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.     

Structural and optical characterization of Er3+/Yb3+-doped LiNbO3

We report the dependence of the unit-cell parameters and the extraordinary and ordinary refractive indices of Er³⁺/Yb³⁺-codoped LiNbO₃ crystals. Both properties depend in a non-monotonic manner on the Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ content. A singularity was observed at concentrations of 1.1-1.2 mol. % in the crystal (0.6-0.7 mol. % in the melt). In the same way the Er and Yb concentration influences the periodically poled lithium niobate formation. The observed behavior of refractive indices and unit-cell parameters of Er³⁺/Yb³⁺-codoped LiNbO₃ crystals could be explained in terms of the RE³⁺-ion concentration affecting the Li-vacancy concentration and the RE³⁺-ion positions in the crystal. Received: 21 May 2001 / Revised version: 22 August 2001 / Published online: 23 October 2001     

高浓度镱铒共掺磷酸盐光纤放大器增益特性

在忽略高能级的自发辐射和光纤损耗的情况下，利用速率方程和传输方程理论研究了高浓度Er³⁺/Yb³⁺共掺磷酸盐玻璃光纤放大器的增益特性，讨论了Er³⁺浓度、Yb³⁺浓度、抽运光功率、信号光功率、光纤长度对放大器增益的影响，并与单掺铒光纤放大器进行了比较.由于Yb³⁺的敏化作用降低了铒离子的团簇效应，减少了离子间相互作用，共掺光纤的增益和效率明显高于单掺光纤.数值计算表明，3.2cm长Er³⁺/Yb³⁺共掺光纤在980nm的20dBm(100mW)抽运功率下，1532nm处的增益可达10dB. 关键词： 镱铒共掺光纤放大器 速率方程 传输方程 高浓度     

Er,Yb:YAG微晶玻璃发光特性的研究

高温熔制Er³⁺，Yb³⁺离子掺杂CaO-Y₂O₃-Al₂O₃-SiO₂系统玻璃，并进行微晶化处理，研究了微晶玻璃中Er³⁺离子的发光及上转换发光特性，分析了微晶玻璃上转换发光机理.结果表明：原始玻璃经热处理得到了Er,Yb:YAG微晶玻璃，微晶玻璃中Er³⁺离子在室温下⁴I_13/2→⁴I_15/2跃迁产生横盖1450—1650nm区间的超宽带荧光，荧光半高宽达180nm，这可能由于YAG微晶相中Er³⁺离子与玻璃相中残留Er³⁺离子的共同发光；Er³⁺与Yb³⁺离子局域基质声子能量的降低使微晶玻璃Er³⁺离子上转换发光强度与原始玻璃相比显著提高，绿光、红光上转换荧光强度比玻璃样品分别增强约7和3倍；微晶化后Er³⁺，Yb³⁺离子局域环境发生变化也导致微晶玻璃中Er³⁺离子绿光、红光上转换发光相对强度发生变化. 关键词： 铒 镱:钇铝石榴石 微晶玻璃 荧光光谱     

Novel shooting method with simple control strategy for fiber lasers

A novel shooting method with excellent simple control strategy is developed for solving the failure to convergence of the traditional shooting methods themselves in fiber lasers model. Compared with the published literature, the novel shooting method provides a clear physical understanding method for getting the threshold pump power and the exact results with given random functions in Yb³⁺-doped fiber lasers and Er³⁺-doped fiber lasers. Then, the results in Er³⁺-doped fiber lasers and Yb³⁺-doped fiber lasers demonstrate that the solutions using the novel shooting method has high accuracy of 10⁻⁸ W with several iteration steps, which have extended the applicable range of the end-pumped power even lower than 1 mW pump power. Furthermore, compared with 1480 nm pump for the threshold and slope efficiencies of the Er³⁺-doped fiber lasers, 978 nm fiber lasers can extend wider scope of application and be pump source in the coming future. Finally, the lower threshold and higher slope efficiency at 975 nm than those of 910 nm pump in Yb³⁺-doped fiber lasers, 975 nm pump laser provides for broad band excellent cladding pump source.     

