Open AccessContinuous wave Fe2+:ZnSe mid-IR optical fiber lasers
Author(s) -
Michael G. Coco,
Stephen C. Aro,
Sean A. McDaniel,
Alexander Hendrickson,
James P. Krug,
Pier J. A. Sazio,
Gary Cook,
Venkatraman Gopalan,
John V. Badding
Publication year - 2020
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.402197
Subject(s) - materials science , fiber laser , laser , optics , optoelectronics , optical fiber , fiber , wavelength , physics , composite material
Today fiber lasers in the visible to near-infrared region of the spectrum are well known, however mid-infrared fiber lasers have only recently approached the same commercial availability and power output. There has been a push to fabricate optical fiber lasers out of crystalline materials which have superior mid-IR performance and the ability to directly generate mid-IR light. However, these materials cannot currently be fabricated into an optical fiber via traditional means. We have used high pressure chemical vapor deposition (HPCVD) to deposit Fe 2+ :ZnSe into a silica optical fiber template. These deposited structures have been found to exhibit laser threshold behavior and emit CW mid-IR laser light with a central wavelength of 4.12 µm. This is the first reported solid state fiber laser with direct laser emission generated beyond 4 µm and represents a new frontier of possibility in mid-IR laser development.