Optical absorption and stimulated emission of neodymium in yttriumorthosilicate

A spectroscopic investigation of the biaxial crystal yttrium orthosilicate doped with Nd³⁺(Nd³⁺:Y₂SiO₅) has been performed. Spectrally and orientationally resolved emission cross sections necessary for the evaluation of laser performance on the Nd^{3+ 4}F_3/2-⁴I _9/2 and ⁴F_3/2-⁴I_11/2 transitions have been determined. The Judd-Ofelt theory has been applied to measured values of optical absorption line strengths to obtain the orientation averaged intensity parameters: Ω₂-3.34×10^-20 cm², Ω ₄=4.35×10^-20 cm², and Ω₆=5.60×10^-20 cm². These Judd-Ofelt intensity parameter values are significantly different from those previously reported by A.M. Tkachuk et al. Using these intensity parameters, the Nd^{3+ 4}F₂ metastable state lifetime is predicted to be 225 μs. Measured low Nd concentration ⁴F_3/2 lifetimes of 214 μs indicate a high radiative quantum efficiency. Because of the Stark level splitting of the Nd^{3+ 4}F_3/2 and ⁴I_9/2 manifolds, laser operation at twice one of the Cs atomic resonance filter acceptance wavelengths is possible     

Thermal shifts of the spectral lines in the 4F3/2 to 4I11/2 manifold of anNd:YAG Laser

A report is presented of the thermal shifts of eleven of the twelve lines from the ⁴F_3/2 Stark energy levels to the ⁴I_11/2 energy levels in an Nd:YAG laser for a temperature change from 20-200°C. The thermal shift difference between the Stark sublevels R₁, R₂ in ⁴F_3/2 is found to be about -0.6±0.6 cm^-1/100°C. Within experimental uncertainty, all of the lasing lines either moved to longer wavelength or remained unchanged with increasing temperature     

On the dynamics of population inversion for 3 μm Er3+lasers

A generalized model for 3-μm (⁴I_11/2 →⁴I_13/2)Er lasers is proposed. The essential energy transfer processes present in the single-doped Er ³⁺ systems (up-conversion from ⁴I_13/2, up-conversion from ⁴ I_11/2, cross-relaxation from ⁴S _3/2), as well as those present in Cr³⁺ codoped Er ³⁺ systems, are taken into account. In the frame of this model, the main features of 3 μm Er³⁺ lasers, such as long pulse or CW operation, the change of emission wavelength as a function of pumping conditions, and the effects of codoping with Ho³⁺ or Tm³⁺ ions, are explained     

Characterization of spontaneous and stimulated emission frompraseodymium (Pr3+) ions doped into a silica-based monomodeoptical fiber

The fluorescence spectrum of praseodymium in a silica host has been investigated through the direct excitation of the ³P ₀, ¹D₂, and 1G ₄ absorption bands, which occur at around 488, 590, and 974 nm, respectively. The observed spontaneous emission consists of four main bands with peaks at 633, 707, 888, and 1080 nm. In each case the level principally responsible for these emissions was found to be 1D ₂. Stimulated emission has been seen for the first time at 888 nm for a threshold of 10 mW absorbed power. In addition, the lasing characteristics at 1080 nm have been investigated     

A chemically driven visible laser transition using fastnear-resonant energy transfer

Evidence is obtained which demonstrates the potential for developing purely chemical visible lasers based on rapid near-resonant energy transfer from metastable excited triplet states of germanium and silicon monoxide (a³Σ⁺,b ³Π) to select metal atoms. In this study, the Group IIIA metal atoms were chosen as the energy receptors for the energy transfer-pump sequence. Excited triplet states were generated from the Ge-O₃, Ge-N₂, Si-N₂O, and Si-NO₂ reactions; the bulk of the experimental results was obtained with a germanium-based system. The energy stored in the long-lived triplet states is transferred to pump X²P_1/2 thallium, indium, and gallium atoms to their lowest lying ² S_1/2 states. The authors observe a system of temporal behavior which suggests the creation of a population inversion producing a gain condition and forming the basis for full cavity oscillation on the Tl 7²S_1/2-6P _3/2 transition at 535 nm     

