Cr~(2+):ZnSe全固态中红外激光器

建立了一种高质量、高效率全固态中红外激光系统,并对激光输出的效率、光束质量等指标进行了测试。首先,以二极管激光器为泵浦源,Tm~(3+):YAP晶体为增益介质,搭建了输出波长为1.97μm的近红外激光器。然后,以Tm~(3+):YAP激光器为泵浦源,自行开发研制的Cr~(2+):ZnSe单晶为增益介质,搭建了全固态中红外激光器。最后,测试了全固态中红外激光器的光束质量及激光器出光效率,并对谐振腔光效率的理论输出值与实际的激光器出光参数进行了对比。实验结果表明:此全固态中红外激光器的光光转换效率为17.2%,斜率效率为20%,在最高输出能量为3 W时的光束质量(M~2)在x和y方向分别为1.7和1.73,光束基本为圆形的高斯光斑。     

Self—Mode—Locking in a Diode—Pumped Self—Q—Switched Nd^3＋,Cr^4＋,YAG Laser

We report for the first time on the observation of self-mode-locking in a diode pumped self-Q-Switched(SQS) Nd^3 ,Cr^4 ,YAG laser,This phenomenon results from significant excited state absorption of the Cr^4 ions in the co-doped host during the SQS laser pulses.The self-mode-locking occurs already slightly above the SQS laser threshold.Experiments using relatively low saturable intensity achieved a modulation depth of more than 40%.     

连续波HF激光泵浦Fe2+:ZnSe激光器的可行性

针对目前Fe2+: ZnSe激光器缺乏有效的高功率泵浦源这一关键瓶颈,提出了采用连续波HF化学激光器泵浦Fe2+: ZnSe来实现4 μm波段激光输出的技术路线,结合实验和理论手段考察了此技术路线的可行性。首次获得了由连续波HF化学激光泵浦的Fe2+: ZnSe激光器的W级激光输出,输出功率约为1.7 W,谱线峰值波长为4.18 μm,出光时间约2 s。     

激光二极管端面连续抽运的Cr^4＋：Nd^3＋：YAG微片激光器输出特性研究

报道了腔长为1．1mm的激光二极管端面抽运的Cr^4 ：Nd^3 ：YAG自调Q微片激光器，连续抽运下获得了平均功率为5—18mW、重复频率为1—10kHz的稳定的调Q激光脉冲输出序列。并且对微片激光器的调Q输出激光的单脉冲特性参量、重复频率以及抽运阈值功率等进行了理论研究，计算结果和实验结果比较吻合。     

高温高压制备Cr2+: ZnSe单晶及其光学性质

为了得到高质量、大尺寸Cr²⁺: ZnSe中红外激光晶体,以适应高功率全固态中红外激光器的发展要求,在高温高压下全石墨腔内运用布里奇曼晶体生长方法,生长出了高质量Ф 30×120 mm Cr²⁺: ZnSe单晶。采用X射线粉末衍射(XRD)、透射电镜(TEM)、红外稳态吸收及荧光光谱等测试方法对晶体的结构及光谱特性进行了表征,并探讨了Cr²⁺: ZnSe晶体中Cr²⁺的能级结构及跃迁机理。结果表明:所生长的Cr²⁺: ZnSe单晶结构均匀,性质稳定,1.97 μm激发的荧光光谱覆盖1.9~3 μm范围,可用于获得2~3 μm全固态中红外激光。     

Cladding-Pumped Tm^3＋-Doped Large-Mode-Area Fibre Laser Highly Efficient Output at Approximately 2μm

A cladding-pumped Tm^3＋-doped fibre laser is carried out to generate continuous-wave output power up to 8.4 W at approximately 2 μm with a slope efficiency of 57% compared to the launched pump power. When the fibre is cooled by water, the slope efficiency increases greatly and the output laser spectrum has a blue shift.     

Zero-field splitting parameters and local structures for tetragonal Cr2＋ centers in Cr2＋-doped ZnSe semiconductors

The inter-relation between zero-field splitting （ZFS） parameters and local lattice structures of the （CrSe4）6 clusters in ZnSe semiconductors has been established by using the complete diagonalization （of the energy matrix） method. On the basis of this, the local lattice distortions, the ZFS parameters D, a, F and the optical spectrum for Cr2＋ ions doped into ZnSe are theoretically investigated, and the contributions of the spin singlets have been taken into account. The calculated ZFS parameters are in good agreement with the experimental values. From our calculations, the tetragonal distortion parameters AR = 0.091A and Aθ = 4.28° of Cr2＋ in ZnSe are acquired, and the results suggest that there exists a tetragonal expansion distortion for the local lattice structure of （CrSe4）6- clusters in ZnSe crystals. The influence of the spin singlets on ZFS parameters is also discussed, indicating that the contributions to ZFS parameters a and F cannot be ignored.     

