Erbium-doped all-fiber laser at 2.94 microm.
We report what we believe is the first demonstration of laser emission at 2.94 microm in an erbium-doped fluoride fiber laser. The low-loss all-fiber Fabry-Perot laser cavity was formed by two fiber Bragg gratings of 90% and 15% reflectivities in a 6.6 m, 7 mol.% Er-doped double-clad fiber. A maximum cw output power of 5.2 W was measured, which is to our knowledge the highest reported to date for a diode-pumped laser at this wavelength. A coreless endcap was fused at the output fiber end to prevent its deterioration at high output powers. Our results, including the slope efficiency of 26.6% with respect to launched pump power, suggest that erbium could be a better alternative than holmium in the search for a replacement for the flashlamp-pumped Er:YAG at 2.94 microm.
Faucher
Dominic
D
Center for Optics, Photonics and Lasers, Université Laval, Québec G1K 7P4, Canada. dominic.faucher.1@ulaval.ca
Bernier
Martin
M
Caron
Nicolas
N
Vallée
Réal
R
D004566:Electrodes; D004871:Erbium; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State; D013997:Time Factors
D004871:Erbium