the pos- MATLAB BVP solvers of bvp4c/bvp5c in later MATLAB7 versions
itive or negative z-direction, respectively.  p and  s represent can solve directly the above multipoint boundary value problems of
respectively the pump and laser signal filling factor in the core.  ap multipoint side pumping YDCFLs through the following steps [15]:
and  ep are the pump absorption and the emission cross-section,
respectively.  as and  es are the laser signal absorption and the • Step 1: determine the interfaces L1 , L2 , . . ., Li , . . ., Ln−1 and divide
emission cross-section, respectively. p and s are the pump and the interval of integration into n regions [0, L1 ], [L1 , L2 ], . . ., [Li−1 ,
laser signal wavelengths, respectively. The scattering losses for the Li ], . . ., [Ln−1 , L].
pump and laser signal powers are given by ˛p and ˛s , respectively. • Step 2: determine and code the nonlinear coupled ordinary dif-
A, h, c and ␶ are the effective core area, the Planck’s constant, the ferential equations (1)–(3) of the multipoint pump YDCFLs in each
light velocity and spontaneous lifetime, respectively. region.

Table 1
Guess functions of signal powers for multipoint side-pumping YDCFLs in interval [Li , Li+1 ] (0 ≤ i ≤ n − 1).

Type Guess function of signal power



n−1

Ps+ (z) Ps+ (L) 1 f f

Constant ≈ = 1−R2 (s )
PL + (PL + PLb ) + PLb p ;
0 i i n

 i=1

n−1
R2 (s )
Ps− (z) ≈ Ps− (L) =
f f
1−R2 (s )
PL + (PL + PLb ) + PLb p .
0 i i n


i=1

R1 (s )R2 (s )L+(1−

√
R1 (s )R2 (s ))z

n−1

Ps+ (z)
f f
Linear functions ≈ √ PL + (PL + PLb ) + PLb p ;
R1 (s )R2 (s )(1−R2 (s ))L 0 i i n

i=1


n−1
R2 (s )L
Ps− (z)
f f
≈ √ √ PL + (PL + PLb ) + PLb p .
( R1 (s )R2 (s )L+(1− R1 (s )R2 (s ))z)(1−R2 (s )) 0 i i n

  i=1

√
R1 (s )R2 (s ) exp −
ln(R1 (s )R2 (s ))z
2L

n−1

Ps+ (z) ≈
f f
Exponential functions 1−R2 (s )
PL + (PL + PLb ) + PLb p ;
0 i i n

 ln(R (s )R (s ))z   i=1

√
R2 (s ) exp 1
2L
2
n−1

Ps− (z)
f f
≈ √ PL + (PL + PLb ) + PLb p .
R1 (s )(1−R2 (s )) 0 i i n

i=1
 X. Hu et al. / Optik 126 (2015) 3145–3149 3147

• Step 3: determine and code the boundary conditions (4).

• Step 4: set initial mesh point and create an initial guess.
• Step 5: apply MATLAB BVP solvers.

For multipoint BVPs, creating a proper initial guess at given ini-

tial mesh point in step 4 is very essential for solving the multipoint
side pumping YDCFLs. Obviously, the upper lasing level population
density N2 (z)  N, the good guesses of pump power Pp± (z) in [Li , Li+1 ]
(0 ≤ i ≤ n − 1) are

Pp+ (z) ≈ PL exp(−(p ap N + ˛p )(z − Li ))

f
(5)
i

Pp− (z) ≈ PLb exp(−(p ap N + ˛p )(Li+1 − z)) (6)

i+1

Due to the output power Pout = Ps+ (L)(1 − R2 (s )) varies

+

signal power Ps (L), i.e. Pout =
approximate linearly with

f

n−1
f
PL + (PL + PLb ) + PLbn p . Now the guess of the signal
0 i i
i=1
power Ps+ (L) is


Pout 1
n−1
Ps+ (L)
f f
= = PL + (PL + PLb ) + PLbn p 
1 − R2 (s ) 1 − R2 (s ) 0 i i
i=1
(7)

where  is the conversion efficiency of YDCFLs, 0 ≤  ≤ 1.