Supercontinuum Generation Using a Polarization-Maintaining Photonic Crystal Fibre by a Regeneratively Amplified Ti：Sapphire Laser

Supercontinuum with an ultra-broad bandwidth in the range from 380nm to 1750nm was generated by in-jecting 250kHz 200fs optical pulses produced by a regeneratively amplified Ti:sapphire laser into a 2.5-m-long polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fibre (PCF). It is indicated that the mechanism for the supercontinuum generation in the anomalous dispersion region of the PCF are directly related to the Raman effect, the fission of higher-order solitons, nonsolitonic radiation, and the coinstantaneous effect of four-wave mixing. The frequency components beyond 1.4#m were also observed. It is interpreted that the energy of solitons is shifted beyond the OH absorption with a higher input power.     

Generation of nanosecond 2.65μm pulses and pulse narrowing in fiber-bulk Ho3+:YAG laser pumped gain-switched Cr^2+:Cd Se laser

The generation of mid-infrared pulsed lasers was achieved in a Ho3+:YAG laser pumped gain-switched Cr^2+:Cd Se laser system with the shortest pulse duration of 4.15 ns.With a pump pulse duration of 50 ns and pump power of 2.7 W,the gain-switched Cr^2+:Cd Se laser achieved over 10 times pulse narrowing,obtaining the maximum peak power of 5.7 k W.The optical-to-optical conversion efficiency was 3.7%,which could be further improved with better crystal surface polishing quality.The laser central wavelength was measured to be 2.65μm with a bandwidth(FWHM)of 50 nm.In addition,the parameter optimization for suppressing the pulse tail was discussed,while the long cavity and high output transmissivity contributed to obtaining the single-peak pulses.     

Generation of Red Light Femtosecond Pulses from an Intra-Cavity Frequency-Doubled Cr^4＋： Forsterite Laser

We demonstrate the generation of red light femtosecond laser pulses from an intra-cavity frequency-doubled Cr^4＋ ：forsterite laser. An average output power of 75 mW is obtained at the central wavelength of 647nm with a pulse width of 55 fs by inserting a 500μm-thick BBO crystal in the laser cavity. The bandwidth of the spectrum of second harmonic pulses is 9 nm, corresponding to a time-bandwidth product of 0.355.     

Comparison of Nd:YAG Ceramic Laser Pumped at 885nm and 808nm

Laser performance of 1064 nm domestic Nd：YAG ceramic lasers for 885 nm direct pumping and 808 nm traditional pumping are compared. Higher slope efficiency of 34% and maximum output power of 16.5 W are obtained for the 885nm pump with a 6ram length 1 at.% Nd：YAG ceramic. The advantages for 885nm direct pumping are discussed in detail. This pumping scheme for highly doping a Nd：YAG ceramic laser is considered as an available way to generate high power and good beam quality simultaneously.     

Characteristics of Cladding-Pumped Short Er3+/Yb3+ Codoped Single Mode Phosphate Glass Fibre

We experimentally investigate the laser characteristics of a series of short pieces of newly-developed Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ codoped single mode phosphate glass fibres via the cladding pump of a 976nm multimode laser diode. A stablecontinuous-wave single transverse mode laser with over 85mW at 1553nm is generated from a 5.5-cm-long active fibre. Single mode laser output power per unit length is up to 15mW/cm. Moreover, the slope efficiency is 11.8% when the pump power is below 940mW and the 3dB linewidth is 0.06nm at the maximum pump power. The numerical simulation results show that the laser emission slope efficiency can exceed 20% by means of increasing the coupling efficiency of the pump to the fibre core further.     

LD-pumped 6 W cw Tm^3＋-Doped Silica Double-Cladding Fibre Laser

We report a thulium-doped silica fibre laser that generates a maximum cw output power of 6 W in a 2 μm wavelength range when cladding-pumped by a laser diode （LD） operating at approximately 791 nm at room temperature. The slope efficiency with respect to the launched pump power is 50% and 38.4%, with and without an output coupler mirror, respectively. The corresponding thresholds are 2.8 W and 4.8 W, respectively. The beam qualities Mx^2 and My^2 are 1.26 and 1.32, respectively. The experimental results are also analysed.     

