Short-pulse, high-power Q-switched fiber laser

A high-power, laser-diode-pumped, Q-switched fiber laser operating at 1.053 μm which is suitable for use in time-multiplexed fiber sensor applications is described. The laser emits >1-kW pulses at 1.053 μm with 2-ns duration at up to 1-kHz repetition rates for an adsorbed pump power of only 22 mW at 810 nm. Tunable Q-switched operation over a 40-nm wavelength range has also been demonstrated     

Er3+-doped fiber amplifier pumped by 0.98 μm laserdiodes

The performance of an Er³⁺-doped fiber amplifier pumped by 0.98 μm InGaAs laser diodes (LDs) is reported. By using a fiber with low Er³⁺ content and optimizing the fiber length, a maximum signal gain of 37.8 dB at 30-mW pump power was realized at a signal wavelength of 1.536 μm. A maximum gain coefficient of 1.9 dB/mW at 14 mW pump power was achieved. It was found that the fiber amplifier pumped by the 0.98-μm LDs is twice as efficient as that pumped by 1.48-μm LDs, from the viewpoint of both required fiber length and the attained gain     

Cladding-pumped fiber laser

Laser emission at 1.06 μm, pump light absorption, laser threshold, slope efficiency, and alignment tolerance as a function of the fiber length have been measured for a cladding-pumped double-clad Nd:glass fiber laser. The fiber laser was pumped with a laser diode emitting at 810 nm. It produced an output power of 15.9 mW at an absorbed pump power of 55.1 mW. This corresponds to an optical-optical conversion efficiency of 38.8%     

Optimal pump wavelength in the4I15/2-4I13/2 absorption band for efficient Er3+-doped fiberamplifiers

The authors report the measured gain of a highly efficient erbium-doped fiber amplifier pumped at wavelengths between 1.46 and 1.51 μm. The optimal pump wavelength, λ_opt, was determined to be 1.475 μm. At this wavelength, the maximum gain coefficients for signals at 1.531 and 1.544 μm were 2.3 and 2.6 dB/mW, respectively. At λ_opt, high gains ranging from 32 dB at pump power P_p=20 mW up to 40 dB at P _p=80 mW were obtained. These modest pump powers are within the capabilities of currently available 1.48-μm diode lasers. The width about λ_opt for 3-dB gain variation exceeded 27 nm for P_p=10 mW and 40 nm for P_p >20 mW. With this weak dependence on pump wavelength, single-longitudinal-mode lasers do not have a significant advantage over practical Fabry-Perot multimode pump lasers     

1.4-μm-band gain characteristics of a Tm-Ho-doped ZBLYAN fiberamplifier pumped in the 0.8-μm band

The gain characteristics of a 1.4-μm-band thulium-holmium-doped ZBLYAN fiber amplifier are described. Signal gain is obtained over the whole 1.4-μm band for a pump power level of 73.5 mW. A maximum signal gain of 18 dB is achieved at a signal wavelength of 6.46 μm for a pump power of 150 mW at 0.79 μm. The noise figure is 5.6 dB in the signal wavelength region from 1.45-1.50 μm. From a comparison of the gain characteristics of thulium-holmium-doped ZBLYAN fibers and thulium-doped ZBLYAN fibers, it is proved that holmium ions play an effective role in increasing the gain and widening the gain spectrum     

Nd-doped double-clad fiber amplifier at 1.06 μm

We propose and demonstrate a double-clad neodymium (Nd)-doped fiber amplifier (IVDFA) at 1.06 μm for a compact configuration of a high-power optical amplifier. The proposed 125 μm first cladding diameter in the double-clad fiber, provides the single-mode propagation of the signal lightwave into its doped core without misguiding the signal lightwave into the outer core (first cladding), by simply splicing with a standard single-mode fiber. Furthermore a fiber grating in a single-mode core of the double-clad fiber allows the double-pass configuration for the signal lightwave at 1.06 μm and also allows the pump lightwave coupling at 0.81 μm into the first cladding without employing a bulk dichroic mirror. We demonstrate the signal output power of 110 mW for a 550-mW pump input from a multimode fiber coupled pump source. Theoretical results predict an efficient high-power operation of the amplifier by improving the signal scattering loss in the double-clad fiber     

Femtosecond soliton transmission characteristics in an ultralongerbium-doped fiber amplifier with different pumping configurations

