Efficient diode-pumped passively Q-switched laser with Nd:YAG/Cr:YAG composite crystal

Diffusion bonded Nd:YAG/Cr:YAG composite laser crystal has been employed to perform a compact diode-pumped passively Q-switched laser. At the incident pump power of 3.3 W and pulse repetition rate of 16.3 kHz, the maximum average output of 592 mW has been obtained, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 18%. Stable passively Q-switched operation with peak power of 6.5 kW and pulse duration of 6 ns was also achieved. It has been experimentally revealed that Nd:host/Cr:YAG composite structure is a promising material for compact cost-effective Q-switched laser sources with high-peak power and short pulse duration. In addition, thermal lens effect (TLE) in the active medium and its impact on the Q-switched laser performance have been analyzed.     

Efficient quasi-three-level Nd:YAG laser at 946 nm pumped by a tunable external cavity tapered diode laser

Using a tunable external cavity tapered diode laser (ECDL) pumped quasi-three-level Nd:YAG laser, a fivefold reduction in threshold and twofold increase in slope efficiency is demonstrated when compared to a traditional broad area diode laser pump source. A TEM₀₀ power of 800 mW with 65% slope efficiency is obtained, the highest reported TEM₀₀ power from any 946 nm Nd:YAG laser pumped by a single emitter diode laser pump source. A quantum efficiency of 0.85 has been estimated from experimental data using a simple quasi-three-level model. The reported value is in good agreement with published values, suggesting that the model is adequate. Improvement of the 946 nm laser due to the ECDL's narrow spectrum proves to be less significant when compared to its spatial quality, inferring a broad spectrum tapered diode laser pump source may be most practical. Experimental confirmation of such setup is given.     

An approximate analytic solution of strongly pumped Yb-doped double-clad fiber lasers without neglecting the scattering loss

A theoretical analysis of strongly pumped Yb-doped double-clad fiber lasers is presented and an approximate analytic function of distributed laser along the whole fiber with the scattering loss is obtained for the first time. A comparison is made between the analytic solution and the exact numerical solution. The results have shown that the analytic function of distributed laser within the fiber is accurate and explicit. With the analytic solution the losses caused by laser scattering are shown in three different pump modes. The results verify that the backward pumping can get the highest output power in strongly pumped fiber lasers.     

On the design of a Nd doped silica fiber-laser using a cholesteric liquid crystal mirror

We report operation of a Nd³⁺-doped fiber-laser using a cholesteric liquid crystal acting as a narrow band reflector. The aim of this work is to apply to a fiber-laser the particular optical properties of an helical structure, whatever is the medium exhibiting this structure, either a liquid crystal or either any other material. The advantage of the use of these mediums in the design of fiber-lasers is that they can favourably take the place, in an easy and compact way, of several optical elements such as a polarizer and a quarter-wave plate at one and the same time. This technology promises to design rugged compact low cost tunable coherent sources the lasing range of which can easily be adjusted. We emphasize here the particular part played by the cholesteric liquid crystal-glass interface in the laser action of the fiber. Received 21 October 1999 and Received in final form 7 February 2000     

Thermal stress effects of the diode-end-pumped Nd:YLF slab

The thermal stress effects of the diode-end-pumped Nd:YLF slab laser crystals are numerically investigated. The theoretical model is established by considering the divergence of the pump beam in the slab and the additional heat generated in the upconversion. Using the three dimensional finite element analyses, accurate numerical solutions based on the theoretical model are achieved. Our analyses focuses on the thermal fracture damage of the Nd:YLF slab under both the lasing and non-lasing conditions, and the predicted values are compared with the experimental results.     

Continuous wave and passively Q-switched laser performance of the mixed crystal Nd:Lux(x = 0.5)Y1 − x VO4

Diode end-pumped continuous-wave and passively Q-switched Nd:Lu_x(x = 0.5)Y_1 − xVO₄ mixed crystal lasers were demonstrated. At the pump power of 12.6 W, the maximum output power of 6.7 W around 1066.5 nm was obtained with the output transmission of 27%. The optical conversion efficiency is 53.2%, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 55.8%. For pulsed operation, the shortest pulse width attained was 8.6 ns, with the pulse repetition frequency of 99 kHz, and the single pulse energy and the peak power were estimated to be 25.5 μJ and 2.96 kW, respectively.     

