A broadband ytterbium-doped tunable fiber laser for <Superscript>3</Superscript>He optical pumping at 1083 nm

Large amounts of hyperpolarized ³He gas with high nuclear polarization rates are required for use in neutron spin filters or nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of human lung. Very high efficiency can be obtained by metastability exchange optical pumping using multimode lasers to excite the ^[ 2 _]3S-^[ 2 _]3P transition at 1083 nm. Broadband ytterbium-doped tunable fiber lasers have been designed for that particular application. Different options for the architecture of the fiber oscillator are presented and compared. Emphasis is given to a linear cavity configuration that includes a high reflectivity fiber mirror and a low reflectivity tunable fiber Bragg grating. Optical measurements are performed to finely characterize the spectral behavior of the lasers. Atomic response is also quantitatively probed to assess the optimal design of the oscillator for optical pumping. Multimode operation matching the 2 GHz Doppler-broadened helium resonance line and tunability over more than 200 GHz are demonstrated. Boosting the output of this fiber laser with a Yb-doped fiber power amplifier, all-fiber devices are built to provide robust, high-power turnkey sources at 1083 nm for improved production of laser polarized ³He. PACS 42.60.-v; 42.55.Wd; 32.80.Bx     

A 210–280 GHz sis heterodyne receiver for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope part I: Design and performance

We describe the design and performance of a 210–280 GHz SIS heterodyne receiver built for use on the Maxwell Telescope. The mixer utilises a lead alloy SIS tunnel junction, mounted in 41 reduced height rectangular waveguide, and is tuned with a backshort in 21 reduced height guide. The receiver has a receiver noise temperature of <200K (DSB) across the RF band from 210–270 GHz, with a best noise temperature measured in the laboratory of 113K (DSB) at 231 GHz. A prototype version of this receiver was successfully operated on the telescope in May 1989. By direct intercalibration with a Schottky diode receiver we deduced a best receiver noise temperature of 140K (DSB) at 245 GHz. Discrepancies between this figure and that derived from broad band thermal load calibration are discussed in the accompanying paper (Little et al., 1992, this issue).     

Thermal and optical properties of Tm: Li6Gd(BO3)3 crystal: A potential candidate for 1.83 μm lasers

Single crystal of Tm³⁺: Li₆Gd (BO₃)₃ was grown by the Czochralski method. The heat capacity was measured from 308 to 673 K. The absorption spectra of the crystal in three mutually perpendicular arbitrary directions were measured at room temperature. Based on the Judd-Ofelt theory and the spectra measured in three mutually perpendicular directions, the intensity parameters Ω_t (t=2, 4, 6), the line strengths, the oscillator strengths, the radiative rates, radiative lifetimes and fluorescent branching ratios were calculated. We calculated the emission cross-section by the reciprocity method and also obtained the gain cross-section.