Q-switched lasing at 2.7 µm based on Erbium-doped crystalline materials (Conference Presentation)

Nikolay E. Ter-Gabrielyan

doi:10.1117/12.2510802

13 March 2019 Q-switched lasing at 2.7 µm based on Erbium-doped crystalline materials (Conference Presentation)

Nikolay E. Ter-Gabrielyan

Proceedings Volume 10896, Solid State Lasers XXVIII: Technology and Devices; 1089606 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2510802
Event: SPIE LASE, 2019, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Mid-Infrared (MIR) lasers emitting in the 2.7 - 3 micrometer range are important for remote sensing, medical, and material processing applications. Erbium ions in various host materials exhibit strong fluorescent transitions between the 4I11/2 and 4I13/2 energy levels suitable for MIR lasing, but the fluorescence lifetime of the lower laser level 4I13/2 is usually much longer than that of the 4I11/2 level. Thus, the 4I11/2 → 4I11/2 laser transition is self-terminating. Typically, lasing around 3 µm is achieved with elevated Er-doping concentrations which helps to deplete the population of the lower laser level by the concentration-dependent energy transfer up-conversion process from the 4I13/2. An alternative method of depleting 4I13/2 is to use another laser transition, 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 at 1.6 µm, which Er-doped materials are well known for. This approach allows for the reduction of Er-doping and the improvement of thermo-optical properties by weakening up-conversion and improving thermal conductivity of the lasing media. By combining two laser processes into a cascade operation 4I11/2 → 4I13/2 + 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 and using resonant pumping at 960–980 nm (4I15/2 → 4I11/2), one can significantly increase the efficiency of MIR lasing. This approach was successfully tested in CW operation of different Er-doped crystalline and fiber lasers, but was rarely tried in the Q-switched lasing. We present our comparative study on active Q-switching in several Er-doped crystals (YAG, YALO and Y2O3) with different Erbium content, at room and cryogenic temperatures. Under resonant, diode-pumping we achieved up to several watts of the average power.

Conference Presentation

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Nikolay E. Ter-Gabrielyan "Q-switched lasing at 2.7 µm based on Erbium-doped crystalline materials (Conference Presentation)", Proc. SPIE 10896, Solid State Lasers XXVIII: Technology and Devices, 1089606 (13 March 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2510802

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KEYWORDS

Crystals

Q switching

Erbium

Laser processing

Ions

Laser applications

Luminescence

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