Tunable Direct Writing of FBGs into a Non-Photosensitive Tm-Doped Fiber Core with an fs Laser and Phase Mask

Fiber Bragg gratings （FBGs） are successfully written in a non-photosensitive Tin-doped single-mode fiber by a 800 nm fs laser and a 2.7μm period phase mask. The intra-core FBGs are written using the phase mask ±1 order interference, and have a period of 1.35 μm, which responds to the second-order reflective central wavelength at 1946.4nm. Based on the magnification tuning writing technology, the tunable writing technology is also experimentally investigated. The distance between the phase mask and the fiber, between the phase mask and the tuning lens, and the focal length of the tuning lens all have an influence on the tunable characteristics. Four different FBGs tuning reflective central wavelengths located at 1958.7nm, 1970.8nm, 1882.5nm and 1899.7nm are obtained.

Judd-Oflet analysis of spectrum and laser performance of Ho:YAP crystal end-pumped by 1.91-μm Tm:YLF laser

The Ho：YAP crystal is grown by the Czochralski technique. The room-temperature polarized absorption spectra of Ho：YAP crystal was measured on a c-cut sample with 1 at% holmium. According to the obtained Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters Ω2 = 1.42 × 10^-20cm^2, Ω4 = 2.92 ×10^-20 cm^2, and Ω6 =1.71 ×10^-20cm^2, this paper calculated the fluorescence lifetime to be 6 ms for ^5I7→^5Is transition, and the integrated emission cross section to be 2.24 × 10^-18 cm^2. It investigates the room-temperature Ho：YAP laser end-pumped by a 1.91-μm Tm：YLF laser. The maximum output power was 4.1 W when the incident 1.91-μm pump power was 14.4W. The slope efficiency is 40.8%, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 28.4%. The Ho：YAP output wavelength was centred at 2118 nm with full width at half maximum of about 0.8nm.

A theoretical and experimental investigation of an in-band pumped gain-switched thulium-doped fiber laser

In this paper, the theoretical rate equation model of an in-band pumped gain-switched thulium-doped fiber （TDF） laser is investigated. The analytical formulations of pump energy threshold, peak power extraction efficiency, and pulse extraction efficiency are derived through analyzing the interaction process between the pump pulse and the laser pulse. They are useful for understanding, designing, and optimizing the in-band pumped TDF lasers in a 1.9 μm-2.1 μm wavelength region. The experiment with an all-fiber gain-switched TDF laser pumped by a 1.558-μm pulse amplifier is conducted, and our experimental results show good agreement with theoretical analysis.

Diode Pumped Operation of Tm,Ho：YVO4 Microchip Laser

A cryogenic and room-temperature diode pumped Tm,Ho：YVO4 microchip laser with 0.5 mm crystal length lasing around 2μm is demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. Under cryogenic temperature of 77 K, as much as 1.2 W output and slope efficiency of 35% with respect to absorbed pump power are obtained. At temperature of 5℃ the maximum output power of 48mW is obtained at an absorbed pump power of 503 mW, representing a 9.5% optical to optical conversion efficiency. In addition, as much as 8 mW single-frequency output lasing at 2052.6 nm is achieved at room temperature of 15℃.

The dissociation pathways of N_2^+ in intense femtosecond laser fields

Using a neutral N2 beam as target, this paper studies the dissociation of N2^＋ in intense femtosecond laser fields （45 fs, ～ 1 × 10^16 W/cm^2） at the laser wavelength of 800 nm based on the time-of-flight mass spectra of N＋ fragment ions. The angular distributions of N^＋ and the laser power dependence of N^＋ yielded from different dissociation pathways show that the dissociation mechanisms mainly proceed through the couplings between the metastable states （A, B and C） and the upper excited states of N^＋.A coupling model of light-dressed potential energy curves of N2^＋ is used to interpret the kinetic energy release of N^＋.

A method of measuring micro-impulse with torsion pendulum based on multi-beam laser heterodyne

In this paper, we propose a novel method of multi-beam laser heterodyne measurement for micro-impulse. The measurement of the micro-impulse, which is converted into the measurement of the small tuning angle of the torsion pendulum, is realized by considering the interaction between pulse laser and working medium. Based on Doppler effect and heterodyne technology, the information regarding the small tuning angle is loaded to the frequency difference of the multi-beam laser heterodyne signal by the frequency modulation of the oscillating mirror, thereby obtaining many values of the small tuning angle after the multi-beam laser heterodyne signal demodulation simultaneously. Processing these values by weighted-average, the small tuning angle can be obtained accurately and the value of the micro-impulse can eventually be calculated. Using Polyvinylchlorid＋2%C as a working medium, this novel method is used to simulate the value of the micro-impulse by MATLAB which is generated by considering the interaction between the pulse laser and the working medium, the obtained result shows that the relative error of this method is just 0.5%.