Numerical analysis and experimental results of output performance for Nd-doped double-clad fiber lasers

Numerical analysis is investigated for the high-power double-clad fiber lasers and experimental results using different microscope objectives for focusing into a Nd-doped rectangular double-clad fiber also performed. The numerical analysis includes dependence of output power on output mirror reflectivity, absorbed pump power, loss, and fiber length and pump power distribution for the cases of one-end and two-end pumps with 20 dB/km loss. Calculated conversion efficiencies are 76.36%, 69.73%, and 63.84% for lossless, two-end pump, and one-end pump fiber lasers, respectively. Slope efficiencies from absorbed pump power/output powers measured using microscope objectives are 16.8%/182 mW, 53.8%/351 mW, 24.9%/1240 mW, and 13.9%/649 mW for magnifications of 5×, 10×, 20×, and 40×, respectively.     

Continuous-wave and passively Q-switched laser performance of a disordered Nd:GYSGG crystal

The performance of continuous wave (CW) and passively Q-switched Nd:GYSGG lasers was investigated for the first time. The CW output powers of 4.2 W with dual wavelength of 1058.4 nm and 1061.5 nm were obtained under the diode pump power of 17 W with slope efficiencies of 26%. By using Cr⁴⁺:YAG wafer as saturable absorber, Q-switching operation was performed and the short pulse with pulse width of 6.6 ns was obtained with the peak power of 9.97 kW.     

ps级脉冲光纤放大器和压缩器

 对掺镱双包层脉冲光纤放大器进行实验研究。当用入纤功率为1.9 W的半导体激光器激光泵浦0.5 m长的双包层掺镱光纤时,把平均功率为7 mW、重复频率25.4 MHz的激光放大到505 mW,相应的单脉冲能量为19.8 nJ,经过光栅对压缩后,得到2.7 ps的脉冲激光。     

The analytical investigation of the super-Gaussian pump source on the thermal, stress and thermo-optics properties of double-clad Yb:glass fiber lasers

Fiber lasers have attracted considerable attention when their power can realistically be scaled to kilowatt level and beyond. In this paper, we assumed that the fiber core and first clad are exposed to a pump source with a super-Gaussian profile of order four. The effects of this non-uniform heat deposition on thermal, stress and thermooptics properties such as temperature-dependent change of refractive index and thermally induced stress have been comprehensively studied and their equations analytically derived.     

Lasing in thulium-doped polarizing photonic crystal fiber

We describe lasing of a thulium-doped polarizing photonic crystal fiber. A 4 m long fiber with 50 μm diameter core, 250 μm diameter cladding, and d/Λ ratio of 0.18 was pumped with a 793 nm diode and produced a polarized output with a polarization extinction ratio (PER) of 15 dB and an M(2) of <1.15. An intracavity polarizer and half-wave plate minimally increased the PER to 16 dB. The output power had 35% slope efficiency relative to the absorbed pump power. The maximum cw output power was limited to 4 W due to the quantum defect heating of the fiber.     

High power Q-switched Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber laser producing sub-10 ns pulses

We report on a Q-switched fiber laser producing pulse durations well below 10 ns by using a short-length ytterbium-doped rod-type photonic crystal fiber as gain medium. At repetition rates up to 100 kHz pulse energies up to 0.5 mJ and average powers in excess of 30 W have been obtained in single-transverse mode beam quality. The compact short pulse laser system possesses further power and energy scaling potential.     

Addressing fiber Bragg grating sensors with wavelength-swept pulse fiber laser and analog electrical switch

A pulse train with a wavelength dependent time sequence is generated in a fiber laser configuration, which contains a cascaded wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) fiber Bragg grating (FBG) array and a tunable F-P filter. By distributing pulses to corresponding channels with a 1 × N analog electrical switch, a novel FBG sensors interrogation technique with advantages of high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and high interrogation speed is experimentally demonstrated. Then, a FBG sensing system based on this interrogation technique and the mature unbalanced scanning Michelson interferometer (USMI) demodulation technique is realized. The system has shown a sensitivity of 1.610°/με, for the 1555 nm FBG, which agrees well with the theoretical value of 1.674°/με.     

