Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ Codoped Phosphate Glass Fibre with Gain per Unit Length Greater Than 3.0 dB/cm

We experimentally study a novel fibre with high gain per unit length based on the homemade erbium-ytterbium codoped phosphate glass. The gain and noise characterizations with different pump powers at different wavelengths are investigated. The 1.8-cm-long fibre, dual-pumped by two single mode 980-nm fibre-pigtailed laser diodes, provides a gain per unit length greater than 3.0dB/cm and a noise figure less than 6.SdB. The gain saturation behaviour at 1535nm is obtained and the saturation output power （3 dB compression） is greater than 5 dBm.     

Efficient Fibre Amplifiers Based on a Highly Er3＋/Yb3＋ Codoped Phosphate Glass-Fibre

Highly Er3＋ /yb3＋-codoped single-mode phosphate glass fibre is fabricated by the rod-in-tube technique. The performances of high-concentration Er3＋ /yb3＋-codoped phosphate glass fibre amplifiers are investigated and discussed. An efficient optical fibre amplifier with a gain of 12.6 dB based on a 3.0 cm long Era＋ /ybe＋-codoped phosphate glass fibre is demonstrated under a dual-pump configuration with two 976 nm fibre-pigtail laser diodes, which make it attractive for compact Er3＋-doped fibre amplifiers. The obtedned noise figures of signal wavelength from 1525 to 1565nm are less than 6.0dB. Gain saturation behaviour at 1535nm is also investigated, and the obtained saturation output power is larger than 10 dBm.     

Laser Characteristics of Cladding-Pumped Short Er^3＋/yb^3＋ Codoped Single Mode Phosphate Glass Fibre

We experimentally investigate the laser characteristics of a series of short pieces of newly-developed Er^3＋/ Yb^3＋ codoped single mode phosphate glass fibres via the cladding pump of a 976nm multimode laser diode. A stable continuous-wave single transverse mode laser with over 85 m W at 1553nm is generated from a 5.5-em-long active fibre. Single mode laser output power per unit length is up to 15 mW/cm. Moreover, the slope efficiency is 11.8% when the pump power is below 940mW and the 3dB linewidth is 0.06nm at the maximum pump power. The numerical simulation results show that the laser emission slope efficiency can exceed 20% by means of increasing the coupling efficiency of the pump to the fibre core further.     

Characterization of Amplified Spontaneous Emission from Er^3＋-Doped Tellurite Fibre

We present the characterization of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) from newly fabricated Er^3 -doped tellurite fibres.When pumped at 98Ohm,a very broad erbium ASE in the range 1450-1650nm is observed.The changes of ASE with regard to fibre lengths and pumping power were measured.The output of 2mW from an Er^3 -doped tellurite fibre ASE source is obtained with the pump power of 540mW.     

Er^3＋-doped phosphor-tellurite glass for broadband short-length Er^3＋-doped fiber amplifier

Er^3＋-doped phosphor-tellurite glass for broadband short-length Er^3＋-doped fiber amplifier （EDFA） is fabricated and characterized. The differential value （AT） of onset crystalline temperature （Tx） and glass transition temperature （Tg） is 206 ℃. The stimulated emission cross section of Er^3＋ is calculated from absorption spectrum by McCumber theory and is 0.87 × 10 ^-20 cm^2 at 1532 nm. A broad 1.5-μm fluorescence spectrum with 54-nm full-width at half maximum （FWHM） is demonstrated. Especially, the maximum phonon energy of undoped phosphor-tellurite glass is 1100 cm^- 1, which restricts the upconversion luminescence. It is possible to pump efficiently at 980 nm. These results indicate Er^3＋-doped phosphor-tellurite glass is suitable for fabricating broadband short-length EDFA.     