The transmission characteristics of femtosecond optical solitons in an 18.2 km-long erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) have been investigated in detail by changing the pumping configuration. With backward pumping, a lossless transmission of 440 fs solitons at 1.55 μm has been realized with a pump power of 16 mW. The output pulsewidth is determined by the spectrum modified by the soliton self-frequency shift. In a bidirectional pumping configuration, 440-fs soliton pulses have been transmitted for a total pump power of 38 mW, where the output pulse width is determined by the original 1.55 μm spectrum. Although a femtosecond soliton is very weakly trapped in the EDFA-gain bandwidth of 1.55 μm and the soliton self-frequency shift inevitably occurs, the femtosecond pulse component still exists at 1.55 μm, and a pulse can be successfully transmitted with a gain of 11 dB and very little pulse broadening     

Optimum position of isolators within erbium-doped fibers

An isolator is used as an amplified spontaneous emission suppressing component within an erbium-doped fiber. The optimum isolator placement is both experimentally and theoretically determined and found to be slightly dependent upon pump power. Improvements of 4 dB in gain and 2 dB in noise figure are measured for the optimum isolator location at 25% of the fiber length when the fiber is pumped with 60 mW of pump power at 1.48 μm     

Performance of a distributed erbium-doped dispersion-shifted fiberamplifier

Continued improvements in the performance of a multi-kilometer, low-erbium-concentration fiber amplifier made by the modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) seed fiber method are discussed. Transparency for a -20-dBm signal at 1.55 μm and fiber length of 11.8 km was achieved with 20 mW of 1.48-μm copropagating pump power. The wavelength dependence of the gain for this signal level is reported, and the distribution in small signal gain along a 22-km length using an optical domain reflectometer (OTDR) was measured. Simulations are presented to show the effect of erbium concentration, input signal level, and pump power required for transparency of a 50-km span     

Er-doped superfluorescent fiber laser pumped by 1.48 μm laserdiode

Output power of 4 mW at an 80-mW pump power is reported for an Er-doped superfluorescent fiber laser pumped by a 1.48 μm laser diode. A stable spectrum profile of 2-nm bandwidth (FWHM) is observed at output powers above 1 mW. The degree of polarization was observed, and it was found that more than 99.8% of the light was unpolarized within the limit of experimental error     

High-power operation of aluminum-free (κ=0.98 μm) pumplaser for erbium-doped fiber amplifier

The authors discuss the fabrication and characteristics of high-power (P_CW=430 mW) InGaAs/InGaAsP/InGaP ridge waveguide lasers emitting at λ=0.98 μm, which is the optimum wavelength for pumping erbium-doped fiber amplifiers. In the past, high-power operation of Al-free pump lasers has been limited to 150 mW because of catastrophic optical damage of the mirror facet. This problem has been largely removed by increasing the spot size of the laser with the aid of an improved waveguide design. As a result, Al-free lasers can now achieve a maximum power comparable to the conventional GaAlAs-based pump lasers for λ=0.98 μm     

Erbium-doped fiber amplifier pumped in the 950-1000 nm region

The pump wavelength dependence of the gain of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier pumped in the wavelength region 950-1000 nm is discussed. It is found that efficient gain at 1.557 μm, between 25 and 28 dB for 17 mW of launched pump power, can be obtained for any wavelength pump in the range 965-985 nm. The optimum length of erbium fiber needed is found to vary as a function of pump wavelength. The gain as a function of signal wavelength is also investigated at these pump wavelengths     

High-gain and high-efficiency diode laser pumped fiber amplifier at1.56 μm

Gain of an erbium-doped amplifier was optimized for operation at 1.56 μm, resulting in gains of up to 20 dB and slope efficiencies of 0.66 dB/mW. The amplifier is plug compatible with existing fiber networks. The gains of up to 20 dB were achieved using 1.48-1.49 μm laser diode pump sources with powers of 30 mW launched into the input of the system. The erbium-doped fiber used had an Er³⁺ concentration of roughly 30 p.p.m. in a GeO₂-Al₂O ₃SiO₂ host, and a core diameter of 7.0 μm     

Laser diode-pumped holmium-doped fluorozirconate glass fiber laserin the green (λ~544-549 nm): power conversion efficiency, pumpacceptance bandwidth, and excited-state kinetics