Yb effect on the spectroscopic properties of Er-Yb codoped SnO2 thin films

We have investigated the optical properties of sol-gel thin films of tin dioxide (SnO₂) codoped with Er³⁺-Yb³⁺ as a function of Yb³⁺ concentration. The Judd-Ofelt model has been applied to absorption intensities of Er³⁺ (4f¹¹) transitions to establish the so-called Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters: Ω₂, Ω₄, Ω₆. Various spectroscopic parameters were obtained to evaluate their dependence and the potential of the samples as a laser material in the eye-safe laser wavelength (1.53 μm) as a function of Yb³⁺ concentration. An amelioration of the quality factor Ω₄/Ω₆ was found with Yb content. Both the IR photoluminescence (PL) intensity and the up-conversion emission, from Er³⁺ ion in SnO₂, were found to increase with Yb concentration. We show that the Yb³⁺ ion acts as sensitizer for Er³⁺ ion and contributes largely to the improvement of the spectroscopic properties of SnO₂:Er. The mechanism of up-conversion emission is discussed and a model is proposed. The results showed that sol-gel SnO₂ is promising gain media for developing the solid-state 1.5 μm optical amplifiers and tunable up-conversion lasers.     

Crystal growth, optical properties, and laser operation of Yb3+-doped NYW single crystal

Laser crystal Yb³⁺-doped NaY(WO₄)₂ (Yb:NYW) with excellent quality has been grown by Czochralski technique. The rocking curves from (400) plane of as-grown Yb:NYW crystal was measured and the full-width value at half-maximum was 19.92″. The effective segregation coefficients were measured by the X-ray fluorescence method. The polarized absorption spectra and the fluorescence spectra of Yb:NYW crystal were measured at room temperature. The fluorescence decay lifetime of Yb³⁺ ion in NYW crystal has been investigated. The spectroscopic parameters of Yb:NYW crystal are calculated and compared with those of Yb:YAG crystal. A continuous wave output power of 3.06 W at 1031 nm was obtained with a slope efficiency of 42% by use of diode pumping.     

Yb3+sensitized Er3+-doped waveguide amplifiers: a theoretical approach

Silicate and phosphate glass waveguide amplifiers doped with Er³⁺, and co-doped with Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ are theoretically studied. Configurations for core and core–cladding doped waveguide amplifiers are considered. It is shown that gain in the core–cladding doped amplifiers is considerably higher than core doped amplifiers. It is also shown that with input signal power up to 1 and 200mW pump power, a 12.5dB gain can be achieved in a 3cm long waveguide amplifier, with a noise figure of 3dB.     

Numerical investigation of gain characteristics of Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped fiber amplifiers

In this work, a model for analyzing the gain characteristics of heavily Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ co-doped compact fiber amplifier is presented. Four-level rate equations and finite-difference beam propagation method are applied to simulate the optical field evolution along the active fiber. Based on this model, the influences of ion concentration, fiber length and pump power on the gain characteristics of Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ co-doped phosphate glass fiber amplifiers are theoretically investigated. Numerical results show that for a fiber length of 3.6 cm the internal gain can reach 27.2 dB with N _Er = 2.6 × 10²⁶ ions/m³ and N _Yb = 1.2 × 10²⁷ ions/m³ when pumped with 224 mW at 980 nm. The gain per centimeter is 7.56 dB/cm. The results can provide useful information to optimize the gain performance of these compact fiber amplifiers.     

Thermal effect on multiphonon-assisted anti-Stokes excited upconversion fluorescence emission in Yb3+-sensitized Er3+-doped optical fiber

The temperature effect upon infrared-to-visible frequency upconversion fluorescence emission in Yb³⁺-sensitized Er³⁺-doped germanosilicate optical fibers excited with cw radiation at 1.064 μm is investigated. The experimental results revealed an eightfold enhancement in the visible upconversion emission intensity as the fiber temperature was increased from 17 °C to 180 °C. The fluorescence emission enhancement is attributed to the temperature-dependent multiphonon-assisted anti-Stokes excitation process of the ytterbium sensitizer. A theoretical approach that takes into account a sensitizer absorption cross-section, which depends on the phonon occupation number, has proven to agree very well with the experimental data Received: 6 April 1999 / Revised version: 27 August 1999 / Published online: 27 January 2000     

