Cluster-assisted generation of multi-charged ions in nanosecond laser ionization of pulsed hydrogen sulfide beam at 1064 and 532nm

The multi-charged sulfur ions of S^q= (q\le 6) have been generated when hydrogen sulfide cluster beams are irradiated by a nanosecond laser of 1064 and 532,nm with an intensity of 10¹⁰\sim 10¹²W1\cdotcm^-2. S⁶⁺ is the dominant multi-charged species at 1064nm, while S⁴⁺, S³⁺ and S²⁺ ions are the main multi-charged species at 532nm. A three-step model (i.e., multiphoton ionization triggering, inverse bremsstrahlung heating, electron collision ionizing) is proposed to explain the generation of these multi-charged ions at the laser intensity stated above. The high ionization level of the clusters and the increasing charge state of the ion products with increasing laser wavelength are supposed mainly due to the rate-limiting step, i.e., electron heating by absorption energy from the laser field via inverse bremsstrahlung, which is proportional to \lambda ², \lambda being the laser wavelength.     

Continuous-wave laser action of Yb3+-doped lanthanum scandium borate

Lanthanum scandium borate (LSB) has been proved to be an interesting laser matrix when doped with Nd³⁺ and Er³⁺ ions. In this paper, we demonstrate that it is also a very efficient laser material when doped with Yb³⁺ ions. The main spectroscopic characteristics of the system are presented, showing very broad absorption and emission bands, comparable to those found in Yb-doped GdCOB and YCOB crystals. From spectroscopic measurements the relevant laser parameters have been obtained, and a tunability of about 50 nm could be deduced. Room-temperature, continuous-wave laser action of Yb-doped LSB is demonstrated at a wavelength of 1045 nm with a slope efficiency as high as 64%. PACS 42.55.Rz; 42.70.Hj; 78.55.-m     

利用光谱滤波器实现自启动的全光纤超短脉冲掺Yb3+光纤激光器

讨论了利用光谱滤波器实现自启动的被动锁模掺Yb³⁺光纤环形激光器的锁模机理,并研制出全光纤结构超短脉冲掺Yb³⁺光纤环形激光器.使用980 nm二极管激光器作为抽运源,高掺杂浓度掺Yb³⁺光纤作为增益介质.在净群速度色散为正的环形腔中加入光谱滤波器,抑制Yb³⁺离子在1030 nm强发射峰的同时,通过对啁啾脉冲的光谱滤波实现脉冲压缩.光谱滤波器与光纤非线性偏振旋转效应相结合,实现了激光器在1053 nm可自启动、十分稳定的锁模运转.激光器锁模阈值功率300 mW,平均斜率效率18.3%,最大输出功率53.07 mW,对应最大输出脉冲能量3.2 nJ.锁模光脉冲中心波长1053.6 nm,3 dB带宽10.84 nm,重复频率16.45 MHz.锁模脉冲宽度为皮秒量级,经腔外光栅对压缩至188 fs. 关键词： 3+光纤激光器')" href="#">掺Yb³⁺光纤激光器 自启动锁模 全光纤     

All-fiber clad-pumped Tm3+-doped fiber amplifier using high power fiber combiner

The diode laser (LD) clad-pumped 1947.6 nm continuous wave (CW) Tm³⁺-doped fiber amplifier is reported using the master oscillation power amplifier (MOPA) method. The injected seed laser is provided by an all-fiber LD-clad-pumped Tm³⁺-doped single-mode fiber laser, which has a nearly 2.4 W maximal output power and 0.1 nm ultra-narrow linewidth based on the intracore reflection FBG. Using the 25/400 μm double-clad LMA Tm³⁺-doped fiber as the gain fiber, the output maximal output power is 30.6 W from the fiber amplifier, with a slope efficiency of 39.1% respected to the LD total output power. A high power multi-mode fiber combiner is used to couple high power LD light into the gain fiber. The output wavelength is also located at 1947.6 nm, with the slightly expanded laser linewidth of 0.2 nm.     

