Analysis of the laser performance of Tm3+, Tb3+(Ho3+):YVO4 crystals at ～1.5μm wavelength

The absorption spectra of Tb,Tm:YVO_4 and Ho,Tm:YVO_4 are measured. The radiant and non-radiant transition probabilities from higher level to lower level, A_{i,j} and ω_{i,j}, and the cross-elaxation probability are calculated in virtue of Judd－Ofelt and Dexter theories. The fluorescence lifetime of Tm^{3+} in the Tb^{3+} (or Ho^{3+}) co-doped crystal is calculated. It indicates that the lifetime of initial level {}^3H_4 of the laser transition can be shorter than that of terminal level {}^3F_4 of the transition if the atomic percentage of Tb^{3+} (or Ho^{3+}) ions is bigger than about 1 at%: namely, by means of the co-doping Tb^{3+} (or Ho^{3+}) ions the self-termination phenomenon of laser light can be eliminated. Inserting the optic parameters to the formula deduced here on the laser threshold power P^{(4)}_{th} and the slope efficiency η^{(4)}_s of the four-energy-level system, we obtain the relationship of threshold power P^{(4)}_{th} to the concentration of Tm^{3+} ions and discuss the effect of Tb^{3+} (or Ho^{3+}) ion concentration on the laser threshold power P^{(4)}_{th} around 1.5μm wavelength. The result shows that Tb,Tm:YVO_4 crystal is a better choice to make the laser at ～1.5μm wavelength than Ho,Tm:YVO_4 crystal. We give the appropriate composition of (1－2) at% Tb, (1－2) at% Tm:YVO_4, just for reference.     

The mechanism research of the Cr^4＋Nd^3＋：YAG laser

The 946nm diode-pump microchip self-Q-switched laser of a chromium and neodymium codoped yttrium aluminum garnet crystal material (Cr^{4+}Nd^{3+}:YAG) is studied, especially about its physical mechanism of operation. The {}^4F_{3/2}→{}^4I_{9/2} transition of Nd^{3+} ion is beneficial to achieving laser oscillation in a quasi-three-level system based on coating the cavity mirrors of the microchip with films that suppress the 1064nm operation and enhance the 946nm laser. The Cr^{4+} ion is a saturable absorber. The initial loss N_{t1} is high, which acts as the threshold for laser oscillation. The stable loss N_{t2} is low because the Cr^{4+} ion is acceleratively bleached by the fast enhancement of the oscillating laser. The high N_{t1}, small N_{t2} and fast progresses permit the oscillating laser of the Cr^{4+}Nd^{3+}:YAG to have a good self-Q-switched property whose full width at half maximum is about 4.2ns. Its highest laser power is about 5.7mW. Its peak power is about 150W. Its good fundamental transverse TEM_{00} mode results from the absorption bleaching established by both the pump and oscillating lasers, which suppress other transverse mode and allow the oscillation only in the fundamental transverse TEM_{00} mode.     

Comprehensive research about the cooperative up-conversion luminescence of the ytterbium-doped oxyfluoride vitroceramics