Widely Tunable Middle Infrared Optical Parametric Oscillator Pumped by the Q-Switched Ho：GdVO_4 Laser

We demonstrate a middle infrared ZnGeP_2 optical parametric oscillator pumped by the Q-switched Ho：GdVO_4 laser. When the incident Ho pump power is 4.12 W, the maximum average output power of the ZGP-OPO laser is 2.05 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 74.6%. The ZGP-OPO laser produces 4.2 ns mid-infrared pulses at a pulse repetition rate of 5 kHz. In addition, we obtain 0.8 um of tunable range for the signal wave and 2.1 um of tunable range for the idler wave.

Numerical investigation of multi-beam laser heterodyne measurement with ultra-precision for linear expansion coefficient of metal based on oscillating mirror modulation

This paper proposes a novel method of multi-beam laser heterodyne measurement for metal linear expansion coefficient. Based on the Doppler effect and heterodyne technology, the information is loaded of length variation to the frequency difference of the multi-beam laser heterodyne signal by the frequency modulation of the oscillating mirror, this method can obtain many values of length variation caused by temperature variation after the multi-beam laser heterodyne signal demodulation simultaneously. Processing these values by weighted-average, it can obtain length variation accurately, and eventually obtain the value of linear expansion coefficient of metal by the calculation. This novel method is used to simulate measurement for linear expansion coefficient of metal rod under different temperatures by MATLAB, the obtained result shows that the relative measurement error of this method is just 0.4%.

Further analysis of scintillation index for a laser beam propagating through moderate-to-strong non-Kolmogorov turbulence based on generalized effective atmospheric spectral model

A new expression of the scintillation index （SI） for a Gaussian-beam wave propagating through moderate-to-strong non-Kolmogorov turbulence is derived, using a generalized effective atmospheric spectrum and the extended Rytov approx- imation theory. Finite inner and outer scale parameters and high wave number ＂bump＂ are considered in the spectrum with a generalized spectral power law in the range of 3-4, instead of the fixed classical Kolmogorov power law of 11/3. The obtained SI expression is then used to analyze the effects of the spectral power law and the inner scale and outer scale on SI under various non-Kolmogorov fluctuation conditions. These results will be useful in future investigations of optical wave propagation through atmospheric turbulence.

Room Temperature Diode-Pumped Tunable Single-Frequency Tm:YAG Ceramic Laser

A single-longitudinal-mode(SLM)Tm:YAG ceramic laser under room temperature conditions using double Fabry-Pérot etalons is investigated.The maximum single-frequency output power is 318 mW with a slope efficiency of 12.6%.The wavelength tuning range from 2005 nm to 2029 nm is achieved by tuning the obliquity of a 0.1-mm-thick etalon.The single frequency laser has a beam quality of M^(2)=1.3 at the maximum single-frequency output power.The result is reported for the first time to the best of our knowledge.This SLM Tm:YAG ceramic laser can replace the Tm:YAG single crystal laser to be used as the seed laser for LIDAR laser systems.

Development of a Single-Longitudinal-Mode Ho:YAG Laser Based on Corner Cube

We present a Tm-doped fiber laser pumped Fabry-Perot etalons Ho：YAG laser based on a corner cube. A maximum single-longitudinal-mode and fundamental transverse mode output power of 478 m W at the wavelength of 2091.06 nm is achieved with a pump power of 16.3 W, corresponding to an optical-to-optical efficiency of 2.9% and a slope efficiency of 7.9%. The single-longitudinal-mode and fundamental transverse mode are less sensitive to the rotating of the corner cube. The results indicate the potential impact of a single-longitudinal-mode Ho： YA G laser with corner cube geometry to improve the anti-maladjustment stability.

Xe-Kr laser induced collisional ionization system and experimental preparation of its initial state: Four-photon resonant excitation

This paper proposes a novel one-colour Xe-Kr laser induced collisional ionization system. Considering the level scheme of the system, it finds that the initial state of the reaction--the four 4f levels with even J of Xe-can be prepared through method of four-photon resonant excitation by dye laser with wavelength of -440 nm. Absorption of an additional photon （the transfer laser） of the same wavelength will complete the laser induced collisional ionization process. The resonance enhanced ionization spectrum of Xe by four laser photons at -440nm is measured through time-of-flight mass spectrometry, this aims at the preparation of the initial state of the system proposed. The Stark broadening of the measured spectrum is observed and consistent with the previous study. Analysis of the measured resonance ionization spectrum implies the feasibility of -440 nm four-photon resonant excitation of the initial 4f state of the Xe Kr system proposed in this paper, which prepares for a further experiment of laser induced collisional ionization.

Widely Tunable cw Diode-Pumped 1.9-μm Tm：GdVO4 Laser at Room Temperature

A widely tunable cw diode-pumped room-temperature Tm：GdVO4 laser is built. Output power of 2.8 W and a slope effic/ency of 22% pumped by a 18 W Fibre-coupled diode laser at 795nm have been obtained. Continuous tunability from 1820nm to 1946nm is achieved. In addition, the factors that contribute to the efficiency of oscillation are studied.

