Open AccessProgress in rare-earth-doped mid-infrared fiber lasers
Author(s) -
Angela B. Seddon,
Zhuoqi Tang,
David Furniss,
S. Sujecki,
T.M. Benson
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.18.026704
Subject(s) - materials science , fiber laser , chalcogenide , chalcogenide glass , optoelectronics , devitrification , doping , optical fiber , laser , infrared , optics , wavelength , chemistry , physics , crystallization , organic chemistry
The progress, and current challenges, in fabricating rare-earth-doped chalcogenide-glass fibers for developing mid-infrared (IR) fiber lasers are reviewed. For the first time a coherent explanation is forwarded for the failure to date to develop a gallium-lanthanum-sulfide glass mid-IR fiber laser. For the more covalent chalcogenide glasses, the importance of optimizing the glass host and glass processing routes in order to minimize non-radiative decay and to avoid rare earth ion clustering and glass devitrification is discussed. For the first time a new idea is explored to explain an additional method of non-radiative depopulation of the excited state in the mid-IR that has not been properly recognized before: that of impurity multiphonon relaxation. Practical characterization of candidate selenide glasses is presented. Potential applications of mid-infrared fiber lasers are suggested.