Ti:sapphire laser intracavity difference-frequency generation of 30 mW cw radiation around 4.5 μm

A cw mid-IR coherent source based on difference-frequency generation is designed and characterized. For mid-IR generation, a periodically poled MgO:LiNbO(3) crystal is placed inside a compact Ti:sapphire laser cavity. This provides high-power pump radiation for the nonlinear process. Optical injection by an external-cavity diode laser ensures single-frequency operation of the Ti:sapphire laser, while signal radiation is provided by a fiber-amplified Nd:YAG laser. Mid-IR radiation can be generated with 3850-4540 nm tuning range, narrow linewidth, Cs-standard traceability, and TEM(00) spatial mode. 30 mW power is obtained at 4510 nm.     

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.     

Superfluorescent fiber source at 3.9 μm in the attenuation minimum of the atmospheric window 3–5 μm

Superfluorescence has been demonstrated for the first time at 3.9m in holmium-doped fluoride glass optical fiber. Fluorescence measurements were possible at room temperature while pumping around 650 nm. Cooled to 173 K superfluorescence was obtained.     

The infrared spectrum of HCCF around 17 μm

The absorption spectrum of HCCF in the region of the CH bending fundamental ν₄ has been studied at a resolution of about 0.03 cm^?1. In addition to the fundamental, the rotational analysis has been performed for six “hot” bands. Several molecular parameters have been derived. The effects of l-type resonances have been discussed. In particular, the influence of the resonance between the sublevels of ν₄ + ν₅ on the effective centrifugal distortion constants has been investigated.     

High-power diode-pumped fiber laser operating at 3 μm

A high-power diode-cladding-pumped Ho3?-doped fluoride glass fiber laser operating in cascade mode is demonstrated. The ?I?→?I? and ?I?→?I? laser transitions produced 0.77 W at a measured slope efficiency of 12.4% and 0.24 W at a measured slope efficiency of 5.2%, respectively. Using a long fiber length, which forced a large threshold for the ?I?→?I? transition, a wavelength of 3.002 μm was measured at maximum output power, making this system the first watt-level fiber laser operating in the mid-IR.     

1.56 μm and 2.86 μm Raman lasers based on gas-filled anti-resonance hollow-core fiber

We report here a single-pass 1.56 μm fiber gas Raman laser in a deuterium-filled hollow-core fiber and a 2.86 μm cascade fiber gas Raman laser with methane in the second stage. The maximum output powers at 1.56 and 2.86 μm are 27 and 8.5 m W with Raman conversion efficiency of 30% and 42%, respectively. The results offer a new method to produce a 1.5 μm fiber source and prove the potential of the cascade fiber gas Raman laser in extending the available wavelength.     

Heterodyne detection at 337 μm in epitaxial GaAs

The observation and quantative measurement of optical heterodyne detection at 337 μm using a HCN laser and an epitaxial n-type GaAs photoconductor are reported. The measured NEP amounted 1.4 × 10⁻¹⁴ W Hz⁻¹.     

Self- and N2-broadened spectra of water vapor between 7.5 and 14.5 μm

Self- and N₂-broadened absorption spectra of water vapor have been measured in the infrared between 7.5 and 14.5 μm at 294, 311, 333 and 339 K. The so-called continuum aspect of the observed absorption coefficients is interpreted in terms of existing theoretical models.     

Highly coherent terahertz wave generation with a dual-frequency Brillouin fiber laser and a 1.55 μm photomixer

Thanks to a portable dual-frequency Brillouin fiber laser and a 1.55 μm photomixer, we report the generation of a highly coherent kilohertz level submillimeter wave emission. Low-cost telecommunications components are used to achieve very simple source architecture. The photomixer is composed of a unitravelling carrier photodiode integrated with an antenna. An emission at 316 GHz is observed and analyzed thanks to heterodyne detection with a signal-to-noise ratio >65 dB and a ~1 kHz linewidth. The phase noise of the proposed source has the same performance at 1.7 and 316 GHz. We show that this source has comparable or better phase noise compared to electrical oscillators and the tunability is much wider.     

