Mid-infrared fluoride fiber lasers in multiple cascade operation

Schneider, J.

doi:10.1109/68.376800

Cited by 34 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Cascade lasing is a well-known technique that has been demonstrated for a number of rare earth ions [12][13][14]. In a similar way to the erbium-doped fluoride fiber laser [15], the current demonstration shows that cascade lasing can occur without the need of mirror reflectivity profiles that create strong cavity resonances.…”

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confidence: 81%

High-power diode-pumped fiber laser operating at 3 μm

Hudson

Jackson

2011

Opt. Lett.

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A high-power diode-cladding-pumped Ho 3þ -doped fluoride glass fiber laser operating in cascade mode is demonstrated. The 5 I 6 → 5 I 7 and 5 I 7 → 5 I 8 laser transitions produced 0:77 W at a measured slope efficiency of 12.4% and 0:24 W at a measured slope efficiency of 5.2%, respectively. Using a long fiber length, which forced a large threshold for the 5 I 7 → 5 I 8 transition, a wavelength of 3:002 μm was measured at maximum output power, making this system the first watt-level fiber laser operating in the mid-IR. © 2011 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 140.3510, 140.3480.The burgeoning field of mid-IR photonics requires a variety of pump and probe sources in order to create the integrated optical devices required for the plethora of applications in defense, health, and the environment. The mid-IR region of the spectrum that is relevant to optics and photonics spans 3 to 50 μm [1] and contains most of the signatures relating to biochemicals and other molecular compounds. Traditionally, research into fiber lasers using fluoride glasses operating in the far shortwave region of the spectrum has been driven by requirements in medicine and materials processing; however, as demands develop from mid-IR photonics, pushing the emission wavelength of fiber lasers further into the mid-IR is desirable. To date, the rare earth ions erbium [2], holmium [3], and dysprosium [4] have created the highest output power and efficiency in the far shortwave IR region with the former two ions also generating low power emission in the near mid-IR region albeit at low efficiencies [5][6][7]. A recent report [8] of an all-fiber erbium-doped ZBLAN 2:825 μm fiber laser emitting 20:6 W of single transverse mode output power demonstrates the maturity and utility of fluoride glass fiber lasers for long wavelength emission. This result suggests that fluoride glass fiber lasers could find application as pump sources for mid-IR integrated optics. Holmium-doped fluoride glass fiber lasers operating on the 5 I 6 → 5 I 7 laser transition (see Fig. 1) have shown high efficiency, high power [9], and broad tunability and offer the opportunity, as a result of the longer fluorescence wavelength compared to erbium, to extend the emission from fiber lasers into the mid-IR region while utilizing a diode-pumped format and operation at room temperature.The 5 I 6 → 5 I 7 laser transition of Ho 3þ is potentially selfterminating because the lifetime of the upper laser level is shorter than the lower laser level lifetime [10], see Fig. 1. As a result, high-power holmium-based fluoride glass fiber lasers have used cascade lasing [11] or codoping with Pr 3þ ions [3] in order to depopulate the lower laser level. In this Letter, we demonstrate using direct diode pumping of the upper laser level, cascade lasing of both the 5 I 6 → 5 I 7 and 5 I 7 → 5 I 8 laser transitions. With the use of holmium-only doping so that the lower laser level is not efficiently de-excited and a long fiber length that produces a high threshold for the 5 I 7 → 5 I 8 laser transiti...

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confidence: 81%

High-power diode-pumped fiber laser operating at 3 μm

Hudson

Jackson

2011

Opt. Lett.

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“…This diminishes fast relaxation and efficient excitation of the 4 I 13/2 amplifier or laser level, but favors the 4 I 11=2 ! 4 I 13/2 laser transition at 3 μm [60,61]; also cascade lasing of both the 3 μm and 1.5 μm transitions has been demonstrated [62][63][64][65]. The effective phonon energy and typical lifetime of the 4 I 13/2 level …”

Section: Lifetimementioning

confidence: 99%

Erbium‐doped integrated waveguide amplifiers and lasers

Bradley

Pollnau

2010

Laser & Photonics Reviews

311

161

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Erbium-doped fiber devices have been extraordinarily successful due to their broad optical gain around 1.5-1.6 μm. Er-doped fiber amplifiers enable efficient, stable amplification of high-speed, wavelength-division-multiplexed signals, thus continue to dominate as part of the backbone of longhaul telecommunications networks. At the same time, Er-doped fiber lasers see many applications in telecommunications as well as in biomedical and sensing environments. Over the last 20 years significant efforts have been made to bring these advantages to the chip level. Device integration decreases the overall size and cost and potentially allows for the combination of many functions on a single tiny chip. Besides technological issues connected to the shorter device lengths and correspondingly higher Er concentrations required for high gain, the choice of appropriate host material as well as many design issues come into play in such devices. In this contribution the important developments in the field of Er-doped integrated waveguide amplifiers and lasers are reviewed and current and future potential applications are explored. The vision of integrating such Er-doped gain devices with other, passive materials platforms, such as silicon photonics, is discussed.

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“…Since 1.7 μm emissions in Er 3+ -codoped ZBLAN fiber generally result from the accessorial transitions in the cascade lasing of 2.7 μm laser [50,60,61] and there is few report on independent operation at the this wavelength [62], we will not address this transition here.…”

Section: Infrared Ermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Colasing at 1.7 μm via transition 4 S 3/2 → 4 I 9/2 was suggested to suppress the competitive lasing on the 850 nm transition 4 S 3/2 → 4 I 13/2 and relieve the population bottleneck [50,60,61]. Thereafter, 150 mW unsaturated output was achieved from a cascade Er 3+ -doped ZBLAN fiber laser [71].…”

Section: Infrared Ermentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Power ZBLAN Glass Fiber Lasers: Review and Prospect

Zhu

Peyghambarian

2010

Advances in OptoElectronics

277

110

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-NaF), considered as the most stable heavy metal fluoride glass and the excellent host for rare-earth ions, has been extensively used for efficient and compact ultraviolet, visible, and infrared fiber lasers due to its low intrinsic loss, wide transparency window, and small phonon energy. In this paper, the historical progress and the properties of fluoride glasses and the fabrication of ZBLAN fibers are briefly described. Advances of infrared, upconversion, and supercontinuum ZBLAN fiber lasers are addressed in detail. Finally, constraints on the power scaling of ZBLAN fiber lasers are analyzed and discussed. ZBLAN fiber lasers are showing promise of generating high-power emissions covering from ultraviolet to mid-infrared considering the recent advances in newly designed optical fibers, beam-shaped high-power pump diodes, beam combining techniques, and heatdissipating technology.

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Mid-infrared fluoride fiber lasers in multiple cascade operation

Cited by 34 publications

References 7 publications

High-power diode-pumped fiber laser operating at 3 μm

High-power diode-pumped fiber laser operating at 3 μm

Erbium‐doped integrated waveguide amplifiers and lasers

High-Power ZBLAN Glass Fiber Lasers: Review and Prospect

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