Using the boundary conditions, we find

Ps+ (0) = R1 (s )R2 (s )Ps+ (L) (8)

Through straightforward integration of = 0, d(Ps+ (z)Ps− (z))/dz

Ps+ (z)Ps− (z) is a constant, independent of z. Hence, we can take the
forward signal power Ps+ (z) to be the only independent variable.
Here, forward signal power Ps+ (z) is assumed constant, linear
function or exponent function in interval [0, L] and detailed in
Table 1. Three simple functions of Ps+ (z) can conveniently deal with
the difficulty of setting unreasonable initial guess values only by
conversion efficiency . When conversion efficiency guess  is poor
for MATLAB BVPs, there are two following possibilities might occur
[1]:
Case (I): “unable to meet the tolerance without using more than
2500 mesh point” in MATLAB. That is, the numerical solutions are
unable to meet the given error tolerance.
Case (II): the output power Pout is beyond the physical value
ranges such as Pout < 0.
Thus, the exact solutions of output power can be rapidly
Fig. 2. Output powers as function of conversion efficiency guess values in 6-point
acquired after only one iteration times if conversion efficiency pumping YDCFLs with different guess function of forward signal power: (a) constant;
guess value in Table 1 is suitable at given initial mesh point using (b) linear function; and (c) exponential function
directly MATLAB BVPs. That is, three guess functions are good guess
functions in proper conversion efficiency’s interval for MATLAB BVP
Output power as function of guess value conversion effi-
solvers bvp4c/bvp5c.
ciency for 6-point pumping YDCFLs are schematically shown in
Fig. 2(a)–(c). The guess functions of the signal powers Ps+ (z), as
4. Simulation and discussion detailed in Table 1, are respectively constant in Fig. 2(a), linear
function in Fig. 2(b), and exponential function in Fig. 2(c). From
Numerical simulation parameters of the multipoint pump Fig. 2, the exact solutions of output power can be rapidly acquired
YDCFLs using bvp4c are [16]: h = 6.63 × 10−34 Js, c = 3 × 108 ms−1 , after only one iteration time using bvp4c when all the guess val-
p = 975 nm, s = 1090 nm, R1 (s ) = 0.98, R2 (s ) = 0.04, ues of conversion efficiency are greater than or equal to certain
R1 (p ) = 0.04, R2 (p ) = 0.04, N = 4 × 1025 m−3 , A = 8 × 10−10 m2 , boundary values among three guess functions. That is, if the guess
 p = 0.0046,  s = 0.9, ˛p = 6 × 10−3 m−1 , ˛s = 5 × 10−3 m−1 , values of conversion efficiency are less than the certain boundary
p = 0.95 [11], pL = 0.95 [11], p0 = 0.95 [11], lp = 0.05 [11], values among three guess functions, some output powers may more
ls = 0.01 [11],  as = 1.4 × 10−27 m2 [17],  es = 2 × 10−25 m2 or less bias the exact solutions. Similarly to the shooting method
[17],  ep = 2.5 × 10−24 m2 [17],  ap = 2.5 × 10−24 m2 [17], [5], the above minimum boundary value of conversion efficiency
−3 −6
 = 0.84 × 10 s, L = 25 m, AbsTol = 10 W, Li = L × i/n, Ptol = 1000 W, guess in bvp4c is named the critical guess of conversion efficiency
f f
P0 = PLb = PL = PLb = Ptol /(2n + 2) 1 ≤ i ≤ n − 1. For simplicity, c , such as c = 0.04 in Fig. 2(a), c = 0.04 in Fig. 2(b), and c = 0.27
i i
the conversion efficiency guess  is generated from 0.01 to 1 with in Fig. 2(c). Three guess functions are good guess functions with
interval 0.01. proper conversion efficiency interval [c , 1] for MATLAB BVP solvers
3148 X. Hu et al. / Optik 126 (2015) 3145–3149

