Anka Schwuchow

Efficient Yb laser fibers with low photodarkening by optimization of the core composition

We report on photodarkening (PD) investigations at Yb doped fibers with specific variation of the concentrations of the codopants aluminum and phosphorus, measured during cladding pumping at 915 nm. A core composition with equal content of Al and P is most promising to achieve Yb fibers with low PD, high laser efficiency and low numerical aperture of the laser core despite of high codoping. A laser output power of more than 100 W was demonstrated on such a fiber with a slope efficiency of 72%. The correlation of the PD loss with the NIR-excited cooperative luminescence encourages the supposition that cooperative energy transfer from excited Yb(3+) ions to the atomic defect precursors in the core glass enables the formation of color centers in the pump-induced PD process.

Double antiresonant hollow core fiber – guidance in the deep ultraviolet by modified tunneling leaky modes

Guiding light inside the hollow cores of microstructured optical fibers is a major research field within fiber optics. However, most of current fibers reveal limited spectral operation ranges between the mid-visible and the infrared and rely on complicated microstructures. Here we report on a new type of hollow-core fiber, showing for the first time distinct transmission windows between the deep ultraviolet and the near infrared. The fiber, guiding in a single mode, operates by the central core mode being anti-resonant to adjacent modes, leading to a novel modified tunneling leaky mode. The fiber design is straightforward to implement and reveals beneficial features such as preselecting the lowest loss mode (Gaussian-like or donut-shaped mode). Fibers with such a unique combination of attributes allow accessing the extremely important deep-UV range with Gaussian-like mode quality and may pave the way for new discoveries in biophotonics, multispectral spectroscopy, photo-initiated chemistry or ultrashort pulse delivery.

Nanoparticle Layer Deposition for Plasmonic Tuning of Microstructured Optical Fibers

Plasmonic nanoparticles with spectral properties in the UV-to-near-IR range have a large potential for the development of innovative optical devices. Similarly, microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) represent a promising platform technology for fully integrated, next-generation plasmonic devices; therefore, the combination of MOFs and plasmonic nanoparticles would open the way for novel applications, especially in sensing applications. In this Full Paper, a cost-effective, innovative nanoparticle layer deposition (NLD) technique is demonstrated for the preparation of well-defined plasmonic layers of selected particles inside the channels of MOFs. This dynamic chemical deposition method utilizes a combination of microfluidics and self-assembled monolayer (SAM) techniques, leading to a longitudinal homogeneous particle density as long as several meters. By using particles with predefined plasmonic properties, such as the resonance wavelength, fibers with particle-adequate spectral characteristics can be prepared. The application of such fibers for refractive-index sensing yields a sensitivity of about 78 nm per refractive index unit (RIU). These novel, plasmonically tuned optical fibers with freely selected, application-tailored optical properties present extensive possibilities for applications in localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensing.

Photonic crystal fiber with a dual-frequency addressable liquid crystal: behavior in the visible wavelength range

Wave-guiding in the visible spectral range is investigated for a micro-structured crystal fiber filled with a dual-frequency addressable nematic liquid crystal mixture. The fiber exhibits a solid core surrounded by just 4 rings of cylindrical holes. Control of the liquid crystal alignment by anchoring agents permits relatively low attenuation. Samples with different anchoring conditions at the interface of the silica glass and the liquid crystal show different transmission properties and switching behavior. Polarization dependent and independent fiber optic switching is observed. Due to a dualfrequency addressing scheme, active switching to both states with enhanced and reduced transmission becomes possible for planar anchoring. Even a non-perfect fiber shows reasonable transmission and a variety of interesting effects.

