Room temperature CW and QCW operation of Ho:CaF2 laser pumped by Tm:fiber laser

Michal Jelínek Jr.; Jan Cvrček; Václav Kubeček; Beibei Zhao; Weiwei Ma; Dapeng Jiang; Liangbi Su

doi:10.1117/12.2267784

16 May 2017 Room temperature CW and QCW operation of Ho:CaF₂ laser pumped by Tm:fiber laser

Michal Jelínek Jr., Jan Cvrček, Václav Kubeček, Beibei Zhao, Weiwei Ma, Dapeng Jiang, Liangbi Su

Proceedings Volume 10238, High-Power, High-Energy, and High-Intensity Laser Technology III; 1023819 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2267784
Event: SPIE Optics + Optoelectronics, 2017, Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract

Laser radiation in the wavelength range around 2 μm is required for its specific properties - it is very suitable for medical applications, remote sensing, or pumping of optical parametric oscillators to generate ultrafast pulses in the mid-IR region further exploited in nonlinear optics. Crystals as YLF, YAG, LLF, and GdVO4 doped by holmium were already investigated and found suitable for the tunable laser generation around 2.1 mμ. Only a few works are devoted to the laser operation of holmium-doped fluorides as CaF₂. In this work, pulsed and continuous-wave laser operation of a modified- Bridgman-grown Ho:CaF₂ active crystal at room temperature is reported. A commercial 50 W 1940 nm Tm-fiber laser was used to pump a laser oscillator based on a novel 10 mm long 0.5 at.% Ho:CaF2 active crystal placed in the Peltiercooled holder. In the pulsed regime (10 ms, 10 Hz), the laser slope efficiency of 53 % with respect to the absorbed pump power was achieved. The laser generated at the central wavelength of ~2085 nm with the maximum mean output power of 365 mW corresponding to the power amplitude of 3.65 W. In the continuous wave regime, the maximum output power was 1.11 W with the slope efficiency of 41 % with respect to the absorbed pump power. To our best knowledge this is the first demonstration of this laser active material operating in the CW regime at room temperature. The tuning range over 60 nm from 2034 to 2094 nm was achieved using a birefringent filter showing the possibility to develop a mode-locked laser system generating pulses in the sub-picosecond range.

Citation Download Citation

Michal Jelínek Jr., Jan Cvrček, Václav Kubeček, Beibei Zhao, Weiwei Ma, Dapeng Jiang, and Liangbi Su "Room temperature CW and QCW operation of Ho:CaF₂ laser pumped by Tm:fiber laser", Proc. SPIE 10238, High-Power, High-Energy, and High-Intensity Laser Technology III, 1023819 (16 May 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2267784

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