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

Abstract : 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.

[1]  K. Schepler,et al.  Efficient grating-tuned mid-infrared Cr2+:CdSe laser. , 1999, Optics letters.

[2]  Patrick A. Berry,et al.  Directly Written Mid-Infrared Waveguides in Zinc Selenide , 2012 .

[3]  S. Mirov,et al.  Broadly tunable compact continuous-wave Cr(2+):ZnS laser. , 2002, Optics letters.

[4]  Timothy J. Carrig,et al.  Chromium-doped chalcogenide lasers , 2004, 2005 IEEE LEOS Annual Meeting Conference Proceedings.

[5]  J. S. Aitchison,et al.  Raman gain from waveguides inscribed in KGd(WO4)2 by high repetition rate femtosecond laser , 2008 .

[6]  Irina T. Sorokina,et al.  Cr2+-doped II–VI materials for lasers and nonlinear optics , 2004 .

[7]  W Sibbett,et al.  Ultrafast laser inscribed Yb:KGd(WO4)2 and Yb:KY(WO4)2 channel waveguide lasers. , 2009, Optics express.

[8]  Ralph H. Page,et al.  Cr2+-doped zinc chalcogenides as efficient, widely tunable mid-infrared lasers , 2002 .

[9]  R R Thomson,et al.  Ultrafast laser inscription of near-infrared waveguides in polycrystalline ZnSe. , 2010, Optics letters.

[10]  Walter Koechner,et al.  Solid-State Laser Engineering , 1976 .

[11]  K. Schepler,et al.  High-power, widely-tunable Cr(2+):ZnSemaster oscillator power amplifier systems. , 2010, Optics express.

[12]  Evgeni Sorokin,et al.  Ultrabroad continuous-wave tuning of ceramic Cr:ZnSe and Cr:ZnS lasers , 2010 .

[13]  Ralph H. Page,et al.  Transition metal-doped zinc chalcogenides: Spectroscopy and laser demonstration of a new class of gain media , 1996 .

[14]  M J Withford,et al.  Fifty percent internal slope efficiency femtosecond direct-written Tm³⁺:ZBLAN waveguide laser. , 2011, Optics letters.

[15]  Ralph H. Page,et al.  Cr/sup 2+/-doped zinc chalcogenides as efficient, widely tunable mid-infrared lasers , 1997 .