Random Fiber Lasers: A Review of Physical Principles, Performance Manipulations, and Application Frontiers

ABSTRACT Random fiber lasers (RFLs) are distinguished from traditional fiber lasers and 3D random lasers by unique generation mechanisms and performance advantages. This distinction arises from their reliance on sufficient accumulation of weak Rayleigh scattering, and nonlinear amplification resulted from multiple random scatterings of photons in the quasi‐1D waveguide structure. Over the years, RFLs have garnered extensive attention across various fields due to rich physical properties and multidimensional, versatile programmability. This paper presents a systematic integration of overall developments of RFLs from physical principles, performance manipulations, and application frontiers. The physical characteristics discovered to date are comprehensively reviewed, ranging from fundamental mechanisms such as random feedback and Raman amplification, to complex behaviors including spectral correlations and replica symmetry breaking. The research progress in the time‐frequency‐space domain is systematically organized, summarizing a series of representative recent advancements. The current application status is outlined, including traditional applications such as communication and sensing, as well as emerging applications such as imaging technology, spectral reconstruction, and random number generation. This paper may not only reveal the complete development path from fundamental research to technological applications, but also point out new opportunities brought by interdisciplinary integration, providing important references for future researches and technological applications.