Characteristics of Nd：GdVO4 Laser with Different Nd-Doping Concentrations

We report the properties of a compact diode-pumped continuous-wave Nd：GdV04 laser with a linear cavity and different Nd-doped laser crystals. In a 0.2at.% Nd-doped Nd：GdVO4 laser, 1.54 W output laser power is achieved at 912nm wavelength with a slope efficiency of 24.8% at an absorbed pump power of 9.4W. With 0.3at.% Nd-doping concentration, we can obtain the either single-wavelength emission at 1064nm or 912nm or the dual-wavelength emission at 1064nm and 912nm by controlling the incident pump power. From an incident pump power of 11.6 W, the 1064nm emission between ^4Fa/2 and ^4I11/2 is suppressed completely by the 912nm emission between ^4Fa/2 and ^4I9/2. We obtain 670 mW output of the 912nm single-wavelength laser emission with a slope efficiency of 5.5% by taking an incident pump power of 18.4 W. Using a Nd：GdV04 laser with 0.4at.% Nd-doping concentration, we obtain either the single-wavelength emission at 1064nm or the dual-wavelength emission at both 1064nm and 912nm by increasing the incident pump power. We observe a strong competition process in the dualavelength laser.     

Efficient Diode-Pumped Tm：YALO3 Laser with a Pump Recycling Scheme

By using a pump recycling configuration, the maximum power of 8.1 W in the wavelength range 1.935-1.938 μm is generated by a 5-ram long Tm：YAIOa （4 at.%） laser operating at 18℃ with a pump power of 24 W. The highest slope efficiency of 42% is attained, and the pump quantum efficiency is up to 100%. The Tm：YAlO3 laser is employed as a pumping source of singly-doped Ho（1%）：GdV04 laser operating at room temperature, in which continuous wave output power of greater than 0.2 W at 2.05/μm is achieved with a slope efficiency of 9%.     

Numerical Modelling of QCW-Pumped Passively Q-Switched Nd：YAG Lasers with Cr^4＋：yAG as Saturable Absorber

Passively Q-switched quasi-continuous-wave （QCW） diode-pumped Nd：YAG laser with Cr^4＋ ：YAG as saturable absorber is numerically investigated by solving the coupled rate equations. The threshold pump rate for passively Q-switched QCW-pumped laser is derived. The effects of the pump rate and pump-pulse duration on the laser operation characteristics are studied theoretically. The pump power range can be estimated according to the number of output pulses. The numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Self-Starting Passively Mode-Locked Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ Codoped Phosphate Glass All-Fibre Ring Laser

A self-starting, passively mode-locked all-fibre ring laser based on the homemade Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ codoped phosphate glass fibre is reported. Dual-pump sources were used to achieve the mode-locked operation in the experiment. The fundamental mode-locked pulse repetition rate is 10.67MHz. The pulse duration, assumed as the fit of hyperbolic secant pulse shape, is 5.82ps. We also observe the multi-pulse output of the fibre laser.     

Comparison of Laser Performances of 5at.% Yb:Gd2xY2(1-x)SiO5 Crystals between Different Cutting Directions

We investigate the laser actions of 5at.% Yb:Gd_2xY_2(1-x)SiO₅ (Yb:GYSO; x=0.1) crystals with different cutting directions, parallel and vertical to the growth axis. Our results show that the cutting direction of the sample plays an astonished role in the laser operation. The sample cut vertically to the growth axis possesses the favourable lasing characteristics. Its output power reaches 3.13W at 1060nm with a slope efficiency of 44.68% when the absorbed pump power is 8.9,W. In contrast, the sample cut parallel reaches only 1.65W at 1044nm with a slope efficiency of 33.76% with absorbed pump power of 7.99W. The absorption and emission spectra of the two samples are examined and the merit factor M is calculated. Our analysis is in agreement well with the experimental results. The wavelength tuning range of the superior sample covers from 1013.68nm to 1084.82nm.     

Efficient laser operation and continuous-wave diode pumping of Cr2+:ZnSe single crystals

Efficient continuous-wave laser operation of Cr²⁺:ZnSe was demonstrated with an output power of 1400 mW at an absorbed pump power of 1900 mW from a Tm:YAG laser. Under continuous-wave diode pumping at 1.54 μm an output power of 15 mW was obtained from a Cr⁺²:ZnSe laser. Excited state absorption is shown to be negligible in the pump and laser spectral region. Received: 12 October 2000 / Published online: 30 November 2000