Ultrashort Pulse Inscription of Photonic Structures in ZnSe and GaAs for Mid Infrared Applications.

摘要

Over the past year, channel waveguide technology in ZnSe and Cr2+: ZnSe has undergone major advancement from initial low loss guiding in the near- infrared to mid-infrared with single or multimode behaviour. These structures have been used in waveguide cavities and provided the first demonstration of a channel waveguide laser, paving the way to the development of high power, compact and robust Cr2+: ZnSe sources. Initial results of 5% slope efficiency and 18.5 mW outputs have already been improved by almost a factor of 3 to 14% and 43 mW and far greater performance is expected through waveguide optimisation and access to greater pump powers. Single pass amplifier internal gain has been measured at 3.4 dB with maximum performance only limited by the available pump power (1.2 Watts). The results contained in this report complete Phase 2 of the project with a number of successful outcomes, realising compact, channel waveguide sources in Cr2+: ZnSe. This sets solid foundations for the project to progress to Phase 3 and the development of high power, robust mid- infrared waveguide sources for real world applications.