Growth and optical properties of a new self-Q-switched laser crystal: Cr:Yb3Al5O12

Cr⁴⁺:YbAG (Cr⁴⁺:Yb₃Al₅O₁₂) crystal with a size up to Φ24 mm×30 mm was grown by the Czochralski method. In the absorption spectrum, there are two absorption bands at 939 and 969 nm, respectively, which are suitable for InGaAs diode laser pumping, and there is an absorption band at 1030 nm, which is suitable for passive Q-switched laser output at 1.03 μm. A broad emission spectrum from 970 to 1100 nm was exhibited from 940 nm wavelength pumping. This crystal is promising as a self-Q-switched laser crystal used for compact, efficient, highly stable, passive self-Q-switched thin chip solid-state lasers.     

2.7-W Ho<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-doped silica fibre laser pumped at 1100 nm and operating at 2.1 μm

The basic performance characteristics of a Ho ³⁺-doped silica fibre laser that operates in a single transverse mode at ~2.1 µm and is pumped with the 1100-nm output from a free-running Yb ³⁺-doped silica fibre laser are presented. We measure a maximum slope efficiency (with respect to launched pump power) of 35% and we generate a maximum output power of 2.7 W at an optical-to-optical efficiency of 18% with respect to the incident pump power. The wavelength of the output is length tuned from 2090 nm to 2100 nm when the a _absL product varies from 1.2 to 2.7. The use of the free-running output from a Yb ³⁺-doped silica fibre laser to pump the Ho ³⁺-doped silica fibre laser is very convenient and allows significant scaling of the output power.     

Orange,red and deep-red flashlamp-pumped Pr3+:LiYF4 laser with improved output energy and efficiency

Three laser transitions (607.2 nm, 639.5 nm, 720.9 nm) in a flashlamp-pumped Pr³⁺:LiYF₄ laser at room temperature are investigated. Cerium ions (Ce³⁺) doped into the fused-quartz envelope of the flashlamp efficiently transfer strong UV radiation from pumping light into the absorption region of Pr³⁺ ions ( = 420–480 nm), so that the slope efficiency of all three laser emissions could be increased by almost 100% compared to excitation with a pure quartz flashlamp. At a pump energy of 30 J the output energy of these three laser emissions reached 4.7 mJ, 87 mJ and 30 mJ.     

Laser and absorption saturation measurements of Cr crystals, pumped by broadband pulsed 940 nm radiation

The characteristics of a 940 nm pumped Cr⁴⁺:forsterite laser have been investigated using a pulsed colour centre laser as the excitation source. Laser threshold, slope efficiency and temporal behaviour have been determined for high and low Cr⁴⁺ doped material. 940 nm pumping is found to be more efficient than 532 and 730–770 nm excitation. Discrepancies with 1064 nm pumping are attributed to excited state absorption. Absorption saturation measurements have been used to assess the potential applications of Cr⁴⁺:forsterite, Cr⁴⁺:YAG and Cr⁴⁺: Lu₃A1₅O₁₂ (LuAG) as passive Q-switches for Nd lasers in the 940 nm region.     

Optical parameters and upconversion fluorescence in Tm3+/Yb3+ codoped tellurite glass

Tm³⁺/Yb³⁺ codoped tellurite glass has been prepared. Density, refractive index, optical absorption, Judd-Ofelt parameters and spontaneous transition probabilities of Tm³⁺ have been measured and calculated, respectively. Intense blue three-photon upconversion fluorescence and S-band (1470 nm) fluorescence were investigated under the excitation of a 980 nm diode laser at room temperature. Judd-Ofelt parameters, strong blue three-photon upcoversion emission of Tm³⁺ in glass indicate that Tm³+/Yb³⁺ codoped tellurite glass is a promising blue color upconversion optical and laser material. In addition, experiment results showed the 980 nm laser was more efficient than 808 nm laser when pumping Tm³⁺/Yb³⁺ codoped tellurite glass, Tm³⁺/Yb³⁺ codoped tellurite glass also could be a promising material for S-band amplification.     

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%.     

