10-W-level diode-pumped compact 2.78 microm ZBLAN fiber laser

We report on >9W transverse-fundamental-mode CW output near 3 mum from a 4m heavily erbium-doped ZBLAN double-clad fiber laser pumped by a collimated 100 W 975 nm laser diode array. The pump threshold of the fiber laser was about 1W, and the slope efficiency was 21.3%. The peak wavelength of free running was about 2708 nm at low pump power and moved to around 2785 nm at high pump power. Output of 9W was obtained when the launched pump power was 42.8W. The output, however, fluctuated intensively like a pulsed laser, and the operation broke down with optical damage of the pumping end facet when the pump was increased beyond 42.8 W. Therefore, alleviation of the operation fluctuation, heat management, and strengthening the pumping fiber are crucial considerations for the stable operation of 10-W-level mid-IR ZBLAN fiber lasers.     

Actively Q-switched and mode-locked Tm3+-doped silicate 2 μm fiber laser for supercontinuum generation in fluoride fiber

A diode-pumped actively Q-switched and actively mode-locked Tm3+-doped double-clad silicate fiber laser is reported providing up to 5 W of average output power at ~60 kHz Q-switch envelope repetition rate and ~8 μJ subpulses with up to 2.4 kW peak power. Using this source as a pump laser for supercontinuum generation in a ZBLAN fiber, over 1080 mW of supercontinuum from 1.9 μm to beyond 3.6 μm was obtained at an overall efficiency of 3.3% with respect to the diode pump power.     

Highly efficient in-band pumped Er:YAG laser with 60 W of output at 1645 nm

A high-power Er:YAG laser that is in-band pumped by a high-power cladding-pumped erbium-ytterbium codoped fiber laser operating at 1532 nm is reported. The Er:YAG laser produced 60.3 W of continuous-wave output at 1645.3 nm in a beam with M2 approximately equal to 3 for 82 W of incident pump power and 20 W of TEM00 output with M2 < 1.2 for 32.4 W of incident pump power. The slope efficiency with respect to incident pump power at pump powers of >20 W was approximately 81%. In the Q-switched mode of operation, a slightly modified resonator configuration incorporating an electro-optic Q switch produced pulses of approximately 4 mJ energy and approximately 100 ns (FWHM) duration, corresponding to a peak power of approximately 42 kW at a repetition rate of 1 kHz for an incident pump power of 16.8 W. The prospects for further improvement in continuous-wave and Q-switched performance are discussed.     

自调Q、自锁模铒/镱共掺光纤激光器

研究了结构新颖的环形腔铒/镱（Er/Yb）共掺双包层光纤激光器.为了获得高功率激光输出,使用6个激光二极管（LD）同时抽运Er/Yb共掺光纤,采用光纤光栅（FBG）Sagnac环作为波长选择器,得到了中心波长为1548.11 nm、谱线宽度为0.06 nm的窄线宽激光输出;并利用增益光纤作为可饱和吸收体,实现了自调Q、自锁模脉冲输出.当抽运功率为719 mW时,激光器输出自调Q脉冲,脉冲周期为20μs,脉冲宽度为2.8μs,脉冲的平均功率为38.4mW,峰值功率为274.3mW;当抽运功率为3.6 W时,激光器输出自锁模脉冲,脉冲宽度为4ns,平均功率为319 mW,脉冲峰值功率大于10 W,重复频率为7.937 MHz.     

基于SESAM的3μm波段被动调Q光纤激光器

基于半导体可饱和吸收镜,实现了3μm波段被动调Q光纤激光器平均功率瓦级输出。激光器最大平均功率为1.0 W,对应的最大脉冲能量及最大峰值功率分别为6.9μJ和21.7 W。激光器斜效率为17.8%,最高重复频率为146.3kHz,最小脉宽为315.0ns。     

高峰值功率中红外2.8μm脉冲光纤激光器

采用中心波长为975nm半导体激光器泵浦高掺铒氟化物双包层光纤Er∶ZBLAN,并在谐振腔内插入主动调Q元件,获得了工作频率为1~10kHz的2.8μm激光主动调Q脉冲输出.在工作频率为10kHz条件下,获得了最大单脉冲能量为134.5μJ、脉宽为127.3ns、峰值功率为1.1kW的脉冲输出.     

High-energy Q-switched operation of a fiber-laser-pumped Er:YAG laser

A high-energy Q-switched Er:YAG laser in-band pumped by an Er,Yb co-doped fiber laser is reported. A simple two-mirror multi-mode resonator incorporating an electro-optic Q-switch and a multi-Brewster-plate polarizer was employed, together with a simple compensation scheme to reduce the depolarization loss due to thermally induced stress birefringence in the Er:YAG crystal at high pump powers. The laser yielded Q-switched pulses at 1617 nm with 30.5-mJ pulse energy and <20-ns pulse duration (FWHM) at 20-Hz repetition rate, corresponding to a peak power of >1.5 MW for 55 W of pump power at 1532 nm. The prospects for further improvement in Q-switched performance are discussed.     