Widely tunable difference frequency generation around 3.4 μm using index dispersion property of PPLN

In this paper, the wide difference frequency generation (DFG) tuning characteristics around 3.4 μm are investigated by using the index dispersion property of PPLN. With a ytterbium doped fiber laser (YDFL) and an erbium doped fiber laser (EDFL) as the fundamental light sources, our simulation results show that the quasi-phase matching (QPM) wavelength acceptance bandwidth (BW) for the pump is much larger than that for the signal. Although the positions of the broadened QPM pump bands vary with the poling period and the signal wavelength, the corresponding idler tuning ranges center around 3.4 μm. With a signal wavelength of 1.57 μm, an idler tuning range of greater than 170 nm is experimentally obtained in the 30 uniform grating PPLN. When the signal wavelength and the poling period are respectively changed to 1.55 and 29.50 μm, wide DFG tuning operations around 3.4 μm are also achieved with the crystal temperature adjusted to adapt the change.     

Coherent beam combination of narrow-linewidth 1.5 μm fiber amplifiers in a long-pulse regime

We report what we believe to be the first experimental demonstration of coherent beam combining of two fiber amplifiers in a 100 ns pulse regime using a signal leak between the pulses. Pulses of ～100 W stimulated-Brillouin-scattering limited peak power are combined with 95% efficiency, a residual phase error of λ/27, and no significant beam quality degradation.     

Dispersion flattened photonic crystal fiber with high nonlinearity for supercontinuum generation at 1.55 μm

A robust design for a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) based on pure silica with small normal dispersion and high nonlinear coefficient for its dual concentric core structure is presented.This design is suitable for flat broadband supercontinuum (SC) generation in the 1.55-μm region.The numerical results show that the nonlinear coefficient of the proposed eight-ring PCF is 33.8 W -1 ·km -1 at 1550 nm.Ultraflat dispersion with a value between -1.65 and -0.335 ps/(nm·km) is obtained ranging from 1375 to 1625 nm.The 3-dB bandwidth of the SC is 125 nm (1496–1621 nm),with a fiber length of 80 m and a corresponding input peak power of 43.8 W.The amplitude noise is considered to be related to SC generation.For practical fabrication,the influence of the random imperfections of airhole diameters on dispersion and nonlinearity is discussed to verify the robustness of our design.     

Polarization entanglement generation at 1.5 μm based on walk-off effect due to fiber birefringence

In this Letter, a linear scheme to generate polarization entanglement at 1.5 μm based on commercial polarization maintained dispersion shifted fiber (PM-DSF) is proposed. The birefringent walk-off effect of the pulsed pump light in the PM-DSF provides an effective way to suppress the vector scattering processes of spontaneous four-wave mixing. A 90 deg offset of fiber polarization axes is introduced at the midpoint of the fiber to realize the quantum superposition of the two correlated photon states generated by the two scalar processes on different fiber polarization axes, leading to polarization entanglement generation. Experiments of the indistinguishable property on single-side and two-photon interference in two nonorthogonal polarization bases are demonstrated. A two-photon interference fringe visibility of 89±3% is achieved without subtracting the background counts, demonstrating its great potential in developing highly a efficient and stable fiber based polarization-entangled quantum light source at the optical communication band.     

A 3.5-mW continuous-wave difference-frequency source around 3 μm for sub-Doppler molecular spectroscopy

We report the development of a mid-infrared tunable coherent radiation source, based on difference-frequency generation (DFG). The signal and pump beams coming from two cw rare-earth-doped amplifiers are mixed into a periodically-poled LiNbO₃ crystal to produce radiation in the 2.9–3.5 m spectral range. For the first time to our knowledge, an output power of several mW has been achieved. We show that such a power can be exploited for high-resolution investigation of molecular absorption spectra. Saturation Lamb-dips have been observed for a number of ro-vibrational transitions belonging to the CH_{4 3} fundamental band. PACS 42.65Ky; 33.20 Ea     

