FIBER LASERS: ZBLAN fiber lasers span visible to mid-IR range

摘要

Using rare-earth-doped zirconium fluoride/barium fluoride/lanthanum fluoride/aluminum fluoride/sodium fluoride (ZrF_4-BaF_2-LaF_3-AlF_3-NaF, or ZBLAN) optical fibers, researchers at NP Photonics (Tucson, AZ), the University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ), and NASA Langley Research Center (Hampton, VA) have developed the first single-frequency ZBLAN fiber laser operating at 1200 nm (with frequency-doubling capability to 600 nm), while a smaller subset of the research team from the University of Arizona has demonstrated a continuous-wave (CW) mode-locked mid-infrared (mid-IR) ZBLAN fiber laser operating at 2.8 μm. While the required optical components and pumping schemes differed greatly for the two laser types, both used ZBLAN-based optical fiber, demonstrating the broad-wavelength-range capabilities of this rare-earth-doped fiber-laser technology (see figure).