Open AccessMid-infrared 1 W hollow-core fiber gas laser source
Author(s) -
Mengrong Xu,
Fei Yu,
Jonathan C. Knight
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
optics letters/optics index
Language(s) - Polish
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.524
H-Index - 272
eISSN - 1071-2763
pISSN - 0146-9592
DOI - 10.1364/ol.42.004055
Subject(s) - materials science , optics , fiber laser , dispersion shifted fiber , laser , lasing threshold , laser power scaling , optical fiber , optoelectronics , core (optical fiber) , fiber , fiber optic sensor , wavelength , physics , composite material
We report the characteristics of a 1 W hollow-core fiber gas laser emitting CW in the mid-IR. Our system is based on an acetylene-filled hollow-core optical fiber guiding with low losses at both the pump and laser wavelengths and operating in the single-pass amplified spontaneous emission regime. Through systematic characterization of the pump absorption and output power dependence on gas pressure, fiber length, and pump intensity, we determine that the reduction of pump absorption at high pump flux and the degradation of gain performance at high gas pressure necessitate the use of increased gain fiber length for efficient lasing at higher powers. Low fiber attenuation is therefore key to efficient high-power laser operation. We demonstrate 1.1 W output power at a 3.1 μm wavelength by using a high-power erbium-doped fiber amplifier pump in a single-pass configuration, approximately 400 times higher CW output power than in the ring cavity previously reported.