Pulsed dual-stage fiber MOPA source operating at 1550 nm with arbitrarily shaped output pulses

In this paper we present an effective method of pulse distortion pre-compensation in saturated high-power fiber amplifiers by arbitrarily shaping the input pulse. We derive a simple expression which allows us to generate user-defined pulse shapes at the output of the amplifier chain consisting of more than one stage. The numerical results were verified experimentally using a diode-seeded all-fiber two-stage master oscillator–power amplifier (MOPA) source based on Er³⁺/Yb³⁺-doped double-clad fiber. Several examples of obtained output shapes are presented, including high-energy 100-ns-long rectangular pulses.     

Crystal growth, spectral and laser properties of Yb3+:NaGd(WO4)2 crystal

Yb³⁺-doped NaGd(WO₄)₂ (Yb:NGW) crystal has been successfully grown by Czochralski method. The rocking curves from (400) plane of as-grown Yb:NGW crystal was measured and the full-width values at half-maximum was 21″. The polarized absorption spectra, the fluorescence spectra and the fluorescence decay lifetime of Yb:NGW crystal were measured at room temperature. The spectroscopic parameters of Yb:NGW crystal are calculated and compared, with those of Yb:YAG crystal. A continuous wave output power of 3.01 W at 1048 nm was obtained with a slope efficiency of 71% by use of diode pumping.     

Amplifying Characteristics of Er3+/Yb3+ Co-Doped Parallel-Cascaded Double Microring Resonators

Abstract

In terms of the coupled mode theory, formulas of the transfer function and the output power gain are presented for an Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ co-doped parallel-cascaded double microring resonator. Around the pump wavelength of 0.98 μm and the central signal wavelength of 1.55 μm, analysis is performed for the dependence of the output power gain on the pump power, signal power, dopant concentration, amplitude coupling ratio, and ring spacing. The results show that the output power gain of this device is much larger than that of the Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ co-doped waveguide amplifier with identical waveguide lengths. In the case of the amplitude coupling ratio κ = 0.064, ring spacing L₂ = 10π R, pump power P_p0 = 8 mW, signal power P_s0 = 37.2 μW, Er³⁺ ion concentration N_Er = 1 × 26 m^?3, and Yb³⁺ ion concentration N_Yb = 3 × 27 m^?3, the device can produce higher signal power gain from 11.9 dB even up to 70 dB.     

Influence of carbon templates and Yb concentration on red and green luminescence of uniform Y2O3:Yb/Er hollow microspheres

Uniform Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺-codoped Y₂O₃ hollow microspheres were synthesized via urea co-precipitation using carbon spheres as templates. Intense red emission (⁴F_9/2→⁴I_15/2) and weak green emission (²H_11/2, ⁴S_3/2→⁴I_15/2) of Er³⁺ were observed for the Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺-codoped Y₂O₃ hollow microspheres under 980 nm infrared excitation. The integrated intensity of visible emission and the ratio of red to green were found to be strongly dependent on the amount of carbon sphere templates and the concentration of Yb³⁺ ions. The amount of carbon sphere templates also plays an important role in adjusting the size of crystallite. Multi-phonon relaxation resulted from the absorbents (OH⁻ and CO₃²⁻) on the surface of the crystallite, and efficient occur of energy transfer processes and cross-relaxation between Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ are responsible for the enhancement of intensity ratio of red to green emission. Interestingly, for higher concentration of Yb³⁺ ions, the green emission is assigned to a three-phonon process in Y₂O₃:Yb/Er hollow microspheres, which also could result in the increase of the red to green emission ratio. An explanation to account for these behaviors was presented.     

Luminescence properties and energy transfer processes in YAG:Yb,Er single crystalline films

The paper is dedicated to the study of the optical properties of YAG:Yb,Er single-crystalline films (SCF) grown by liquid phase epitaxy. The absorption, cathodoluminescence and time-resolved photoluminescence spectra and photoluminescence decay curves were measured for the SCFs with different doping levels of Er³⁺ (from 0.6 to 4.2 at.%) and Yb³⁺ (from 0.1 to 0.6 at.%). The spectra, excited by synchrotron radiation in the fundamental absorption range of the YAG and in the intraionic absorption bands of both dopants, reveal energy transfer from the YAG host to the Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ ions and between these ions.     

