Top-hat beam Tm<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-doped fiber laser using an intracavity abrupt taper

The top-hat beam clad-pumped Tm³⁺-doped fiber laser was realized simply using an intracavity multi-mode abrupt taper. The ratio of the flat-top diameter to the spot diameter reaches 53%, with a small intensity variation less than 6%, and the top-hat beam’s half-divergence angle is only 5.3°. The fiber laser has a maximal output power of 5 W with slope efficiency of 39.7%, pumped by the 792 nm diode laser (LD). The abrupt taper is directly made on the multi-mode double-clad Tm³⁺-doped fiber near the fiber laser output end with the 0.45 ratio of taper waist diameter to fiber clad diameter, and this fiber end 4% Fresnel reflection is used to be the output coupler. The fiber laser’s high reflective coupler is an intracore multi-mode FBG, which is directly written into the multi-mode Tm³⁺-doped fiber core using femtosecond laser and phase mask, at the other fiber end. The abrupt taper has no obviously influence on the fiber laser output power, and the output laser spectrum.     

All-fiber ultra-narrow linewidth 50 pm Tm<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-doped double-clad fiber laser at 1948 nm

A high stability all-fiber LD-clad-pumped Tm³⁺-doped fiber laser was reported. The fiber laser had the ultra-narrow linewidth 50 pm at 1.948 μm with the maximal output power of 12.8 W. The slope efficiency was 28.9%, and threshold was 5.7 W. The double-clad Tm³⁺-doped fiber core was multi-mode, which had a demission of 25/250 μm with the core NA of 0.1 and inner-clad NA of 0.46. The high reflectivity coupler FBG was directly written into the single-mode passive photosensitive optical fiber core, which had a core diameter of 15 μm and NA of 0.1. The cavity was build-up by the high reflectivity FBG and the output fiber end Fresnel reflectivity.     

高效率掺Tm~(3+)双包层光纤及光纤激光器的研制

掺Tm3+光纤激光器有着广泛的应用前景,而掺Tm3+光纤是其核心与关键.本文采用改进的化学汽相沉积(MCVD)工艺和气相液相复合掺杂技术,在MCVD机车上实现了掺Tm3+石英光纤预制棒的制备,并制备了掺Tm3+石英双包层光纤(芯包比为10/125).利用上述光纤搭建直腔型全光纤激光器,在波长为793nm的LD抽运下,获得激光光谱中心波长为2002 nm,最大的激光输出功率30.7 W,光纤斜率效率为59.32%.     

掺钕保偏光纤放大器的研究

对掺钕双包层光纤放大器中抽运光和信号光沿光纤传播的功率分布进行了数值模拟,以808nm半导体激光器为抽运源,掺钕双包层保偏光纤为增益介质,对种子注入主振荡光纤放大器进行了理论分析和实验研究.利用实验室自制的皮秒锁模激光器为种子源,注入1064nm皮秒锁模脉冲,获得了稳定的放大脉冲.小信号时的放大倍数为300（增益为25dB）,获得了平均功率5W的皮秒脉冲.同时利用TDS5104型示波器探测信号光放大前后的波形,并用光谱分析仪得到输出脉冲激光的光谱图. 关键词： 光纤放大器 掺钕保偏光纤 种子注入 反向抽运     

CW single transverse mode all-fiber Tm3+-doped silica fiber laser

The CW 25.6 W output power with a slope efficiency of 30.6% respected to the pump power from a CW single transverse mode all-fiber Tm³⁺-doped Silica Fiber Laser is reported. The all-fiber laser is made up by progressively splicing the pigtail fiber, matched FBG fiber and Tm fiber. The reflective FBG and Tm³⁺-doped fiber end Fresnel reflection build up the laser resonance cavity. Due to the multi-mode FBG as the reflective mirror, the output laser spectrum is multi-peaks at high output power, but the spectrum width is less than 2 nm at 1.94 μm. We estimate the beam quality to be M ² = 2.39, clearly indicating nearly diffraction-limited beam propagation.     

High efficiency Tm fiber laser of seed amplification

We use all-fiber single-mode lasers as seed source, amplifiers and pump laser coupling amplifier has been experimentally investigated, respectively. The maximum output power is 10.4 W, with the slope efficiency of 54.4% when the seed laser power is 1 W, and the slope efficiency is 48.7% when the seed laser power is 2 W. The slope efficiency of this scheme is higher than that of the all-fiber amplifier. This can be explained by the loss of pump power at the splice dots. The wavelength of the fiber amplifier is 1947.6 nm, the same as the seed laser's, with a linewidth of 2 nm. We estimate the beam quality to be M² = 2.39, clearly indicating nearly diffraction-limited beam propagation.     