Judd-Ofelt analysis of spectra and experimental evaluation of laser performance of Tm^(3+) doped Lu_2SiO_5 crystal

This paper reports that the Tm^3＋：Lu2SiO5 （Tm：LSO） crystal is grown by Czochralski technique. The roomtemperature absorption spectra of Tm：LSO crystal are measured on a b-cut sample with 4 at.% thulium. According to the obtained Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters Ω2=9.3155×10^-20 cm^2, Ω4=8.4103×10^-20 cm^2, Ω6=1.5908×10^-20 cm^2, the fluorescence lifetime is calculated to be 2.03 ms for ^3F4 → ^3H6 transition, and the integrated emission cross section is 5.81×10^-18 cm^2. Room-temperature laser action near 2μm under diode pumping is experimentally evaluated in Tm：LSO. An optical-optical conversion efficiency of 9.1% and a slope efficiency of 16.2% are obtained with continuouswave maximum output power of 0.67 W. The emission wavelengths of Tm：LSO laser are centred around 2.06μm with spectral bandwidth of -13.6 nm.

Characteristics of xenon-lamp pumped pyrromethene 567-doped dye laser based on polymethylmethacrylater

The solid-state medium containing pyrromethene 567 （PM567） in a polymethylmethacrylate polymer host is shown to lase under the flash lamp excitation. The experimental setup is an ordinary industrial product without special design. The bulk transmission losses, the output energy, and the other lasing properties are compared. The medium with the lowest transmission loss, measured to be 0.392 %/cm at 633 nm, gives a laser output of 130 mJ with a slope efficiency of 0.082%.

Mathematical modeling of output power in RF-excited CO_2 waveguide lasers

Theoretical analysis model has been established for CO 2 laser to describe the process of dynamic emission in the electrooptically Q switched laser .The electron excitation and the energy transfer of vibration level and the rotational relaxation of rotational levels are described. The comparison between this model and a set of coupled rat equations model are discussed.

Experimental Investigation of Tm3＋-Doped Silica Double-Cladding Fibre Laser

Using a Tm^3＋-doped double-cladding silica fibre, we produce a maximum cw 2.2 W output at approximately 2μm. The highest achieved slope efficiency is 29.3% respect to the launched pump power. The lowest threshold is 1.85 W using the double pass pump method with the fibre length 2. 7m, which is the lowest reported threshold of cladding pump of the ^3H4 level. The fibre laser output peak wavelength ranges from 1.967μm to 2.018μm with cavity 1 （R1 = 1 and R2=0.04） and from 1.95μm to 1.99μm with cavity 2 （R1=0.04 and R2=0.04）, as the fibre length varies.

Four-level model of ion-ion laser-induced collisional energy transfer and numerical calculations for Ca^+-Sr^+ system

The four-level model of laser-induced collisional energy transfer （LICET） for the ion-ion collision system is established based on the time-dependent SchrSdinger equation for the electron dynamics, through which the equations of motion of the probability amplitudes and cross section of the collision system are obtained. Numerical calculations are performed for the Ca＋ Sr＋ system, with the results showing that the peak of the LICET spectrum appears at a resonant frequency of the transfer laser. The magnitude of the obtained collision cross section is in the order of 10-16 cm2, and is comparable to that obtained in atomic systems, which indicates the validity of the established four-level model.

Efficient Tunable Mid-Wave Infrared Laser from 2μm Tm,Ho:YVO_(4)Pumped Gain-Switched Cr^(2+):ZnSe Laser

An efficient mid-wave infrared gain-switched Cr^(2+):ZnSe laser pumped by a 2.058μm Tm,Ho:YVO_(4)laser is reported.As much as 3.86 W output is achieved with the pump power of 13.4 W at puke repetition frequency of 15 kHz,corresponding to the slope efficiency of 30.9%.With a quartz birefringent filter inserted in the laser cavity and by rotating the external angle of the quartz birefringent filter,wavelength tuning range nearly from 2453nm to 2508nm with 5nm linewidth(FWHM)is also obtained.

Performance of a c-and a-Cut Ho:YAP Laser at Room Temperature

Continuous-wave operation of room-temperature c-and a-cut Ho:YAP lasers resonantly end-pumped by a diodepumped Tm:YLF laser at 1.91μm are comparatively investigated.The maximum output powers of 7.8 W at 2103nm and 6.09 W at 2130 nm for c-cut Ho:YAP crystal are obtained.The maximum output power of 8.78 W at 2119nm for a-cut Ho:YAlO_(3)crystal is achieved.The maximum slope efficiency in terms of absorbed pump power approximately reaches 57.8%for c-oriented crystal and about 52.7%for a-oriented crystal.