High-power passively Q-switched Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> UV laser at 355 nm

We report on an efficient high-power passively Q-switched UV laser at 355 nm. We take into account the second threshold criterion and the thermal-lensing effect to design and realize a compact reliable passively Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser with Cr⁴⁺:YAG as a saturable absorber. At an incident pump power of 16.3 W, the average output power at 1064 nm reaches 6.2 W with a pulse width of 7 ns and a pulse repetition rate of 56 kHz. Employing the developed passively Q-switched laser to perform the extra-cavity harmonic generations, the maximum average output powers at 532 nm and 355 nm are up to 2.2 W and 1.62 W, respectively.     

Photoluminescence of an Yb3+/Al3+-codoped microstructured optical fibre

An Yb 3+ /Al 3+-codoped microstructured optical fibre is prepared based on photonic crystal fibre technology.The characteristic spectra of preforms and fibres are experimentally investigated.The results show that under a 971 nm excitation,besides the known infrared fluorescence luminescence around 1050 nm,a blue luminescence peak at 486 nm is obtained.Moreover,an unexpected emission peak at 730 nm is also observed.The photoluminescence mechanism of an Yb 3+ /Al 3+-codoped microstructured optical fibre is discussed.The emission peak at 486 nm is attributed to the cooperative upconversion resulting from pairs of Yb 3+ ions,and the emission peak around 730 nm is ascribed to the stimulated Raman scattering because of nonlinear effects of microstructured optical fibre.The Yb 3+ /Al 3+-codoped microstructured optical fibre is promising for varieties of applications from laser printing and optical recording to cancer treatments,such as photodynamic therapy.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched 912 nm Nd:GdVO4 laser and pulsed deep-blue laser by intracavity frequency-doubling

A diode-end-pumped passively Q-switched 912 nm Nd:GdVO₄/Cr⁴⁺:YAG laser and its efficient intracavity frequency-doubling to 456 nm deep-blue laser were demonstrated in this paper. Using a simple V-type laser cavity, pulsed 912 nm laser characteristics were investigated with two kinds of Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal as the saturable absorbers, which have the different initial transmissivity (T_U) of 95% and 90% at 912 nm. When the T_U = 95% Cr⁴⁺:YAG was used, as much as an average output power of 2.8 W 912 nm laser was achieved at an absorbed pump power of 34.0 W, and the pulse width and the repetition rate were ∼ 40.5 ns and ∼ 76.6 kHz, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest average output power of diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd³⁺-doped quasi-three-level laser. Employing a BiBO as the frequency-doubling crystal, 456 nm pulsed deep-blue laser was obtained with a maximum average output power of 1.2 W at a repetition rate ∼ 42.7 kHz.     

Efficient tunable laser operation of diode- pumped Yb,Tm:KY(WO4)2 around 1.9 μm

A new laser medium – Yb,Tm:KY(WO₄)₂ – for diode pumped solid state laser applications operating around 1.9 to 2.0 μm has been investigated and the main laser characteristics are presented. Diode pumping at 981 nm and around 805 nm was realised. For 981-nm pumping, the excitation occurs into Yb³⁺ ions followed by an energy transfer to Tm³⁺ions. A slope efficiency of 19% was realised. For pumping around 805 nm, the excitation occurs directly into the Tm³⁺ ions. Here a maximum slope efficiency of 52%, an optical efficiency of 40%, and output powers of more than 1 W were realised. Using a birefringent quartz plate as an intracavity tuning element, the tunability of the Yb,Tm:KY(WO₄)₂ laser in the spectral range of 1.85–2.0 μm has been demonstrated. The possibility of laser operation in a microchip cavity configuration for this material has also been shown. Received: 12 March 2002 / Revised version: 20 May 2002 / Published online: 25 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-531/592-4116, E-mail: stefan.kueck@ptb.de     

掺铒矾酸钇晶体上转换荧光研究

使用波长为808和658nm的半导体激光器和染料激光器作为激发源，测量了Er³⁺：YVO₄晶体的波长在553和410nm附近的上转换荧光.对激发过程的分析表明，贡献于上转换荧光的主要激发机制为激发态吸收.在不同浓度下对上转换荧光的寿命测量结果显示，随Er³⁺浓度的提高，553nm绿光的荧光寿命随浓度的增加而减小，但410nm的荧光寿命随Er³⁺浓度无明显变化.结合绿光强度随掺杂浓度增加而减小的结果，认为在所测浓度范围内 关键词：     