30.6 W CW Tm3+ fiber laser of seed amplification

We use all fiber single-mode lasers as seed source, all fiber amplifiers and pump laser coupling amplifier has been experimentally investigated, respectively. The max output power of all fiber amplifier is 30.6 W, corresponding slope efficiency is 39.1%. The two setups, amplifier output laser spectrum finely holds the property of seed laser spectrum, the wavelength of output laser are both 1947.6 nm, the spectrum width is less than 2 nm as same as the wavelength of seed laser. We estimate the beam quality to be M ² = 2.42, clearly indicating nearly diffraction-limited beam propagation.     

全光纤超短脉冲掺Yb3+光纤环形激光器

讨论了自启动被动锁模掺Yb³⁺光纤环形激光器产生短脉冲的机理，并研制出全光纤结构超短脉冲掺Yb³⁺光纤环形激光器.采用两个976nm半导体激光器级联抽运作为抽运源，高掺杂浓度掺Yb³⁺光纤作为增益介质，利用光纤的非线性偏振旋转效应，得到自启动、十分稳定的ps量级锁模光脉冲.激光器锁模阈值功率260mW，输出功率25mW，锁模光脉冲中心波长1056nm，3dB带宽11.7nm，重复频率20MHz.与其他结构光纤激光器相比，这种全光纤结构具有更高的效率和更好的稳定性. 关键词： 环形光纤激光器 3+光纤')" href="#">高掺杂浓度掺Yb³⁺光纤 自启动 被动锁模     

Double-clad Tm3+-doped silica fiber laser with Bragg grating inscribed directly into active core by femtosecond laser

We report for the first time to inscribe the Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) in Tm³⁺-doped multimode double-clad silica fiber by 800 nm femtosecond laser with a phase mask. The 1.35 μm period Bragg grating is written into the fiber core, which is responded to the laser center wavelength located at nearly 1960 nm. Continuous wave total output power of 11.5 W is obtained under the launched pump power of 29.8 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 45.0% and a conversion efficiency of 38.6%.     

A long uniform taper applied to an all-fiber Tm<Superscript>3+</Superscript> doped double-clad fiber laser

A long uniform taper fabricated on a large mode area Tm³⁺-doped double-clad fiber laser, which was clad-pumped by a laser diode (LD), was found to be an effective wavelength filter while improving the output beam quality and narrowing the line-width significantly. The long uniform taper was fabricated directly on the multi-mode Tm³⁺-doped fiber by heating and stretching method, and located several centimeters before the output fiber end. By slightly bending the taper section, the output laser spectrum was left with only one peak with a line-width less than 0.5 nm, compared to the multi-peak spectrum with a 5 nm line-width before tapering, indicating that the multi-mode fiber could produce quasi-single wavelength output with a long uniform taper. The beam quality factor M ² declined from 6.6 to 2.6 compared. Only a slight decrease in slope efficiency, from 19.2 to 17.5%, was observed. The main output wavelength had a blue shift of 8 nm.     

Tm:fiber laser in-band pumped Ho:LuAG laser with over 18 W output at 2124.5 nm

We describe efficient operation of a Ho:LuAG laser in-band pumped by a cladding-pumped narrow linewidth Tm fiber laser at ∼1907 nm. With 1.0 at % Ho³⁺-doped LuAG and an output coupler of 6% transmission, the laser had a threshold pump power of ∼0.85 W and generated 18.04 W of continuous-wave output power at 2124.5 nm for 35 W of incident pump power, corresponding to an average slope efficiency with respect to incident pump power of 53.4%.     

Ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier with tunable repetition rate and pulse duration

A pulsed master-oscillator power fiber amplifier (MOPFA) system based on Yb³⁺-doped large mode area (LMA) double-clad optical fiber was developed. The system generated pulses of changeable duration ranging from about 8.5 to 250.0 ns at the repetition rate of up to 500 kHz. The laser system emitted up to 22 W of average output power at the wavelength of 1064 nm.     

Amplification of a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Q</Emphasis>-Switched Ho:GdVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> Oscillator in Thulium-Doped Large-Mode-Area Fiber

We report a high peak power, narrow linewidth, stable pulsed Ho:GdVO₄ amplifier based on thuliumdoped fiber, which produces 6.65 W average output power at 2,048 nm and 56.8 kW peak power with 11.7 ns pulse width at 10 kHz repetition rate. We use a simple Q-switched Ho:GdVO₄ laser as a seed laser and a thulium-doped fiber pumped by a 792 nm laser diode as an amplifier. The fiber amplifier provided 6.5 dB gain to the input signal. The spectral linewidth of the Ho:GdVO₄ amplifier remains < 0.5 nm with an M² beam quality of 1.36.     

LD-clad-pumped nanosecond Tm<Superscript>3+</Superscript> doped silica fiber amplifier at 1.99 μm

ALD-clad-pumped nanosecond Tm³⁺ doped silica fiber amplifier was reported that provided up to a 2-W average power output with a slope efficiency of 48.6% with respect to the absorbed pumped power. The input signal central wavelength was at 1.99 μm, with a 119.5-ns pulse duration and 5-kHz repeat rates. The pump sources were a 793-nm LD output with a 400-μm pigtail fiber. The gain fiber was D-shaped Tm³⁺ doped silica double-clad fiber with a diameter of 27.5/400 μm. The output amplified pulse and spectrum were in accordance with the input signal. This is the first report to the authors’ knowledge on the general experimental investigation of a LD-clad-pumped Tm³⁺ doped silica nanosecond-fiber amplifier at 1.99 μm.     

