Fiber laser source of 8 W at 3.1 µm based on acetylene-filled hollow-core silica fibers
Wei Huang, Zefeng Wang, Zhiyue Zhou, Yulong Cui, Hao Li, Wenxi Pei, Meng Wang, Jinbao Chen
Abstract
We report here the characteristics of a nanosecond high-power mid-infrared (mid-IR) light source based on an anti-resonant hollow-core fiber (AR-HCF) filled with acetylene gas. It is a single-pass configuration with 9.3-m HCFs, pumped by a modulated and amplified diode laser. A maximum average power of approximately 8 W (pulse energy of ∼0.8 µJ and peak power of ∼40 W) at 3.1 µm is achieved with a laser slope efficiency of ∼22.8% at 6 mbar of acetylene, which is, to the best of our knowledge, a record output power for such mid-IR HCF lasers. This work demonstrates the great potential of fiber gas lasers for high-power output in the mid-IR.
Topics & Concepts
Materials scienceOpticsFiber laserSilica fiberOptical fiberLaserFiberOptoelectronicsPower (physics)NanosecondDispersion-shifted fiberPolarization-maintaining optical fiberDouble-clad fiberDiodePhotonic-crystal fiberFiber optic sensorLaser power scalingGraded-index fiberSlope efficiencyLaser diodeTunable laserAcetyleneLaser pumpingGas laserHard-clad silica optical fiberSemiconductor laser theoryAmplified spontaneous emissionLaser beamsLight sourceSolid-state laserMulti-mode optical fiberPhotonic Crystal and Fiber OpticsSolid State Laser TechnologiesPhotorefractive and Nonlinear Optics