Progress in Mid-IR Lasers Based on Cr and Fe-Doped II–VI Chalcogenides

Mirov, Sergey; Fedorov, Vladimir V.; Martyshkin, Dmitry; Moskalev, Igor; Mirov, Mike; Vasilyev, Sergey

doi:10.1109/jstqe.2014.2346512

Cited by 335 publications

(168 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…In the mid infrared, Cr-and Fe-doped ZnS-or ZnSe-based solid state lasers can provide average output powers in excess of 10-W tunable in broad ranges of 2 to 3 μm and 100s mW, from 3.7 to 5.00 μm, respectively, 152 although the operation of the latter Fe-doped lasers was at cryogenic temperatures. Extended coverage throughout the molecular fingerprint region can alternatively be achieved using quantum cascade lasers 153 and although operational powers at the watt level is achievable, cryogenic Fig.…”

Section: Wavelength Tunable Mid-infrared Generation Via Difference Frmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tutorial on fiber-based sources for biophotonic applications

Taylor

2016

J. Biomed. Opt

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Abstract. Fiber-based lasers and master oscillator power fiber amplifier configurations are described. These allow spectral versatility coupled with pulse width and pulse repetition rate selection in compact and efficient packages. This is enhanced through the use of nonlinear optical conversion in fibers and fiber-coupled nonlinear crystals, which can be integrated to provide all-fiber pump sources for diverse application. The advantages and disadvantages of sources based upon supercontinuum generation, stimulated Raman conversion, four-wave mixing, parametric generation and difference frequency generation, allowing spectral coverage from the UV to the mid-infrared, are considered.

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Section: Wavelength Tunable Mid-infrared Generation Via Difference Frmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tutorial on fiber-based sources for biophotonic applications

Taylor

2016

J. Biomed. Opt

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“…An alternative simpler approach is the direct development of mid-IR ultrafast oscillators. Bulk transition-metal doped II-VI semiconductors such as chromium-and iron-doped sulfide and selenide offer direct access to the 2-6 µm region, but while 46 fs pulses have been reported from mode-locked Cr:ZnS systems, such pulse generation has only been demonstrated thus far up to ∼2.4 µm [7].One highly promising route is the recent emergence of ultrafast rare-earth-doped fluoride fiber lasers, which bring the benefits of fiber laser technology (compact setups, simple thermal management, high beam quality etc.) to the mid-IR region.…”

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Generation of 70-fs pulses at 286 μm from a mid-infrared fiber laser

et al. 2017

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We propose and demonstrate a simple route to fewoptical-cycle pulse generation from a mid-infrared fiber laser through nonlinear compression of pulses from a holmium-doped fiber oscillator using a short length of chalcogenide fiber and a grating pair. Pulses from the oscillator with 265 fs duration at 2.86 µm are spectrally broadened through self-phase modulation in step-index As 2 S 3 fiber to 140 nm bandwidth, and then re-compressed to 70 fs (7.3 optical cycles). These are the shortest pulses from a mid-infrared fiber system to date, and we note that our system is compact, robust and uses only commercially available components. The scalability of this approach is also discussed, supported by numerical modeling. The generation of laser pulses comprising only a few cycles of the electric and magnetic fields creates substantial scientific and technological opportunities. For example, such ultrashort pulses are enabling new time-resolved studies of atomic and molecular processes on unprecedented timescales and driving the development of tabletop extreme UV and attosecond pulse sources through high-harmonic generation (HHG) [1]. After significant progress in the near-infrared region, there is currently strong demand to push the wavelength of few-optical-cycle pulse sources to beyond 2 µm, into the mid-infrared (mid-IR): these wavelengths correspond to strong absorption resonances in many important organic materials, enabling further investigations and processing of new materials, and also offering advantages for HHG where the highest possible generated photon energy scales with the driving laser wavelength [1].At present, a widely used approach to mid-IR few-cycle pulse generation is parametric wavelength conversion (e.g. optical parametric chirp pulse amplification) of ultrafast near-IR sources, often including a subsequent compression stage [2][3][4][5][6]. This route has yielded mid-IR few-cycle lasers with remarkable performance, but their significant complexity and cost limit widespread practical applications. An alternative simpler approach is the direct development of mid-IR ultrafast oscillators. Bulk transition-metal doped II-VI semiconductors such as chromium-and iron-doped sulfide and selenide offer direct access to the 2-6 µm region, but while 46 fs pulses have been reported from mode-locked Cr:ZnS systems, such pulse generation has only been demonstrated thus far up to ∼2.4 µm [7].One highly promising route is the recent emergence of ultrafast rare-earth-doped fluoride fiber lasers, which bring the benefits of fiber laser technology (compact setups, simple thermal management, high beam quality etc.) to the mid-IR region. Mode-locked holmium-and erbium-based fiber lasers have been demonstrated at 2.7-2.9 µm wavelengths [8-12] (including subsequent extension to 3.6 µm using Raman soliton self-frequency shift [13]), producing tens of nanojoule energy pulses as short as 160 fs. Due to the limited gain bandwidths of holmium and erbium ions (which set the minimum mode-locked pulse width via the transform lim...