The cooperative up-conversion blue luminescence of Yb^{3+} ion-doped oxyfluoride vitroceramic material (Yb:FOV) and the influence of co-doped Ho^{3+} ion, when excited by a 960 nm diode-laser, are studied in this paper. A strong blue 479.1 nm up-conversion luminescence of the Yb:FOV material is discovered. It is found that the 479.1 nm luminescence results from the cooperative up-conversion of the coupled states of the Yb^{3+}－Yb^{3+} clusters formed by two adjacent Yb^{3+} ions. The measured cooperative up-conversion luminescence main peak 479.1 nm of this paper is different from the characteristic fluorescence main peak of the Tb^{3+} ion positioned at about 495－504 nm wave-range. Our result coincides with all the published correct papers, whose cooperative up-conversion luminescence main peaks of the direct Yb^{3+}－Yb^{3+} clusters are all positioned at about 476－480 nm wave-range. All of these indicate that the large cooperative up-conversion blue luminescence of the direct Yb^{3+}－Yb^{3+} clusters discovered in this paper is stable. It further proves that the cooperative up-conversion green luminescence may result from the Yb^{3+}-Tb^{3+} cooperative effect. In particular, the original work of this paper improves considerably on the traditional concept by the experimental facts that the blue 479.1 nm cooperative up-conversion luminescence strength of Yb(5):FOV is 230 times greater than that of fluoride glass Yb(3):ZBLAN. This is a great development to meet the practical requirements for blue up-conversion luminescence strength. This result indicates that the large cooperative up-conversion blue luminescence could be achieved excellently by using a suitable material, such as oxyfluoride vitroceramic, which provides a better chance to form better Yb^{3+}－Yb^{3+} clusters and has less relaxation to keep the more efficient up-conversion luminescence. It is also found that impurities seriously reduce the cooperative up-conversion luminescence intensity due to the cross-relaxation from the Yb^{3+}－Yb^{3+} clusters, which means that the cooperative up-conversion blue luminescence could be further improved by pure Yb^{3+} ion-doped materials that have as few impurities as possible to reduce the cross-relaxation. The large cooperative up-conversion blue luminescence of Yb(5):FOV also comes from its higher concentration (5 mol%) of activator Yb^{3+} ion which acts well because the cooperative up-conversion blue luminescence intensity varies linearly against the square of the concentration of Yb^{3+} ions in the range of 0.5－5 mol%. In summary, the great improvement of our work on cooperative up-conversion blue luminescence results from the comprehensive enhancement of the factors of better-coupled chance of the Yb^{3+}－Yb^{3+} clusters, less cross-relaxation, better concentration contribution of Yb^{3+} activator, non-saturation, and better up-conversion luminescence efficiency.     

The characteristics of doubly and triply charged ions C2^2＋, C2^2- and C2^3＋

Based on group theory and atomic and molecular reaction statics, this paper derives the possible electronic states of C^{2+}_2, C^{2-}_2 and C^{3+}_2, and their reasonable dissociation limits and determines their ground electronic states C^{2+}_2(X^3Π_u), C^{2-}_2(X^1Σ^+_g) and C^{3+}_2(X^4Σ^-_u) using quantum mechanical calculations at the level of QCISD/6-311G^*. All the potential energy curves of their ground states have both a minimum and a maximum, which are the so-called "energy trapped" molecules. This sort of potential maximum is chiefly due to Coulomb repulsion. We propose the perturbation effect of ionic charges, which is used to explain why the orbital degeneracy of diatomic ions may be removed. The characteristics of potential curves for diatomic ions are briefly described.     

Spectroscopic properties and mechanism of Tm^3＋/Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped oxyfluorogermanate glass ceramics containing BaF2 nanocrystals

Transparent Tm^3＋/Er^3＋/yb^3＋ co-doped oxyfluorogermanate glass ceramics containing BaF2 nanocrystals are prepared. Under excitation of a 980-nm laser diode （LD）, compared with the glass before heat treatment, the Tm^3＋/Er^3＋/yb^3＋ co-doped oxyfluorogermanate glass ceramics can emit intense blue, green and red up-conversion luminescence and Stark- split peaks; X-ray diffraction （XRD） and transmission electron microscope （TEM） results show that BaF2 nanocrystals with an average diameter of 20 nm are precipitated from the glass matrix. Stark splitting of the up-conversion luminescence peaks in the glass ceramics indicates that Tm^3＋, Er^3＋ and （or） Yb^3＋ ions are incorporated into the BaF2 nanocrystals. The up-conversion luminescence intensities of Tm^3＋, Er^3＋ and the splitting degree of luminescence peaks in the glass ceramics increase significantly with the increase of heat treat temperature and heat treat time extension. In addition, the possible energy transfer process between rare earth ions and the up-conversion luminescence mechanism are also proposed.     

