4.5 W mid-infrared supercontinuum generation in a ZBLAN fiber pumped by a Q-switched mode-locked Tm3+- doped fiber laser

C. Kneis; B. Donelan; A. Berrou; I. Manek-Hönninger; B. Cadier; T. Robin; M. Poulain; F. Joulain; M. Eichhorn; C. Kieleck

doi:10.1117/12.2077215

20 February 2015 4.5 W mid-infrared supercontinuum generation in a ZBLAN fiber pumped by a Q-switched mode-locked Tm³⁺- doped fiber laser

C. Kneis, B. Donelan, A. Berrou, I. Manek-Hönninger, B. Cadier, T. Robin, M. Poulain, F. Joulain, M. Eichhorn, C. Kieleck

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9342, Solid State Lasers XXIV: Technology and Devices; 93420B (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2077215
Event: SPIE LASE, 2015, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The generation of mid-infrared (mid-IR) supercontinuum (SC) radiation, ranging from 2 - 5 μm, is subject of intense research due to its wide range of applications. A very popular host media for mid-IR SC generation are soft glass fibers owing to their low-loss transmission in the mid-IR wavelength regime, particularly fluoride fibers are very attractive for high-power operation. In this research study, a diode-pumped Q-switched mode-locked (QML) thulium (Tm³⁺)-doped double-clad silica fiber laser is used to pump a ZrF_4-BaF_2-LaF_3-AlF_3-NaF (ZBLAN) fiber for mid-IR SC generation. The QML regime of the fiber laser is actively generated by two acousto-optic modulators. The Tm³⁺-fiber laser provided up to 23.5 W (26 W) of average output power in QML (continuous wave) regime with a slope efficiency of 36 % (32 %). The measured beam quality has been close to the diffraction-limit in QML regime. The system delivered mode-locked pulses with a duration of 7.5 ps, measured with a commercial autocorrelator system, at a repetition rate of 46 MHz. The Q-switched envelopes had a width between 50 and 150 ns depending on the output power level and the adjustable repetition rate. Mid-IR SC with an average output power in all spectral bands of 4.5 W have been achieved with more than 3 W/ 1.7 W/ 1 W/ 0.36 W after a long-wave-pass filter with a 3 dB-edge at 2.15 μm/ 2.65 μm/ 3.1 μm/ 3.5 μm.

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C. Kneis, B. Donelan, A. Berrou, I. Manek-Hönninger, B. Cadier, T. Robin, M. Poulain, F. Joulain, M. Eichhorn, and C. Kieleck "4.5 W mid-infrared supercontinuum generation in a ZBLAN fiber pumped by a Q-switched mode-locked Tm³⁺- doped fiber laser", Proc. SPIE 9342, Solid State Lasers XXIV: Technology and Devices, 93420B (20 February 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2077215

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