This invention relates to optical fibres, fibre lasers, fibre laser arrays
and sensor systems comprising fibre laser arrays. Conventional fibre
laser sensor arrangements comprise a plurality of fibre lasers arranged
in series along a length of optical fibre. A pump light source is located
a one end of the fibre and supplies pump light energy to each of the
fibre lasers in turn. Such sensor systems experience a number of
disadvantages. Firstly, there is an uneven distribution of pump power
along the length of the fibre which effectively limits the number of
laser devices that can successfully be incorporated into the optical
fibre array. Secondly, the manner in which existing sensor systems are
constructed often results in back reflections, optical losses and
mechanical weaknesses. The present invention provides a fibre laser which
mitigates the above problems with fibre laser sensor arrays.