Dispersion-tuned multiwavelength actively mode-locked fiber laser using a hybrid gain medium

We demonstrate a multiwavelength 10 GHz pulse source using a dispersion-tuned actively mode-locked fiber ring laser incorporated with a semiconductor optical amplifier and an erbium-doped fiber amplifier. Simultaneous seven-wavelength operation of the laser is obtained. The side-mode suppression of all wavelengths is above 30 dB. Smooth wavelength tuning is achieved over more than 12 nm by changing the modulation frequency or the length of the optical delay line. Pulse characteristics are almost constant over the entire tuning span. Wavelength spacing can also be varied from 0.9 to 10 nm by adjusting the dispersion of the cavity. These experimental observations agree well with theoretical analyses.     

Fiber Bragg grating strain sensor based on fiber laser

A study on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) strain sensor, based on erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser, is presented. A strain-sensing element, FBG, also acts as the lasing wavelength selecting component. When strain is applied on the FBG, the laser cavity loss changes, leading to a modification of the laser transient. Strain measurements are obtained in the time domain by simply measuring the EDF laser build-up time. Relative variation in the build-up time of up to 190%, for a strain range from 0 με to 2350 με, is achieved with a resolution corresponding to a strain of better than 2.35 με. This study demonstrates a novel fiber sensor concept and the technical feasibility to develop fiber strain measurement.     

Threshold analysis of fiber-coupler-combined fiber lasers

Threshold conditions of coherently combined fiber lasers, joint by fiber couplers (FCs), have been studied. After considering the phase change of a light wave crossing the fiber inside the FC, it has been shown that, at the two input ports of the coupler connecting with the amplifying fibers, the phase difference between the two incoming fields should be equal to −π/2 if the threshold gain of the compound system is to be minimized. Starting from these input ports, following the circulations of waves, threshold conditions can be established. Expressions for the output and leakage powers, and optimum coupler splitting ratio nullifying the leakage when constituent fiber lasers giving different free-running powers have been derived. And, the threshold gain reductions of individual lasers after being coherently combined have been predicted.     

Non-stationary characteristics of instability in a single-mode Nd:YVO 4 laser with fiber feedback

Random chaotic burst generation was experimentally observed in a single-mode microchip Nd:YVO₄ laser with fiber feedback. As the feedback strength was increased, a transition from stable relaxation oscillation state to unstable random chaotic burst state appeared. Furthermore, the non-stationary characteristic of probability association was experimentally identified at the transition of the two states while similar characteristics were reported only by numerical simulations of simple dynamical systems. This implies the general feature of non-stationary property of the dynamic switching between two states at transition. The observed chaotic burst generation and non-stationary nature were reproduced numerically based on the Lang-Kobayashi model. Received 28 March 2001 and Received in final form 5 June 2001     

Thermal effects of the diode end-pumped Nd:YVO4 slab

The thermal effects of the diode end-pumped Nd:YVO₄ slab laser crystal are investigated both analytically and numerically. The theoretical model is established with considering the divergence of the pump beam in the slab. A detailed theoretical analysis of the temperature, stress and the focal length of thermal lens are presented. Using 3D finite element analysis, an accurate numerical solution based on the theoretical model is achieved. Our analysis includes the thermal fracture damage of the thermally and optically anisotropic slab and the predicated values are compared with the experimental results.     

Optimization of pumping mode for double-clad fiber lasers

A theoretical modeling of Yb-doped double-clad fiber lasers under various pumping modes including arbitrary numbers of end-pump and side-pump is introduced. Approximate analytic expressions of distributed lasers along the whole fiber are derived, and their accuracies are investigated. The effect of the pumping mode on the output performance of fiber lasers is discussed. The numerical results show that the approximate analytic solution is in excellent agreement with the exact numerical solution of the rate equations, the output power in the side-pump scheme is lower than that in end-pumping scheme, and more uniform distributions of laser and pump powers can be achieved by adopting the distributed pump mode and optimizing the arrangement of pump powers. However, further flattening the pump distribution by using more pump points can degrade the laser efficiency.