输出平均功率大于2W的高功率、包层抽运、超短脉冲铒镱共掺光纤激光器

采用主振荡功率放大的方式，研制成功集宽带波长连续可调谐、带宽内输出功率谱均衡、高重复频率和高功率性能于一体的超短脉冲包层抽运铒镱共掺光纤激光器.将优化主振荡器和功率放大器的腔结构与掺铒光纤的饱和增益特性结合起来，实现了1535nm—1570nm(35nm带宽)的输出功率均衡的波长连续可调谐激光输出，在带宽内激光功率的最大波动仅为0.5dBm；带宽内平均输出功率大于2W、脉冲重复频率大于10GHz、脉冲宽度小于30ps.该激光器具有综合性能指标先进、结构简单、全光纤化、使用方便等优点. 关键词： 光纤激光器 包层抽运 短脉冲 高重复频率     

Linear polarization Yb<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-doped fiber laser with novel innerclad structures

Results on high radiance Yb³⁺-doped fiber lasers with novel double innerclad structures (double-D clad and four hole) and polarized output at ≈1090 nm are presented. We have demonstrated >40% of the total output power being polarized, making the fiber laser suitable for LIDAR and second-harmonic generation (SHG) applications. It also showed a 10-nm tuning range with low (less than 10 mW) average power variations. The narrow linewidth source was pumped with a low cost, low brightness laser diode, and exhibited a relatively low slope efficiency, which gives room for improvement by using a 976-nm pump source where Yb³⁺ has a narrower linewidth and at least five times higher absorption.     

22 dB all-fiber green amplifier using Er-doped fluoride fiber

We demonstrate a 22 dB all-fiber amplifier at 546 nm using Er³⁺-doped fluoride fiber by forward upconversion pumping of a 974 nm laser diode. The gain saturation effects and the power conversion efficiency of this amplifier are investigated in detail based on gain characteristics and numerical simulations.     

Laser-diode-pumped Yb:YAG laser as a new pump source and its application to an Er3+, Yb3+-codoped high-output-power fiber amplifier

We propose a laser-diode-pumped Yb:YAG laser as a novel practical fiber amplifier pump source, and describe its first successful application of high-output-power operation (850 mW=+29.3 dB m) of an Er³⁺,Yb³⁺-codoped fiber amplifier at 1.55 μm. We have developed both bulk and microchip Yb:YAG lasers and obtained 3.3 W and 2.7 W, respectively, in the cw mode at room temperature. Laser-diode-pumped Yb:YAG lasers are shown to have a potential applicability to such fiber amplifiers as Pr³⁺-doped amplifiers and Tm³⁺-doped amplifiers, as well as Er³⁺,Yb³⁺-codoped fiber amplifiers. Received: 12 August 1999 / Revised version: 3 September 1999 / Published online: 20 October 1999     

Upconversion CW laser at 284 nm in a Nd:YAG-pumped double-cladding thulium-doped ZBLAN fiber laser

A successful continuous-wave (CW) ultraviolet (UV) laser in a Tm⁺³-doped ZBLAN fiber, operated at 284 nm (¹ I ₆ → ³ H ₆ transition of Tm⁺³) is demonstrated. The excitation uses a four-step upconversion scheme. The pump source is a Nd:YAG laser operated at 1.064 μm. A laser output power of 42 μW continuous wave was obtained for 590 mW of the launched pump power. The slope efficiency with respect to the launched pump power was measured to be 9%. Ultraviolet (at 365 nm) and visible (at 453 and 480 nm) radiation was also observed.     

Efficiency improvement of multimode Tm3+ doped double cladding silica fiber laser by in-line biconical tapers

Efficiencies improvement of LD (laser diode) pumped multimode large mode area (LMA) Tm³⁺ doped double cladding silica fiber lasers with different in-line biconial tapers were reported. Two types of multimode Tm³⁺ doped fiber were used in this experiment. Each type of fiber was made into three fiber lasers, a uniform geometry fiber laser and two tapered fiber lasers with different taper parameters. Biconical tapers located several centimeters from the output end of the multimode fiber lasers were made by heating and stretching method. Although the threshold of the best tapered fiber laser was added 200 mW, the slope efficiency (25.3%) and the maximum output power (1.31 W) of the fiber laser increased by 10.3% and 350 mW respectively, in comparison with the un-tapered one. Pre and post output laser power ratio was 6.3–15.6. Simultaneously, the laser spectrum moved to shorter wavelengths. The same trends of these characteristics were also observed in the other three tapered fiber lasers.