Gain-switched dysprosium fiber laser tunable from 2.8 to 3.1 μm.

We demonstrate a tunable gain-switched Dy3+-doped ZBLAN fiber laser around 3 μm, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The pump source is a homemade actively Q-switched Yb3+-doped silica fiber laser at 1.1 μm, yielding a repetition rate of 80 kHz and a pulse width of 300 ns. A plane-ruled grating in a Littrow configuration functions as the tuning element. At the launched pump power of 2.78 W, stable gain-switched pulses tunable within a ~300 nm range of 2800~3095 nm are achieved. When tuning the wavelength to 2946.5 nm, a maximum output power of 218.6 mW with a repetition rate of 80 kHz is obtained. The corresponding pulse width and energy are 530 ns and 2.73 μJ, respectively. The results imply that gain-switching of Dy3+-doped ZBLAN fiber laser is an alternative way for mid-infrared nanosecond pulse generation around 3 μm.

[1]  J. Hou,et al.  Gain-switched monolithic fiber laser with ultra-wide tuning range at 2 μm. , 2016, Optics express.

[2]  Jianlong Yang,et al.  Development and applications of gain-switched fiber lasers [Invited] , 2013 .

[3]  Martin Gorjan,et al.  High-power pulsed diode-pumped Er:ZBLAN fiber laser. , 2011, Optics letters.

[4]  Y. Tsang,et al.  Efficient lasing at near 3 μm by a Dy-doped ZBLAN fiber laser pumped at ∼ 1.1 μm by an Yb fiber laser , 2011 .

[5]  R. I. Woodward,et al.  Mode-locked dysprosium fiber laser: Picosecond pulse generation from 2.97 to 3.30 μm , 2018, APL Photonics.

[6]  Jaroslaw Sotor,et al.  Compact all-fiber figure-9 dissipative soliton resonance mode-locked double-clad Er:Yb laser. , 2016, Optics letters.

[7]  Gianluca Galzerano,et al.  Ultrafast Dy3+:fluoride fiber laser beyond 3 μm. , 2019, Optics letters.

[8]  Michel Piché,et al.  Differential optical absorption spectroscopy lidar for mid-infrared gaseous measurements , 2015 .

[9]  S. Ruan,et al.  100 W dissipative soliton resonances from a thulium-doped double-clad all-fiber-format MOPA system. , 2016, Optics express.

[10]  Réal Vallée,et al.  Resonant polymer ablation using a compact 3.44 μm fiber laser , 2018 .

[11]  S. Jackson.  Towards high-power mid-infrared emission from a fibre laser , 2012, Nature Photonics.

[12]  M. Pal,et al.  High repetition rate gain-switched 1.94  μm fiber laser pumped by 1.56  μm dissipative soliton resonance fiber laser. , 2017, Optics letters.

[13]  Matthew R Majewski,et al.  Tunable dysprosium laser. , 2016, Optics letters.

[14]  Réal Vallée,et al.  10-W-level monolithic dysprosium-doped fiber laser at 3.24  μm. , 2019, Optics letters.

[15]  G. Schlunck,et al.  Long-term results of Erbium YAG-laser-assisted deep sclerectomy , 2008, Eye.

[16]  J. C. van den Heuvel,et al.  Development of a mid-infrared laser for study of infrared countermeasures techniques , 2004, SPIE Security + Defence.

[17]  Y. Liu,et al.  Tunable passively Q-switched Dy3+-doped fiber laser from 2.71 to 3.08  μm using PbS nanoparticles. , 2019, Optics Letters.

[18]  Fengqiu Wang,et al.  Stable Gain-Switched Thulium Fiber Laser With 140-nm Tuning Range , 2015, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[19]  Jacek Swiderski,et al.  Electrooptically Q-switched mid-infrared Er:YAG laser for medical applications. , 2004, Optics express.

[20]  Hongyu Luo,et al.  Widely wavelength tunable gain-switched Er3+-doped ZBLAN fiber laser around 2.8 μm. , 2017, Optics express.

