Open AccessManipulating the wavelength-drift of a Tm laser for resonance enhancement in an intra-cavity pumped Ho laser
Author(s) -
Haizhou Huang,
Huagang Liu,
Jinhui Li,
Zixiong Lin,
Gao Yan,
Shutao Dai,
Junhong Deng,
Wenxiong Lin
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.26.005758
Subject(s) - laser , lasing threshold , materials science , optics , optoelectronics , laser pumping , active laser medium , injection seeder , resonance (particle physics) , optical cavity , energy conversion efficiency , tunable laser , laser power scaling , wavelength , optical pumping , atomic physics , physics
We demonstrate an enhancement mechanism and thermal model for intra-cavity pumped lasers, where resonance enhancement in intra-cavity pumped Ho laser was achieved by manipulating the wavelength-drift nature of the Tm laser for the first time. Optical conversion efficiency of 37.5% from an absorbed 785 nm diode laser to a Ho laser was obtained with a maximum output power of 7.51 W at 2122 nm, which is comparable to the conversion efficiency in 1.9 μm LD pumped Ho lasers. Meanwhile, more severe thermal effects in the Ho-doped gain medium than the Tm-doped one at high power operation were verified based on the built thermal model. This work benefits the design or evaluation of intra-cavity pumped lasers, and the resonance enhancement originated from the difference in reabsorption loss between stark levels at the lasing manifolds of quasi-three-level rare-earth ions has great interest to improve the existing intra-cavity pumped lasers or explore novel lasers.