title: Watt-level erbium-doped all-fiber laser at 3.44 μm.
abstract: We demonstrate a 3.44 μm all-fiber laser emitting a maximum of 1.5 W at room temperature, the highest continuous power ever generated from a mid-IR fiber oscillator clearly beyond 3 μm. The laser operates on the 4F(9/2)→4I(9/2) transition of erbium-doped fluoride glasses and relies on a dual pumping scheme at 974 and 1976 nm. By combining a dichroic mirror deposited on the input fiber tip and a fiber Bragg grating as an output coupler, a stable laser emission is produced with a FWHM bandwidth of less than 0.6 nm. The laser cavity has an efficiency of 19% with respect to the launched pump power at 1976 nm and no saturation is observed provided 974 nm co-pumping is sufficient. The joint effect of the two pumps is also investigated.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fortin
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maes
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bernier
authors.forename: Souleymane Toubou
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Bah
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Auteuil
authors.forename: Réal
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vallée
mesh_terms: D004871:Erbium; D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor; D055100:Optical Fibers
chemical_list: D004871:Erbium