Spectral properties and energy transfer of Yb,Er:GdVO4 crystal

GdVO₄ single crystal co-doped with Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺ was grown by the Czochralski method. The X-ray powder diffraction pattern of Yb,Er:GdVO₄ crystal confirms that the as-grown crystal is isostructural with pure GdVO₄ crystal. Its polarized absorption spectra and non-polarized fluorescence spectra were measured at room temperature. The absorption band at 984 nm for π-polarization has an FWHM of about 36 nm, which is favorable for InGaAs LD laser pumping. The spectrum properties of Er³⁺ in Yb,Er:GdVO₄ crystal were investigated based on Judd–Ofelt theory. There is strong energy transfer from Yb³⁺ to Er³⁺ in this crystal. When excited with 980 nm radiation, this crystal emitted strong fluorescence at about 1529 nm and 552.5 nm. The total energy transfer rate and efficiency from Yb³⁺ to Er³⁺ is 3.33 ms^-1 and 67%, respectively. The energy transfer between Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ ions is a multistep transfer process, and was investigated based on a random-walk model. The investigation result shows that there is strong cooperative-sensitization effect from Yb³⁺ to Er³⁺, which is the main upconversion energy-transfer process in this crystal. PACS 42.70.Hj; 81.10.Fq; 42.55.Rz     

Dynamics of the Yb3+ to Er3+ energy transfer in LiNbO3

The energy transfer dynamics between Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺ ions in lithium niobate is investigated after ytterbium-pulsed excitation at 920 nm. The sensitisation of the LiNbO₃:Er³⁺ system with Yb³⁺ ions does not modify the lifetime of the ⁴I_13/2 erbium level (1.5-μm emission), whereas it induces a marked, concentration-dependent change in the lifetime of the ²F_5/2 (Yb³⁺) and ⁴S_3/2 (Er³⁺) multiplets (1060-nm and 550-nm emissions, respectively). The results are analysed by using the rate-equation formalism and cross-relaxation model for the energy transfer. Received: 15 October 1998 / Revised version: 24 November 1998 / Published online: 24 February 1999     

GENERATION OF MULTI-WAVELENGTH VISIBLE LIGHT IN Er3+-DOPED AND Er3+/Yb3+-DOPED SINGLE-MODE OPTICAL FIBER PUMPED AT 1313 nm

We report the generation of multi-wavelength visible light through amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) in Er³⁺-doped and Er³⁺/Yb³⁺-doped germanosilicate single-mode optical fiber pumped by a Nd:YLF laser at 1313nm. In the Er³⁺-doped fiber, the intense multi-wavelength blue emission hnes around 463-510nm corre-spond to transitions born ²G_7/2 etc. excited states to the metastable ⁴I_13/2 state, and their pumping mechanists is aecomphshed by a stepwise four-photon absorption. Some emission hnes in this wavelength region are attributed to the three-wave sum-frequency process of 1313 and 1530nm (corresponds to ⁴I_13/2 -⁴I_15/2). The intense green emission hnes at 525 and 540 nm are also observed in the Er³⁺-doped fiber. In the Er³⁺/Yb³⁺-doped fiber the blue and green lines are very weak compared with those in the Er³⁺-doped fiber.     

卤化铅调整Tm3+/Yb3+共掺碲酸盐玻璃上转换发光研究

研究了卤化铅调整Tm³⁺/Yb³⁺共掺碲酸盐玻璃的热稳定性能、Raman 光谱和上转 换发光光谱，分析了Tm³⁺/Yb³⁺共掺氧卤碲酸盐玻璃的上转换发光 机理.结果发 现：混合卤化铅调整Tm³⁺/Yb³⁺共掺碲酸盐玻璃具有好的热稳定性 能、低的声 子能量、强的上转换蓝光.这表明混合卤化铅调整Tm³⁺/Yb³⁺共掺碲 酸盐玻璃是一种上转换蓝光激光器的潜在基质材料. 关键词： 氧卤碲酸盐玻璃 上转换光谱 发光机理 上转换蓝光激光器