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“…Features of II-VI semiconductor hosts (wide bandgap, low phonon cutoff, tetrahedral coordination) are very favorable for doping by TM ions. Chemically stable divalent TM dopant ions provide the 'right' multiplet structure for broadly tunable MIR lasers, including broad absorption and emission bands, high cross-sections, and absence of excited state absorption.ZnS and ZnSe doped with Cr 2+ and Fe 2+ are typical and the best known representatives of the large TM:II-VI family, as reviewed in [2]. Advantages of Cr:ZnS and Cr:ZnSe lasers include room-temperature (RT) operation with close to 100 % quantum efficiency, very broad tuning over 1.9 -3.4 µm range, and convenient pumping by reliable erbium (Er) and thulium (Tm) fiber lasers with pump conversion efficiency in excess of 60 %.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…ZnS and ZnSe doped with Cr 2+ and Fe 2+ are typical and the best known representatives of the large TM:II-VI family, as reviewed in [2]. Advantages of Cr:ZnS and Cr:ZnSe lasers include room-temperature (RT) operation with close to 100 % quantum efficiency, very broad tuning over 1.9 -3.4 µm range, and convenient pumping by reliable erbium (Er) and thulium (Tm) fiber lasers with pump conversion efficiency in excess of 60 %.…”

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Recent Breakthroughs in Solid‐State Mid‐IR Laser Technology

Vasilyev¹,

Moskalev²,

Mirov³

et al. 2016

Laser Technik Journal

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Availability of compact and cost-efficient mid-infrared (MIR) laser sources with a broad range of parameters is of great interest for a number of current and emerging applications. For instance, femtosecond (fs) MIR sources with high average power and broad spectral span enable high dynamic range spectroscopy, sensing, and imaging in the molecular fingerprint region. On the other hand, few-optical-cycle MIR pulses with high energy are of particular importance for the development of EUV and X-ray sources based on strong field nonlinear optics, e.g. high harmonic generation. Furthermore, high-power mid-IR lasers are of interest for processing polymers, glasses and composites, surgical, dental and cosmetology procedures, as well as numerous defense-related applications.Introduced in 1970s, the first solid-state MIR lasers were based on alkali halide crystals with color centers or oxide and fluoride crystals doped with trivalent rare earth ions and required inconvenient cryogenic cooling of the gain medium. Transition-metal doped II-VI semiconductors (TM:II-VI) were introduced as a new class of gain media in the late 1990s by William Krupke's group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA [1]. By their design, TM:II-VI are effective MIR laser materials. Features of II-VI semiconductor hosts (wide bandgap, low phonon cutoff, tetrahedral coordination) are very favorable for doping by TM ions. Chemically stable divalent TM dopant ions provide the 'right' multiplet structure for broadly tunable MIR lasers, including broad absorption and emission bands, high cross-sections, and absence of excited state absorption.ZnS and ZnSe doped with Cr 2+ and Fe 2+ are typical and the best known representatives of the large TM:II-VI family, as reviewed in [2]. Advantages of Cr:ZnS and Cr:ZnSe lasers include room-temperature (RT) operation with close to 100 % quantum efficiency, very broad tuning over 1.9 -3.4 µm range, and convenient pumping by reliable erbium (Er) and thulium (Tm) fiber lasers with pump conversion efficiency in excess of 60 %. Broad emission bands of Crdoped ZnS and ZnSe are favorable for generation of ultra-short pulses; these materials are often referred to as the "Ti:sapphire of the middle IR". In many respects, Fe:ZnS and Fe:ZnSe lasers are complimentary to Cr-based sources. They are pumped in the 2.5 -3.3 µm range and tunable over 3.4 -5.2 µm range; they operate at RT in the nanosecond (ns) pulsed regime but require cooling to about 150 K in the continuous wave (cw) regime.Cr (or Fe) doped ZnS and ZnSe have very similar spectroscopic and laser parameters. Physical properties of ZnS, e.g. reduced thermal-optical effects and wider bandgap are advantageous in high power laser applications, while ZnSe has higher nonlinearity. The choice between ZnS and ZnSe hosts is usually defined by the specific laser parameter requirements. Both materials are available in single crystal and in polycrystalline forms. Single-crystals of high optical quality and sufficiently high dopant concentrations are difficult ...

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Progress in Mid-IR Lasers Based on Cr and Fe-Doped II–VI Chalcogenides

Cited by 335 publications

References 73 publications

Tutorial on fiber-based sources for biophotonic applications

Tutorial on fiber-based sources for biophotonic applications

Generation of 70-fs pulses at 286 μm from a mid-infrared fiber laser

Recent Breakthroughs in Solid‐State Mid‐IR Laser Technology

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