Fig. 4. Critical guess of conversion efficiency as a function of fiber length with

different guess functions of forward signal power

Fig. 5. Critical guess of conversion efficiency as a function of fiber length using linear
function with different points pump

as a function of fiber length with different guess functions of signal

Fig. 3. Forward signal power and total pump power as function of positions for 6-
point pumping YDCFLs with different guess functions of forward signal power: (a)
constant; (b) linear function; and (c) exponential function
power are schematically described in Fig. 4. Obviously, the critical
guesses value of conversion efficiency is stable with little fluctu-
ation [0.03, 0.05] in the whole fiber length [5, 50] m for the linear
function of signal power, while the critical guesses value of conver-
sion efficiency fluctuates from 0.03 to 0.11 for constant and waves
from 0.05 to 0.35 for exponential function at all the fiber length.
Thus, comparing to constants and exponential function of signal
power, the linear function of signal power has more stable critical
guesses value of conversion efficiency with given tolerance.
Furthermore, critical guess of conversion efficiency as a func-
tion of fiber length with linear function and different points pump
for YDCFLs are described in Fig. 5. From Fig. 5, the more pump
points, the smaller fluctuations of conversion efficiency critical

bvp4c. Different from the shooting method [5], the exact output
power in bvp4c might be obtained with given tolerance when some
guess values of conversion efficiency are less than critical guess
of conversion efficiency c . For example in Fig. 2(c), the output
power is 723.93612 W at  = 0.26 < c which unable to meet the
given error tolerance, and the exact solution of the output power is
727.64715 W at  = 0.1 < c .
Then, forward signal power and total pump power as function
of position for 6-point pumping YDCFLs at  = 0.5 > c are detailed
in Fig. 3(a)–(c). Clearly, the obtained signal power and total pump
power distributions are identical when the guess functions of for-
ward signal power are constant, linear function and exponential
function.
Now, to explore the fiber length effect on the critical guess value Fig. 6. Output powers as a function of total pump powers using linear function with
of conversion efficiency c , critical guesses of conversion efficiency different points pump.
 X. Hu et al. / Optik 126 (2015) 3145–3149
guesses. When the pump points are respectively 3, 5, 7 and 9,
the corresponding critical guesses of conversion efficiency are
0.02–0.08, 0.03–0.06, 0.03–0.05 and 0.03–0.04.
Finally, critical guess of conversion efficiency as a function of
total pump power Ptol with different points pump is schematically
detailed in Fig. 6. From Fig. 6, conversion efficiency critical guesses
of linear functions still keep small fluctuations with the increase of
total pump powers at different points pump. When the pump points
are respectively 3, 5, 7 and 9, the corresponding critical guesses
of conversion efficiency are 0.03–0.08, 0.03–0.08, 0.03–0.07 and
0.03–0.07.
5. Conclusions
Constant, linear functions and exponential functions of forward
signal power are developed for solving the difficulty of setting
unreasonable estimate using MATLAB BVP solvers in the mul-
tipoint side-pumping YDCFLs with boundary conditions. Pump
power guess are expressed by exponential functions in each inter-
val at given initial mesh point. Simulation results show that all the
three guess functions can get rapidly the exact values of YDCFLs
with given tolerance after only one iteration times when conversion
efficiency guesses are greater than or equal to the corresponding
critical guesses of conversion efficiency. Among three good guess
functions, conversion efficiency critical guesses of linear functions
are more stable than those of constant and exponential functions at
different fiber lengths for 6-point side pumped YDCFLs. In addition,
conversion efficiency critical guesses in linear functions become
steadier with the increase of pump points at different fiber lengths
and still keep small fluctuations with the increase of pump powers
at different points pump.
Acknowledgements
This work is jointly supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (61177069, 61471033, 61405007).
3149
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