The green (544-549 nm) Ho-doped fluorozirconate (ZBLAN) glass fiber laser, pumped in the red (λ~6;15 nm) by a high-power (~30 mW) InGaAlP laser diode or a ring dye-laser, has been characterized with regard to power conversion efficiency, fiber core-diameter and length, cavity output coupling, and pump acceptance bandwidth. Fibers doped with ~1200 ppm (by weight) of Ho and having core diameters of 1.7, 3, and 11 μm, and lengths ranging from 12.5 to 86 cm, have been studied in Fabry-Perot resonators having output couplings ranging from 1.545 to 96%. For a 1.7-μm core-diameter fiber, 21 cm in length, the threshold-launched pump power for the diode-pumped fiber laser is 1.9 and 3.5 mW for cavity output couplings of 1.5% and 24%, respectively. These values are the lowest for any upconversion-pumped fiber laser reported to date. Also, the noise and threshold-pumping power properties of the diode-pumped fiber laser are superior to those for its dye-laser-pumped counterpart. The highest laser slope efficiency (>22% with respect to launched pump power) was measured for a 3-μm core-diameter fiber and a cavity output coupling of 24%. The spectral interval over which the launched threshold pump power for this laser is <10 mW is almost 20 nm (637-656 nm). Studies of the fiber laser waveform as a function of pump power reveal competition for population between the ⁵S² and ⁵F₄ states and among the Stark sublevels of the ⁵F₄ manifold. Also, measurements of the output power on individual laser lines of the ⁵F₄, ⁵S₂→ ⁵I₈ (ground) transitions of Ho³⁺:ZBLAN as a function of pump power demonstrate the existence of a loss mechanism at the fiber laser wavelength, presumably due to absorption from ground or the ⁵I_y, ⁶S₂ or ⁵F₄ excited states of the ion     

A 1.6-μm pumped 1.9-μm thulium-doped fluoride fiber laser andamplifier of very high efficiency

Results are presented for color center, and semiconductor, laser pumping of the 1.82 μm transition in a thulium-doped fluoride fiber. As an amplifier small signal gain efficiencies of 8.1 dB/mN were attained with a maximum gain of 36.5 dB being achieved for around 17-18 mW of launched pump power. As a laser a maximum slope efficiency of 84% and a minimum threshold for oscillation of 330 μW was also demonstrated for this system. Furthermore by suppressing all reflections down to <36 dB superfluorescent or ASE output was observed. In achieving efficient operation with a diode laser pump source this system shows strong commercial potential     

Neodymium-doped fibre amplifier at 1.064 μm

For the first time, a fibre amplifier with a small signal gain of more than 30 dB at 1.064 μm has been realised. The amplifier employs an Nd-Al codoped fibre and a 0.808 μm pumping laser diode which offers 50 mW incident pump power     

Continuous-wave type-II “QW” lasers emitting atλ=5.4-7.1 μm

Optically pumped type-II QW lasers emitting in the 5.4-7.1 -μm wavelength range and at continuous-wave (CW) temperatures up to 210 K are demonstrated. At 80 K, the maximum CW output power from a 40-μm-wide pump stripe is 48 mW at 5.41 μm and 31 mW at 6.05 μm. Epitaxial-side-down heat sinking is provided by a new diamond-pressure-bond mounting technique, which requires minimal processing and maintains topside optical access     

A theoretical model of thulium-doped silica fiber＇s ASE in the 1900 nm waveband

A theoretical model in the 1900 nm waveband for amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) of thulium-doped silica fiber is presented. The ASE spectral power as functions of the fiber length and the pump power is investigated by solving the rate and propagation equations. By calculation, when the concentration of thulium in fiber is 2.25×1025 m-3, the fiber core diameter is 2.6 μm, and the pump power is 200 mW at 808 nm, the optimal fiber length is 8.1 m, and the output power of ASE can reach 60 mW in...     

All-optical switching with low-peak power in microfabricated AlGaAswaveguides

We report all-optical switching with low-peak power in a microfabricated AlGaAs waveguide operating at 1.6 μm. We show that by using a 1-μm long microfabricated strongly-guided waveguide with 0.8 μm by 0.9 μm mode cross-sectional area, switching is achieved with an average power of 1.2 mW for 82-MHz mode-locked 430 fs pulses. The estimated peak pump power and pulse energy inside the microfabricated waveguide were ~30 W and ~14.6 pJ, respectively, which is 5-10 times lower than the values needed with conventional waveguides. In terms of a practicality index defined via switching power times waveguide length, this waveguide has around the best value     

Asymmetric fiber microlenses for efficient coupling to ellipticallaser beams

It is demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate asymmetric hyperbolic microlenses directly on the ends of single-mode optical fiber to enhance the fiber's coupling to elliptical laser beams. The lenses, with controlled eccentricity ratios, are made by micromachining the end of the fiber with a pulsed CO₂ laser, as the fiber is directed by computer control about the focussed laser beam. Coupling efficiencies of 84% (-0.74 dB) have been realized with single transverse mode lasers at a wavelength of 0.98 μm having an approximately 3 to 1 beam ellipticity. With multitransverse-mode lasers at 1.48 μm having similar ellipticities, the asymmetric lenses demonstrate a 2-dB increase in coupling efficiency over symmetric hyperbolic microlenses. The authors have coupled about 120 mW from such a 360 mW laser, used to pump erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, into single-mode fiber