[21]  Stuart D. Jackson,et al.  Energy level decay and excited state absorption processes in dysprosium-doped fluoride glass , 2010 .

[22]  Stuart D. Jackson,et al.  Continuous wave 2.9 μm dysprosium-doped fluoride fiber laser , 2003 .

[23]  Réal Vallée,et al.  Gain-switched fiber laser at 3.55  μm. , 2018, Optics letters.

[24]  Gianluca Galzerano,et al.  Design of an Efficient Pulsed Dy3+: ZBLAN Fiber Laser Operating in Gain Switching Regime , 2018, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[25]  J. Holcomb.  Versatility of erbium YAG laser: from fractional skin rejuvenation to full-field skin resurfacing. , 2011, Facial plastic surgery clinics of North America.

[26]  Réal Vallée,et al.  10  W-level gain-switched all-fiber laser at 2.8  μm. , 2018, Optics letters.

[27]  Hongyu Luo,et al.  State-switchable and wavelength-tunable gain-switched mid-infrared fiber laser in the wavelength region around 2.94 μm. , 2018, Optics express.

[28]  S. Jackson,et al.  Dysprosium-doped ZBLAN fiber laser tunable from 2.8  μm to 3.4  μm, pumped at 1.7  μm. , 2018, Optics letters.

[29]  Yi Yang,et al.  High-power gain-switched Tm(3+)-doped fiber laser. , 2010, Optics express.

[30]  Stefan Stübinger,et al.  Advances in bone surgery: the Er:YAG laser in oral surgery and implant dentistry , 2010, Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dentistry.

[31]  Dennis K. Killinger,et al.  Eye-safe 2.1-Mu m Ho lidar for measuring atmospheric density profiles. , 1990, Optics letters.

[32]  R I Woodward,et al.  Q-switched Dy:ZBLAN fiber lasers beyond 3 μm: comparison of pulse generation using acousto-optic modulation and inkjet-printed black phosphorus. , 2019, Optics Express.

[33]  Shibin Jiang,et al.  Fiber Lasers: The 2 μm Market Heats Up , 2014 .

[34]  Heping Li,et al.  Tunable Fe(2+):ZnSe passively Q-switched Ho(3+)-doped ZBLAN fiber laser around 3 μm. , 2015, Optics express.

[35]  Hongyu Luo,et al.  Watt-level gain-switched fiber laser at 3.46 μm. , 2019, Optics express.

[36]  R. Clark,et al.  Reflectance spectroscopy: Quantitative analysis techniques for remote sensing applications , 1984 .

[37]  Terence A. King,et al.  Efficient 2.96 μm dysprosium-doped fluoride fibre laser pumped with a "Nd:YAG" laser operating at 1.3 μm , 2006 .

[38]  Trevor M. Benson,et al.  Experimental Investigation of Mid-Infrared Laser Action From Dy3+ Doped Fluorozirconate Fiber , 2018, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[39]  S. Jackson,et al.  Highly efficient mid-infrared dysprosium fiber laser. , 2016, Optics letters.

[40]  R. I. Woodward,et al.  Swept-wavelength mid-infrared fiber laser for real-time ammonia gas sensing , 2018, APL Photonics.

[41]  Hongyu Luo,et al.  Cascaded gain-switching in the mid-infrared region , 2017, Scientific Reports.

[42]  R I Woodward,et al.  Watt-level dysprosium fiber laser at 3.15  μm with 73% slope efficiency. , 2018, Optics letters.

[43]  Taichen Lin,et al.  High-energy, nanosecond pulsed Cr:CdSe laser with a 2.25-3.08 μm tuning range for laser biomaterial processing. , 2018, Biomedical optics express.

[44]  Andrzej Zajac,et al.  Mid-infrared Q-switched Er:YAG laser for medical applications , 2010 .

[45]  R Hibst,et al.  Cutting and skin-ablative properties of pulsed mid-infrared laser surgery. , 1994, The Journal of dermatologic surgery and oncology.