VUV stimulated anti-Stokes Raman emission in inverted atomicselenium

Stimulated anti-Stokes Raman scattering at 145.7 nm in inverted Se is generated by photolysis of OCSe at 193 nm and the subsequent up-conversion of 205.1-nm pump radiation. The tuning profile is characterized with OCSe pressure, the energies and relative timing of the pump and photodissociation lasers, and CO and Ar buffer-gas pressure. The use of CO as a buffer gas is discovered to be detrimental to the anti-Stokes output. Sixteen competing stimulated emission channels are found to suppress anti-Stokes emission on exact 4p ^{4 1}S₀-4p³ 5s³ P⁰₁ pump resonance     

Room temperature Dy:YLF laser operation at 4.34 μm

A Dy:YLF laser operating on the ⁶H_11/2 to ⁶H_13/2 transition at 4.34 μm and using a laser pumping scheme is reported. This pumping scheme is necessitated by the short upper-laser-level lifetime and the small effective stimulated-emission cross section. A suitable laser for this application is the Er:YLF laser operating at 1.73 μm. A simple model that approximates Dy:YLF laser performance well is presented. Results on laser performance, including a determination of the slope efficiency and threshold as a function of the output mirror reflectivity and a correlation of the pulse length with the laser output energy, are reported. Overall laser efficiency is found to be limited primarily by the ratio of the pump wavelength to laser output wavelength and the terminated four-level laser operation     

Simultaneous multiple wavelength laser action in various neodymiumhost crystals

The oscillation condition of a simultaneous multiple wavelength laser has been established and used to analyze the possibility of simultaneous oscillation in various neodymium host crystals, such as Nd:YAG, Nd:YLF, Nd:BEL, and Nd:YAP crystals at the transitions from ⁴F_3/2-⁴I_13/2 and ⁴F_3/2-⁴I _11/2. It is shown that this kind of laser can be realized in all the described crystals in a pulsed state. In general, continuous wave (CW) operation, however, can only be achieved for Nd:YAP. On the basis of these results, CW simultaneous double wavelength lasing has been achieved in a Nd:YAP crystal for the first time at both 1.0795 μm and 1.314 μm     

Tunable laser pumped 3 μm Ho:YAlO3 laser

The tuning characteristics of the ⁵I₆ -⁵I₇ transition in a Ho:YAlO₃ laser, intracavity pumped by a 1.079 μm Nd:YalO₃ laser, were studied. Operation on seven distinct lines between 2.844 and 3.017 μm was found, and the threshold and relative slope efficiency of each line was measured. Several of these lines were previously unreported     

Laser beam combining in potassium vapor

Energy transfer between two laser beams of comparable intensity due to their nonlinear interactions in an atomic vapor was investigated. Strong coupling occurs due to stimulated Rayleigh scattering when the frequencies of the two waves differ by the inverse of the excited-state lifetime. The energy transfer between two nearly equal energy pulses from an alexandrite laser tuned near the 4²S_1/2 →4²P_3/2 transition of potassium vapor was measured. It was found that as much as 85% of the total incident energy was contained in one of the output beams     

Measurement of the stimulated emission cross section for the 4F3/2-4I13/2transition of Nd3+ in YAlO3 crystal

A method for the simultaneous measurement of the stimulated emission cross section and fluorescence lifetime by studying the relation between laser parameters and the laser relaxation oscillation frequency is discussed. The stimulated emission cross section for the ⁴F_3/2-⁴I_13/2 transition of Nd³⁺ ion in YAP crystal was measured to be (22±1)×10^-20 cm²     

Magnetic modulation of gain in a chemical oxygen-iodine laser

A magnetic modulation of gain in a continuous-wave (CW) chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) is proposed for several regimes of laser generation. The principle of the method proposed is based on a direct magnetic modulation of gain in the active zone of a COIL utilizing the Zeeman effect on the laser transition ²P_1/2 -²P_3/2 of iodine atoms. The possible applications of this technique to control the laser generation in COIL for technological purposes are outlined     

Room temperature near-infrared tunable Cr:La3Ga5SiO14 laser

Laser operation was achieved in a Cr-doped crystal of La₃ Ga₅SiO₁₄. The laser had a free-running wavelength of 960 nm at room temperature from 862 to 1107 nm. Up to 80 mW output power has been measured with 1.5 W of pump power absorbed from a krypton ion laser. The ⁴T₂ fluorescence spectrum showed a peak at 890 nm indicating an unusually large Franck-Condon shift. At room temperature the fluorescence lifetime was 5.3 μs and the fluorescence quantum yield was measured to be about 14%     

