Simultaneous generation of violet,blue, and green lasers using Nd:YAl3(BO3)4 channel waveguides under pumping at 815 nm

Violet, blue, and green lasers were simultaneously generated by nonlinear processes using ultrafast laser inscribed neodymium‐doped yttrium aluminum borate (Nd:YAl₃(BO₃)₄ or Nd:YAB) channel waveguides under pumping at 815 nm. These visible lasers were generated by the frequency doubling, self‐frequency summing, and self‐frequency doubling processes based on a 1062 nm laser radiation that corresponded to the ⁴F_3/2 → ⁴I_11/2 transition of Nd³⁺ ions. Further, the wavelength tunability for the violet and blue lasers was achieved by simply tuning the pump wavelength within the ⁴I_9/2 → ⁴F_5/2 transition. The results obtained indicate that Nd:YAB waveguides are promising candidates for efficient compact visible laser sources. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Compact, highly efficient ytterbium doped bismuthate glass waveguide laser

Laser slope efficiencies close to the quantum defect limit and in excess of 78% have been obtained from an ultrafast laser inscribed buried channel waveguide fabricated in a ytterbium-doped bismuthate glass. The simultaneous achievement of low propagation losses and preservation of the fluorescence properties of ytterbium ions is the basis of the outstanding laser performance.     

Ultrafast laser fabrication of low-loss waveguides in chalcogenide glass with 0.65 dB/cm loss

This Letter reports on the fabrication of low-loss waveguides in gallium-lanthanum-sulfide chalcogenide glasses using an ultrafast laser. Spatial beam shaping and temporal pulse width tuning were used to optimize the guided mode profiles and optical loss of laser-written waveguides. Highly symmetric single-mode waveguides guiding at 1560 nm with a loss of 0.65 dB/cm were fabricated using 1.5 ps laser pulses. This Letter suggests a pathway to produce high quality optical waveguides in substrates with strong nonlinearity using the ultrafast laser direct writing technique.     

Relationship between frequency and activation energy for relaxation of impurity-vacancy complexes

An emperical relationship $\text{τ}{}_0\text{=τ}{}_0{}^1\text{exp}\text{(αE)}$ has been found between the activation energy E and the preexponential factor τ₀ for dipolar reorientation of impurity-vacancy complexes in Alkali Halides. The origin of this relationship, that is also valid for all dipolar complexes studied at present in different host crystals has been explained in terms of a monoenergetic ITC theory without recoursing to dipole-dipole interactions.     

Luminescence spectra of lead-doped NaCl,KCl and KBr

The luminescence spectra of lead-doped NaCl, KCl and KBr have been systematically investigated. Special attention has been paid to the effects of concentration and thermal history of the crystals. In the three systems, the emission spectra for A and C band excitation consists mainly of two well-defined emission bands whose energy separation is ～0.7 eV. It has been concluded that none of the bands can be attributed to a single type of lead center but are both typical of Pb²⁺ luminescence. In fact, their behavior can be correlated with that found for most monovalent ions and interpreted in a similar way. The excitation spectra for the two emissions have shown that the A-band is complex. One of the components appearing in very low doped and quenched samples is ascribed to dipoles, whereas additional side bands are attributed to complexes or small aggregates involving Pb²⁺ ions.     

Luminescence from Ti2+ ions in LiF crystals

Luminescence of Ti²⁺: LiF crystals in the wavelength range 650–900 nm excited using laser radiation is reported. The values of 10Dq and the Racah B parameter obtained from the present results indicate that in LiF the ¹ E, ¹ T ₂, and ³ T ₂ energy levels are almost at the cross-over point in the Tanabe-Sugano diagram. In consequence photoluminescence from all three energy levels to the ground state is observed. At low temperature (T 14 K) the emission is mainly due to sharp emission lines with weak vibronic structure due to the ¹ E, ¹ T ₂³ T ₁ transitions of Ti²⁺ ions. The ³ T ₂³ T ₁ broad-band emission is weak at low temperature, becoming stronger at 300 K due to a phonon-assisted tunnelling process, similar to that observed in Cr³⁺: garnets [1]. The excitation spectrum of these lines is a broad peak at 590 nm due to absorption in the ³ T ₁³ T ₂ transition.     

Confocal micro-luminescence of Zn-diffused LiNbO3:Tm channel waveguides

Zinc-diffused channel waveguides fabricated in thulium-doped LiNbO₃ have been analyzed by means of confocal micro-luminescence techniques. Modifications induced by Zn²⁺ ions in the doped-crystal substrate are characterized following the evolution of the ³H₄→³H₆ luminescence of thulium ions at 795 nm, showing the existence of two different regions in the waveguide. Several Raman modes of LiNbO₃ have been used as well to study the differences between the waveguide and the bulk material.