大模面积掺Yb3+双包层光纤激光器的实验研究

本文研究了在连续泵浦和脉冲泵浦两种情况下, 大模面积（LMA）掺Yb³⁺双包层光纤激光器的输出特性. 采用连续泵浦, 在最大泵浦功率为10.4 W时, 得到了平均功率4.6 W、中心波长1.09 μm的准连续激光输出. 采用脉冲泵浦, 得到了脉宽小于50 ns、峰值功率为5.3 kW、重复频率为5 kHz、单脉冲能量为0.26 mJ的稳定的调Q脉冲输出.     

增益调制高重频脉冲光纤激光器实验研究

采用脉冲泵浦方案,研制出了基于增益调制技术的全光纤结构高重频脉冲激光器。采用电路直接调制的激光二极管作为泵浦源,双包层光纤作为增益介质,构造了光纤光栅选模的线形腔结构。实验中通过调整泵浦光脉冲宽度和光纤激光器谐振腔长度,得到了稳定的高重频脉冲。在100kHz重复频率下,采用21W的峰值泵浦功率和2.5μs的泵浦脉冲宽度,获得了1.06μm波长,脉冲宽度247ns的稳定脉冲激光输出。脉冲峰值功率一致性好,平均功率长期功率稳定性为2%。观察并分析了由于纵模拍频在脉冲包络上产生的次脉冲特性。通过一级放大实现89.6 W输出。     

High power laser operation with crystal fibers

We present the very last results on the development of high-power lasers with crystal fibers in Nd:YAG and in Yb:YAG grown by the Micro-Pulling Down technique. An overview of the main optical properties of the grown crystal fibers is given as well as the principles of the diode-pumped systems are developed. The average output power obtained with those materials reaches now several tens of watts in the CW regime and in high repetition rate Q-switched operation. Pulses with an energy of several millijoules have been obtained with pulse durations from 10 to 20 ns and peak powers from 100 kW to 350 kW. In each case, the measured M ² quality factors remained in the range 2.5 to 5. In addition, the first demonstration of high-power laser emission with an Yb:YAG crystal fiber of 0.4 mm in diameter is reported. In this case, we obtained an output power of 27 W at 1030 nm under 100 W of pump power at 940 nm in CW regime. To our knowledge, those results represent the highest powers ever generated with crystal fibers obtained directly from the growth. We finally conclude this work by exposing the potential of crystal fiber lasers for a new generation of high-power laser systems.     

窄线宽纳秒脉冲光纤拉曼放大器的理论模型和数值分析

窄线宽纳秒脉冲光纤拉曼放大器在非线性频率变换、遥感探测和量子信息等领域有广泛的应用前景.综合考虑受激拉曼散射(stimulated Raman scattering,SRS)、受激布里渊散射(stimulated Brillouin scattering,SBS)、自相位调制(self-phase modulation)和交叉相位调制(cross-phase modulation)等非线性效应,建立了窄线宽纳秒脉冲光纤拉曼放大器的非线性动力学模型.仿真分析了放大器中脉冲激光的时频演化特性,对比研究了抽运脉冲宽度、光纤长度和信号光功率等因素对放大器性能的影响.研究发现,上述因素会影响放大器的SRS阈值、SBS阈值、输出激光线宽、激光转换效率等.例如,当脉冲宽度为800 ns时,SBS随着抽运功率的增加而发生,限制了激光功率的提升;减短抽运脉宽可以抑制SBS,但是输出激光的线宽易于展宽到数百MHz以上;增加光纤长度可以获得更低的SRS阈值和更高的转换效率,但是SBS效应和光谱展宽程度也随之增强.系统搭建中需要平衡各非线性效应,选择合适的系统参数.研究内容可以为窄线宽纳秒脉冲光纤拉曼放大器的设计搭建提供参考.     

12 W Q-switched Er:ZBLAN fiber laser at 2.8 μm

A diode-pumped, actively Q-switched 2.8 μm fiber laser oscillator with an average output power of more than 12 W has been realized through the use of a 35 μm core erbium-doped ZBLAN fiber and an acousto-optic modulator; to our knowledge, this is the first 3 μm pulsed fiber laser in the 10 W class. Pulse energy up to 100 μJ and pulse duration down to 90 ns, corresponding to a peak power of 0.9 kW, were achieved at a repetition rate of 120 kHz.     

LD-pumped actively Q-switched Tm,Ho:YLF laser at room temperature

We have investigated acoustic-optical Q-switched Tm,Ho:YLF laser end-pumped by a laser-diode. At room temperature, a 2.067 μm wavelength pulsed output is realized. Average output power, single pulse energy and pulse-width are measured at different incident pump powers and pulse repetition frequencies. When the incident pump power is 2.8 W, a maximum average output power of 189 mW is obtained at the repetition frequency of 9 kHz, and this corresponds to an optical conversion efficiency of 6.8%. The maximum single pulse energy of 65μJ, the shortest pulse-width with full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 138 ns and the maximum peak power of 470 W are obtained at the pulse repetition frequency of 1 kHz.     