Absorption and emission cross section of Er3+ dopedsilica fibers

A detailed set of measurements is presented on determining the emission and absorption cross sections of Er³⁺ doped fibers for the ⁴I_13/2→⁴I _15/2 transition. Two techniques are employed: the Fuchtbauer-Ladenberg analysis, based on spectroscopic data, and a more direct technique involving optical saturation of the transition. The cross sections, and in particular their ratio, are significantly different for the two techniques. Possible reasons for this are discussed, and it is concluded that the Fuchtbauer-Ladenberg approach is inappropriate in this situation     

A new organic electrooptic crystal:2,6-dibromo-N-methyl-4-nitroaniline (DBNMNA)

A new organic electrooptic crystal, 2,6-dibromo-N-methyl-4-nitroaniline, is reported. The crystal structure was determined by X-ray diffraction (orthorhombic, space group Fdd2, point group mm2, Z=16, a=11.745 Å, b=29.640 Å, c=10.807 Å). The refractive indexes were measured at several wavelengths between 500 and 1100 nm (at 632.8 nm, n_a=1.90, n_b=1.62, and n_c=1.48) and fit the data to a single oscillator Sellmeier equation. A report is presented on measurements of the linear electrooptic effect, yielding the combined coefficients n_a ³r₁₃-n_c³ r₃₃, as well as the first known measurements of the quadratic electrooptic effect in an organic crystal, yielding the coefficients r₄₂ and r₅₁ at 514.5, 632.8, and 810 nm. Good agreement is found between the observed dispersion in the electrooptic coefficients and that predicted by the simple two-level dispersion model     

Connectivity properties of a packet radio network model

A model of a packet radio network in which transmitters with range R are distributed according to a two-dimensional Poisson point process with density D is examined. To ensure network connectivity, it is shown that πR²D, the expected number of nearest neighbors of a transmitter, must grow logarithmically with the area of the network. For an infinite area there exists an infinite connected component with nonzero probability if π R²D>N₀, for some critical value N₀. It is shown that 2.195<N ₀<10.526     

Frequency-locking of a 1.3 μm DFB laser using a miniature argonglow lamp

The frequency of an InGaAsP distributed-feedback (DFB) laser was locked to the 2p₁₀-3d₅ transition of argon atoms at 1.2960 μm using the optogalvanic signal obtained from a commercial miniature glow lamp. At a discharge current of 500 μA, the signal-to-noise ratio of the optogalvanic signal corresponding to the Ar transition was about 18 dB. The peak-to-peak width of the first derivative signal was 650 MHz. The slope of the signal was 0.32 μV/MHz near the center of the transition. By using the linear portion of the first-derivative signal, the laser frequency was locked to the Ar 2p₁₀-3d₅ transition. The peak-to-peak frequency fluctuations in the free-running condition were estimated to be 650 MHz, which is mainly due to laser temperature fluctuations. When the servo-loop was closed, the frequency stability was improved to better than 13 MHz     

Measurement of the characteristics of the optical-microwavedouble-resonance effect of the 87Rb D1line for application as an atomic frequency standard

The OMDR (optical-microwave double resonance) spectrum of ⁸⁷ Rb with the aim of using a frequency-stabilized GaAs semiconductor laser instead of an Rb lamp as a pumping source in a gas-cell-type Rb frequency standard. Natural isotope ⁸⁷Rb was sealed in a glass cell with buffer gases (Ar/N₂=1.2, total pressure=39 torr). The double resonance signal in the 5P_1/2(F=2)←5S_1/2( F=1) transition appearing at the resonance to the F=2←1 hyperfine transition of the 5S_1/2 state was detected. The optimum operational cell temperature was 56°C. The peak-to-peak frequency width of the atomic hyperfine resonance discriminator used to stabilize the microwave frequency shifts induced by detuning of the laser frequency, changes in the laser and microwave powers, and temperature drift of the cell were investigated     

Local fractional population measurement of the upper state 4I13/2 of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier

A method of measuring the local fractional population of the upper state ⁴I_13/2 of an erbium-doped amplifier is investigated. The local fractional population is related theoretically by EDF parameters to the local spontaneous emission (SE) power that leaks laterally from the EDF. The proportional constant between the fractional population and the detected SE power is determined experimentally by measuring saturated spontaneous emission power. The local fractional population of a 19.7 m-long EDF, pumped with a 1.48 μm light and injected with a 1.552 μm signal light, was measured by detecting the local SE power with a Ge photodiode having a diameter of 2 mm. The measured fractional population coincides with the calculated value