Large-effective-area ten-core fiber with cladding diameter of about 200 μm

A multicore fiber with two-pitch layout is proposed to overcome the trade-off between core number and a cladding diameter of a standard hexagonal layout with a single-core pitch. A fabricated ten-core fiber simultaneously realizes effective area of about 120 μm(2) at 1550 nm, small crosstalk, and cladding diameter of 204 μm. The crosstalk between the center core and outer cores is about 30 dB smaller than that between outer cores. The small crosstalk of the center core would help to keep the transmission quality of the center core at the same level as that of the outer cores.     

Broadband 2 μm emission and energy-transfer properties of thulium-doped oxyfluoride germanate glass fiber

High near-infrared transparency Tm³⁺-doped germanate bulk glass and fiber have been fabricated and 2 μm emission properties demonstrated. Energy-transfer processes in the germanate glass and fiber are discussed. The emission spectra are obtained from both bulk glass and fiber with the excitation of a 794 nm laser diode. The results indicate that the line width of the Tm³⁺:³F₄→³H₆ emission spectra measured in fibers is narrower than that of the bulk glass sample and shifts to longer wavelengths with increment of fiber length. The extended overlap integral method is used to calculate the microparameters of energy transfer and critical distance. A model is derived to better understand of the energy-transfer process of thulium ions in the germanate glasses responsible for emission at 2 μm. The study indicates that Tm³⁺-doped germanate fibers with a large core diameter has proved to be promising infrared optical and high-power level laser materials.     

Water vapour and carbon dioxide interference in the high sensitivity detection of NH3 with semiconductor diode lasers at 1.5 μm

H₂O and CO₂ interferences with NH₃ absorption lines in the combination band at 1.5 μm are investigated by means of diode laser spectroscopy, in conjunction with a high sensitivity two-tone frequency modulation technique. Two different spectral regions 6685–6700 cm⁻¹ and 6475–6494 cm⁻¹, respectively are analyzed, and the strongest interference free ammonia lines are identified as possible candidates for high sensitivity detection of ammonia traces in air. Detection limits of 4.5 ppm m at 6482.69 cm⁻¹ and 4 ppm m at 6689.56 cm⁻¹ for ammonia in air at atmospheric pressure are demonstrated. In addition, self and air broadening parameters are measured for some of the investigated lines.     

Picosecond optical switching of a 1.5 μm active birefringent optical fiber loop filter using 1.3 μm control optical pulses and a 1.3 μm semiconductor optical amplifier

Less than 100ps, polarization-independent switching operation of an active birefringent optical fiber loop filter using 1.3 μm control optical pulses as well as a 1.3 μm semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) has been demonstrated. In the proposed SOA-based active birefringent filter operating at 1.55 μm wavelength, 1.3 μm SOA is employed to control the polarization-mode dispersion in the loop part. By injecting 1.3 μm ps gain-switched optical control pulses into the SOA, 1.5 μm input signals can be switched from the transmission port to the reflection port with less than 100 ps rise time.     

Laser diode photoacoustic and FTIR laser spectroscopy of formaldehyde in the 2.3 μm and 3.5 μm spectral range

The room temperature operating GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb based diode laser and 66 K InAsSb/InAsSbP laser diode both operating in spectral range of formaldehyde absorption 4350-4361 cm⁻¹ and 2821-2823 cm⁻¹ have been characterized and compared. Very precise arrangement of laser absorption together with high resolution Fourier transform technique was tested. The photoacoustic technique was employed to determine the detection limit of formaldehyde (less than 1 ppmV) diluted by nitrogen for the strongest absorption line of the ν₃ + ν₅ band in the emission region of the GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb diode laser. The detection limit (less than 10 ppbV) of formaldehyde was achieved in the 2820 cm⁻¹ spectral range in case of InAsSb/InAsSbP laser (fundamental bands of ν₁, ν₅)_.