Lasing Characteristics of Tm^3＋：Ho^3＋ Codoped Silica Fibre Laser Pumped by 1.18-μm Raman Fibre Laser

The fundamental characteristics of Fabry-Perot-cavity continuous-wave Tm-Ho codoped silica fibre lasers pumped by a 1.18μm Raman fibre laser are presented. A maximum output power of 930mW at 1880nm is generated for a fibre length of 1 m from the transition of Tm^3 , with a slope efficiency of 32.4%. For a 3-m-long fibre, the maximum output power decreases to 650 mW at 1960 nm due to the laser emission from Ho^3 with a lower slope efficiency of 25%, which clearly shows the effective energy transfer from Tm^3 to Ho^3 . The wavelength redshifting of the laser emission originates from the transition competition and the emission cross section difference between Tm^3 and Ho^3 .     

Up-conversion luminescence phenomenon of Er~(3 ) ions in ErP_5O_(14) noncrystal glass

The up-conversion luminescence phenomenon was observed in ErP_5O_(14) noncrys-tal glass induced by pulsed DCM dye laser.Based on the difference between up-conversion ex-citation spectrum and absorption of ~4F_(9/2) and dependence of up-conversion fluorescence inten-sity on the exciting wavelength,it is found that the mechanism of up-conversion from ~4F_(9/2)level of ErP_5O_(14) noncrystal glass can not be ascribed to energy transfering between Er~(3 ) ions,a seguential absorption of two photons by a single ion should be responsible for these process.     

Experimental Investigation of Tm3＋-Doped Silica Double-Cladding Fibre Laser

Using a Tm^3＋-doped double-cladding silica fibre, we produce a maximum cw 2.2 W output at approximately 2μm. The highest achieved slope efficiency is 29.3% respect to the launched pump power. The lowest threshold is 1.85 W using the double pass pump method with the fibre length 2. 7m, which is the lowest reported threshold of cladding pump of the ^3H4 level. The fibre laser output peak wavelength ranges from 1.967μm to 2.018μm with cavity 1 （R1 = 1 and R2=0.04） and from 1.95μm to 1.99μm with cavity 2 （R1=0.04 and R2=0.04）, as the fibre length varies.     

Formation of Infrared Femtosecond Laser Induced Colour Centres in Tb^3＋－Doped and Tb^3＋／Ce^3＋－Codoped Heavy Germanate Glasses and Tb3＋／Ce3＋－Codoped Heavy Germanate Glasses ＊

The formation of infrared femtosecond laser induced colour centres was observed in Tb^3 -doped and Tb^3 /Ce^3 -codoped heavy germanate glasses. A rectangular scan was made by focusing the laser beam inside the glasssamples. A three-dimensional yellowish block was created from the path and it corresponded to the appearanceof broad absorption bands in the absorption spectra. The irradiation induced absorption coefficient μ(λ) wasused to characterize the distribution of radiation induced colour centres in the samples, whose peak was locatedat 380 nm and extended to the longer wavelength. Ce^3 ions were found not only to inhibit the formation ofcolour centres, but also to enhance the recovery.     

Analysis of the Interaction between Low-Frequency Waves and Ions in the High-Altitude Cusp Region Observed by Satellite Cluster

The energy transfer between ions （protons） and low frequency waves （LFWs） in the frequency range f1 from 0.3 to 10 Hz is observed by Cluster crossing the high-altitude polar cusp. The energy transfer between low frequency waves and ions has two means. One is that the energy is transferred from low frequency waves to ions and ions energy increases, The other is that the energy is transferred from ions to low frequency waves and the ion energy decreases. lon gyratory motion plays an important role in the energy transfer processes. The electromagnetic field of f1 LFWs can accelerate or decelerate protons along the direction of ambient magnetic field and warm or refrigerate protons in the parallel and perpendicular directions of ambient magnetic field, The peak values of proton number densities have the corresponding peak values of electromagnetic energy of low-frequency waves. This implies that the kinetic Alfven waves and solitary kinetic Alfven waves possibly exist in the high-altitude cusp region.     