Growth and properties of KLu(WO4)2, and novel ytterbium and thulium lasers based on this monoclinic crystalline host

High‐quality crystals of monoclinic KLu(WO₄)₂, shortly KLuW, were grown with sizes sufficient for its characterization and substantial progress was achieved in the field of spectroscopy and laser operation with Yb³⁺‐ and Tm³⁺‐doping. We review the growth methodology for bulk KLuW and epitaxial layers, its structural, thermo‐mechanical, and optical properties, the Yb³⁺ and Tm³⁺ spectroscopy, and present laser results obtained in several operational regimes both with Ti:sapphire and direct diode laser pumping using InGaAs and AlGaAs diodes near 980 and 800 nm, respectively. The slope efficiencies with respect to the absorbed pump power achieved with continuous‐wave (CW) bulk and epitaxial Yb:KLuW lasers under Ti:sapphire laser pumping were ≈ 57 and ≈ 66%, respectively. Output powers as high as 3.28 W were obtained with diode pumping in a simple two‐mirror cavity where the slope efficiency with respect to the incident pump power reached ≈ 78%. Passively Q‐switched laser operation of bulk Yb:KLuW was realized with a Cr:YAG saturable absorber resulting in oscillation at ≈ 1031 nm with a repetition rate of 28 kHz and simultaneous Raman conversion to ≈ 1138 nm with maximum energies of 32.4 and 14.4 μJ, respectively. The corresponding pulse durations were 1.41 and 0.71 ns. Passive mode‐locking by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) produced bandwidth‐limited pulses with duration of 81 fs (1046 nm, 95 MHz) and 114 fs (1030 nm, 101 MHz) for bulk and epitaxial Yb:KLuW lasers, respectively. Slope efficiency as high as 69% with respect to the absorbed power and an output power of 4 W at 1950 nm were achieved with a diode‐pumped Tm:KLuW laser. The slope efficiency reached with an epitaxial Tm:KLuW laser under Ti:sapphire laser pumping was 64 %. The tunability achieved with bulk and epitaxial Tm:KLuW lasers extended from 1800 to 1987 nm and from 1894 to 2039 nm, respectively.     

高功率光子晶体光纤激光器实验研究

 利用F-P谐振腔实验研究了高功率掺Yb³⁺光子晶体光纤激光器。使用915 nm和976 nm两种波长的泵浦源进行双端泵浦,在23 m长的双包层光子晶体光纤中获得了552 W的连续单模激光输出。该激光器的斜率效率约为76%,光-光转换效率为56%,光谱中心波长为1 078 nm,光束质量平方因子为1.2。     

Energy transfer and infrared-to-visible upconversion luminescence of Er/Yb-codoped halide modified tellurite glasses

We report on the energy transfer and frequency upconversion spectroscopic properties of Er³⁺-doped and Er³⁺/Yb³⁺-codoped TeO₂-ZnO-Na₂O-PbCl₂ halide modified tellurite glasses upon excitation with 808 and 978 nm laser diode. Three intense emissions centered at around 529, 546 and 657 nm, alongwith a very weak blue emission at 410 nm have clearly been observed for the Er³⁺/Yb³⁺-codoped halide modified tellurite glasses upon excitation at 978 nm and the involved mechanisms are explained. The quadratic dependence of fluorescence on excitation laser power confirms the fact that the two-photon contribute to the infrared to green-red upconversion emissions. And the blue upconversion at 410 nm involved a sequential three-photon absorption process.     

Optimization of passively Q-switched laser with V:YAG saturable absorber

By considering the Gaussian spatial distributions of the intracavity photon density and the initial population-inversion density, the coupled rate equations for a diode-pumped passively Q-switched laser with V³⁺:YAG saturable absorber are given. These coupled rate equations are solved numerically and the key parameters of an optimally coupled passively Q-switched laser with V³⁺:YAG at 1342 nm are determined. These key parameters include the parameters of the gain medium, the saturable absorber and the resonator, which can maximize the pulse energy of singly Q-switched pulse. The optimal calculations for a diode-pumped passively Q-switched a-Nd:GdVO₄ laser with V³⁺:YAG saturable absorber are presented to demonstrate the numerical simulation applicable.