Theoretical study of Pr3+:ZBLAN upconversion ultraviolet fiber laser based on 4f5d state

A theoretical study of the kinetics of two-step-excitation upconversion ultraviolet cw fiber laser based on the 4f5d state in Pr3+:ZBLAN is performed using steady population rate equations and light propagation equations. Under different Pr3+ concentrations, the dependence of the threshold pump powers on the other pump power, the variations of laser output power with reflectivity of output coupler, pump powers and fiber length as well as the dependence of the optimum fiber length on pump powers are investigated.The results predict some optimum laser parameters for maximizing output power.     

Femtosecond fiber laser at 780 nm for two-photon autofluorescence imaging

We present an Er-doped fiber(Er:fiber)-based femtosecond laser at 780 nm with 256 MHz repetition rate, 191 fs pulse duration, and over 1 W average power. Apart from the careful third-order dispersion management, we introduce moderate self-phase modulation to broaden the output spectrum of the Er:fiber amplifier and achieve 193 fs pulse duration and 2.43 W average power. Over 40% frequency doubling efficiency is obtained by a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal. Delivering through a hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber, this robust laser becomes an ideal and convenient light source for two-photon autofluorescence imaging.     

Diode-pumped high-repetition-rate acousto-optically Q-switched Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser operating at 914 nm

A diode-pumped high-repetition-rate acousto-optically (A-O) Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser operating at 914 nm was reported in this paper. Employing a compact linear laser cavity, at an operating repetition rate of 10 kHz, a maximum average output power of 2.2 W 914 nm laser was obtained at an incident pump power of 45.3 W, corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 4.9% and a slope efficiency of 8.8%. Minimum pulse width of 24 ns and maximum peak power of 8.0 kW of 914 nm laser was also achieved at an incident pump power of 40.8 W. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest peak power of 914 nm laser at 10 kHz by far. Moreover, the highest operating repetition rate of pulsed 914 nm can even reach 100 kHz.     

High-power Er:YAG laser with quasi-top-hat output beam

A simple method for simultaneously exciting the fundamental (TEM00) transverse mode and first order Laguerre-Gaussian (LG01) donut mode in an end-pumped solid-state laser to yield a quasi-top-hat output beam is reported. This approach has been applied to an Er:YAG laser, in-band pumped by an Er,Yb fiber laser, yielding 9.6 W of continuous-wave output at 1645 nm in a top-hat-like beam with beam propagation factor (M2)<2.1 for 24 W of incident pump power at 1532 nm. The corresponding slope efficiency with respect to incident pump power was 49%. The prospects of further scaling of output power and improved overall efficiency are considered.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched YAG/Yb:YAG laser with Cr4+:YAG as a saturable absorber

We design an efficient passively Q-switched laser using a composite YAG/Yb:YAG crystal as the laser gain medium and a Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal as a saturable absorber. We obtain an average output power of 1.81 W in 1030 nm laser at an absorbed pump power of 4.8 W, corresponding to an optical-to-optical efficiency of 37.7% and a slope efficiency of 47.3%. The pulsed laser has a repetition rate of about 28.6 kHz and a pulse width of 15.8 ns, with the highest peak power of 4 kW. In addition, using a LBO as the intracavity frequency doubler, we obtain a maximum power of 246 mW in 515 nm pulsed laser at an absorbed pump power of 3.8 W.     

870 mW blue laser emission at 480 nm in a large core thulium doped ZBLAN fiber laser

We report on high power 870 mW continuous wave stable laser operation at 480 nm in a 1000 ppm wt. Thulium doped multimode ZBLAN up-conversion fiber laser. The fiber is pumped by a wavelength of 1064 nm generated from diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser. A threshold of 550 mW and slope efficiency of 14% with respect to the incident pump power has been obtained. The related problem of photo-degradation associated with formation of color centers is reported. The transparency of the darkened fiber prior to the lasing operation is restored by circulating 514 nm through the fiber core. The time dependant oscillatory behavior of the emitted laser is also addressed.     

AlGaInAs multiple-quantum-well 1.2-μm semiconductor laser in-well pumped by an Yb-doped pulsed fiber amplifier

An AlGaInAs multiple quantum well structure is reported as an effective gain medium of the in-well pumped high-peak-power semiconductor disk laser at 1.2 μm. We use an Yb-doped pulsed fiber amplifier as the pump source to effectively optimize the output characteristics. The maximum average output power of 1.28 W and peak output power of 0.76 kW is obtained at 1225 nm lasing wavelength under 60 kHz pump repetition rate and 28 ns pump pulse width.