Linearly polarised three-colour lasing emission from an evanescent wave pumped and gain coupled fibre laser

A novel Whispering-Gallery-Mode(WGM) fibre laser,emitting linearly polarised three-colour light,is demonstrated by pumping and gain coupling with evanescent waves.The pump light is longitudinally coupled into a bare optical fibre immersed in a dye solution of lower refractive index.The dye molecules around the bare fibre are excited by the evanescent waves of pump light when they propagate along the fibre in a total internal reflection.When the pump beam within the fibre is a meridian beam,the WGM lasing emission from the fibre laser is a linearly polarised transverse electric wave,while it is a mixed wave of the linearly polarised transverse electric and magnetic waves if the pump beam is a skew beam within the fibre.Because the excited molecules are located within the evanescent field of WGM,a good spatial overlap between the dye gain and the evanescent field leads to a high pumping efficiency and a longer gain distance along the fibre.Once the bare fibre is inserted into three glass capillaries filled with Rhodamine 6G,610 and 640 dye solutions,respectively,WGM laser oscillations at the wavelengths of 567-575,605-614 and 656-666 nm occur simultaneously,and a linearly polarised three-colour lasing emission is achieved in a single optical fibre.     

Green and red up-conversion emissions and thermometric application of Er^3＋-doped silicate glass

The green and red up-conversion emissions centred at about 534, 549 and 663 nm of wavelength, corresponding respectively to the ^2H11/2 → ^4I15/2, ^4S3/2 → ^4I15/2 and ^4F9/2 → ^4I15/2 transitions of Er^3＋ ions, have been observed for the Er^3＋-doped silicate glass excited by a 978 nm semiconductor laser beam. Excitation power dependent behaviour of the up-conversion emission intensity indicates that a two-photon absorption up-conversion process is responsible for the green and red up-conversion emissions. The temperature dependence of the green up-conversion emissions is also studied in a temperature range of 296-673 K, which shows that Er^3＋-doped silicate glass can be used as a sensor in high-temperature measurement.     

Spectral Properties of Erbium—Doped Oxyfluoride Silicate Glasses for Broadband Optical Amplifiers

The new oxyfluoride silicate glasses of Er^3 -doped 50SiO2-(50-x) PbO-xPbF2 were prepared. With increasing PbF2 content in the glass composition, the fluorescence full width at half maximum and lifetimes of the ^4I13/2 level of Er^3 increase, while the refractive indices and densities decrease. Er^3 -doped 50SiO2-50PbF2 glass showed broad fluorescence spectra of 1.55μm with a large stimulated emission cross-section and long lifetimes of ^4I13/2 level of Er^3 . Compared with other glass hosts, the gain bandwidth properties of Er^3 -doped 50SiO2-50PbF2 glass are close to those of tellurite and bismuth glasses, and have advantages over those of silicate, phosphate and germante glasses. The broad and flat ^4I13/2→^4I15/2 emission of Er^3 around 1.55μm can be used as host material for potential broadband optical amplifier in wavelength-division-multiplexing network system.     

Q-Switched Large-Mode-Area Yb-Doped Fibre Laser Using GaAs as Saturable Absorber

A passive Q-switched large-mode-area Yb-doped fibre laser is demonstrated using a GaAs wafer as the saturable absorber. A high Yb doping concentration double-clad fibre with a core diameter of 30μm and a numerical aperture of 0.07 is used to increase the laser gain volume, permitting greater energy storage and higher output power than conventional fibres. The maximum average output power is 7.2W at 1080nm wavelength, with the shortest pulse duration of 580ns and the highest peak power of 161W when the laser is pumped with a 25W diode laser operating at 976nm. The repetition rate increases with the pump power linearly and the highest repetition rate of 77kHz is obtained in the experiment.     

Upconversion properties of Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped TeO2-Nb2O5-Li2O glasses

The Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped TeO2-Nb2O5-Li2O glass is prepared by conventional melting method, and its upconversion spectra are measured. The intense green upconversion luminescence upon excitation with a 976 nm laser diode is observed with the naked eyes. The dependence of luminescence intensity on the ratio of Yb^3＋/Er^3＋ is discussed in detail, and the relationship between the ratio of green luminescence intensity to red luminescence intensity and the ratio of Yb^3＋/Er^3＋ is also studied, The luminescence intensity increases with the ratio of Yb^3＋/Er^3＋ increasing. The ratio of Yb^3＋/Er^3＋ plays a more important role than the concentration of Er^3＋ in determining the upconversion luminescence intensity. The ratio of green luminescence intensity to red luminescence intensity reaches a maximum when ratio of Yb^3＋/Er^3＋ is 3. Thus the glass could be one of the potential candidates for LD pumping solid-state lasers.