Design of LICVD equipment for preparation of nano powder and study on laser threshold

A laser-induced chemical vapor deposition (LICVD) nanometer equipment is designed and fabricated. The design conception of key parts is expatiated. The energy threshold of SiH4 decomposing is studied. In the condition of same reactive gas flux, the laser energy threshold decreases with the increase of SiH4 concentration. In the condition of same SiH4 concentration, with the increase of reactive gas flux, the laser energy threshold which induces SiH4 decomposition increases linearly at the beginning, and when the flux is more than 100 ml/min, it turns to increase slowly. The factors which influence the laser threshold are analyzed.     

The dissociative ionization and Coulomb explosion of ethane by a femtosecond laser field

Femtosecond laser-induced dissociation and Coulomb explosion of polyatomic molecule C_2H_6 were systematically investigated using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer and a chirped pulse amplifier laser. With the laser intensity varying from 2.4×10^{15}W/cm^{2} to 1.2×10^{16}W/cm^2, strong molecular ions C_2H_n^+ (n=0－6) and atomic ions C^{m+} (m=1－3) signals were observed. The double-peak structure of atomic ions indicated the occurrence of Coulomb explosion. Compared with the nearly isotropic distribution of C^{+}, highly charged ions C^{m+} (m=2－3) exhibited a sharply anisotropic angular distribution, which was attributed to the geometric alignment.     

Theoretical analysis of ion kinetic energies and DLC film deposition by CH4＋ Ar （He） dielectric barrier discharge plasmas

The kinetic energy of ions in dielectric barrier discharge plasmas are analysed theoretically using the model of binary collisions between ions and gas molecules. Langevin equation for ions in other gases, Blanc law for ions in mixed gases, and the two-temperature model for ions at higher reduced field are used to determine the ion mobility. The kinetic energies of ions in CH4 ＋ Ar（He） dielectric barrier discharge plasma at a fixed total gas pressure and various Ar （He） concentrations are calculated. It is found that with increasing Ar （He） concentration in CH4 ＋ Ar （He） from 20% to 83%, the CH4＋ kinetic energy increases from 69.6 （43.9） to 92.1 （128.5）eV, while the Ar＋ （He＋） kinetic energy decreases from 97 （145.2） to 78.8 （75.5）eV. The increase of CH4＋ kinetic energy is responsible for the increase of hardness of diamond-like carbon films deposited by CH4 ＋ Ar （He） dielectric barrier discharge without bias voltage over substrates.     

High-intensity femtosecond laser absorption by rare-gas clusters

The energy absorption efficiency of high-intensity (～10^{16}W/cm^2) femtosecond laser pulses in a dense jet of large rare-gas clusters has been measured. Experimental results show that the energy absorption efficiency is strongly dependent on the cluster size and can be higher than 90%. The measurement of the ion energy indicates that the average ion energies of argon and xenon can be as high as 90 and 100keV, respectively. The dependence of the average energy of the ions on the cluster size is also measured. At comparatively low gas backing pressure, the average ion energies of argon and xenon increase with increasing gas backing pressure. The average ion energy of argon becomes saturated gradually with further increase of the gas backing pressure. For xenon, the average ion energy drops a little after the gas backing pressure exceeds 9 bar (3.2×10^5 atoms/cluster). The result showing the existence of a maximum average ion energy has been interpreted within the framework of the microplasma sphere model.     

Strong intensity variations of laser feedback interferometer caused by atmospheric turbulence

The significant variation of the laser output can be caused by feedback of a small part of laser beam, which is reflected or backscattered by a target at a long distance from laser source, into the laser cavity. This paper describes and analyzes theoretically and experimentally the influence of atmospheric turbulence on interference caused by laser feedback. The influence depends upon both the energy of feedback into the laser cavity and the strength of turbulence over a laser propagation path in the atmosphere. In the case of stronger energy of feedback and weak turbulence variance of fluctuation of the laser output can be enhanced by hundreds to thousands times. From our measurements and theoretical analysis it shows that these significant enhancements can result from the change of laser-cavity-modes which can be stimulated simultaneously and from beat oscillations between a variety of frequencies of laser modes. This also can result from optical chaos inside the laser resonator because a non-separabl     

A high-efficiency Brillouin fiber ring laser

A high-efficiency Brillouin fiber ring laser is demonstrated using the standard single-mode fiber. The laser exhibits a 3.6-mW threshold. The output power is 22 mW with 40-mW pump power, and the maximum optical-to-optical efficiency is 5570. The output is single wavelength with a 3-dB linewidth of 5 MHz, and the interval of center frequency between the laser and the pump light is 11 GHz （0.088 nm）. It is shown that the stimulated Brillouin scattering threshold of ring resonator is lower and the energy transfer efficiency is higher than those in fiber.     

Cluster-assisted generation of multicharged ions in nanosecond laser ionization of carbon bisulfide clusters at 1064nm

The photoionization of seeded carbon bisulfide molecular beam by a 1064\,nm nanosecond Nd-YAG laser with intensities varying from $0.8\times10^{11}$ to $5.6\times10^{11}$\,W/cm$^{2}$ have been studied by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Multiply charged ions of S$^{q + }$ ($q$ = 2--6) and C$^{q +}$ ($q$ = 2--4) with kinetic energy of hundreds of electron volts have been observed, and there are strong experimental evidences indicating that those multicharged ions originate from the ionization of CS$_{2}$ neat clusters in the beam. An electron recolliding ionization model is proposed to explain the appearance of those multiply charged atomic ions under such low laser intensities.     

Ytterbium-sensitized thulium-doped fiber laser with a single-mode output operating at 1900-nm region

A single-mode laser is demonstrated using a newly developed double-clad thulium-ytterbium-doped fiber (TYDF) in a linear cavity formed by two fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). The YTF used is drawn from a D-shape preform fabricated using the modified chemical vapor deposition and solution doping technique. The laser is operated at 1 901.6 nm via the transition of thulium ions from 3F4 to 3H6 with the assistance of ytterbium to thulium ion energy transfer. The efficiencies of the laser are 0.71% and 0.75% at 927- and 905-nm multimode pumping, respectively. The thresholds of the launched pump power for 927- and 905-nm pumping are 1 314 and 1 458 mW, respectively. A 7-mW output is obtained at a 905-nm pump power of 2 400 mW.     

Short Tm^3＋-doped fiber lasers with watt-level output near 2 μm

High-power operation of diode-pumped fiber lasers at wavelength near 2 μm are demonstrated with short length of heavily Tm^3＋-doped silica glass fibers. With 7-cm long fiber, a laser at near 2 μm is obtained with the threshold of 135 mW, maximum output power of 1.09 W, and slope efficiency of 9.6% with respect to the launched power from a laser diode at 790 nm. The output stability of this fiber laser is within 5%. The dependence of the performance of fiber lasers on the operation temperature and cavity configuration parameters is also investigated.     

A Kilowatt Diode-Pumped Solid-State Heat-Capacity Double-Slab Laser

A kilowatt diode-pumped solid state heat capacity laser is fabricated with a double-slab Nd：YAG. Using the theoretical model of heat capacity laser output laser characteristics, the relationships between the output power, temperature and time are obtained. The slab is 59 × 40×4.5mm^3 in size. The average pump power is 11.2kW, the repetition rate is i kHz, and the duty cycle is 20%. During the running time of i s, the output energy of the laser has a fluctuation with the maximal output energy at 2.06 J, and the maximal output average power is 2.06kW. At the end of the second, the output energy declines to about 50% compared to the beginning. The therma/effects can be improved with one slab cooled by water. The experimental results are consistent with the calculation data.