A highly efficient Yb-doped silica laser fiber prepared by gas phase doping technology

In this paper we report on an alternative technique for the preparation of ytterbium (Yb)-doped silica fibers and their characteristics compared to the conventional modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) process in combination with solution doping and powder sinter technology (REPUSIL). In the case of the technique applied here, the active core diameter in the preform can be significantly increased via the deposition of Yb and the most important codopant, aluminum (Al), in the gas phase through the high-temperature evaporation of the Yb chelate compound and Al chloride in the MCVD process. The prepared preform shows a homogenous distribution of the refractive index and dopant concentration. The background loss of the drawn fiber was measured to be 25 dB km−1 at 1200 nm. Efficient lasing up to 200 W, showing a slope efficiency of about 80%, was demonstrated, which is comparable to fibers made via MCVD/solution doping and the REPUSIL technique.

Dopant interactions in high-power laser fibers

Rare earth doped silica based fiber lasers and amplifiers with very high output power and excellent beam quality are efficient devices for a variety of applications in industry, science and medicine. During the last years, important progress was possible by new design concepts but also by carefully tailoring the material properties. Aspects of material and technology development concerning the interaction of different dopants and co-dopants will be discussed in the following. Our discussion concentrates on the optical properties of the laser fiber as refractive index, absorption and emission of the rare earths and especially on phenomena concerning the background loss of the fibers. We have found a strong rare earth specific loss component which remarkably depends on the kind and the ratio of the co-dopants. The relations of this background loss to material composition and fabrication technology are demonstrated and discussed on an empirical base.

Influence of Tm- or Er-codoping on the photodarkening kinetics in Yb fibers

We investigated photodarkening (PD) parameters of Yb/Al-doped silica fibers as a function of the concentration of additional rare earth ions like Tm or Er. It was found that both Tm and Er cause a decrease in Yb inversion followed by a reduction of PD in the case of Er, whereas Tm-codoping with more than 10 mol-ppm can strongly accelerate the process and also increase the PD loss. However, contrary to [1], we conclude that the typical PD behavior of Yb/Al fibers is an intrinsic feature of this fiber type and not caused by trace impurities of Tm (< 1 mol-ppm) unintentionally incorporated by the raw materials during fiber preparation.

Codoped materials for high power fiber lasers - diffusion behaviour and optical properties

Optical fibers for high power lasers and amplifiers are fabricated on the basis of quartz glass which has outstanding properties concerning high fiber strength, high power hardness and low optical losses compared with other glasses such as heavy metal fluoride or oxide glasses. It is well known, however, that the host properties of pure silica regarding the active rare earth ions are insufficient and the laser medium has to be improved by the incorporation of codopants. Here we present new investigations of material and fiber properties for phosphorus/aluminium codoping, with regard to the realization of efficient rare earth doped cw and pulsed high power fiber devices. The diffusion behaviour in the complex systems shows characteristic interaction effects, which influence the dopant concentration and their spatial distribution. The refractive index in the codoped systems and the basic attenuation deviate remarkably from additivity relations. The absorption spectrum in the VIS/NIR region depends on codopant concentration and on preparation conditions, with influence on the fluorescence properties of the rare earths and the laser efficiency.

Multi-kW single fiber laser based on an extra large mode area fiber design

The quality of Yb-doped fused bulk silica produced by sintering of Yb-doped fused silica granulates has improved greatly in the past five years [1 - 4]. In particular, the refractive index and doping level homogeneity of such materials are excellent and we achieved excellent background fiber attenuation of the active core material down to about 20 dB/km at 1200 nm. The improvement of the Yb-doped fused bulk silica has enabled the development of multi-kW fiber laser systems based on a single extra large multimode laser fiber (XLMA fiber). When a single active fiber is used in combination with the XLMA multimode fiber of 1200 μm diameter simple and robust high power fiber laser setups without complex fiber coupling and fiber combiner systems become possible. In this papper, we will discuss in detail the development of the core material based on Yb-doped bulk silica and the characterization of Yb-doped fibers with different core compositions. We will also report on the excellent performance of a 4 kW fiber laser based on a single XLMA-fiber and show the first experimental welding results of steel sheets achieved with such a laser.

Role of Ce in Yb/Al laser fibers: prevention of photodarkening and thermal effects.

We report on detailed investigations of ytterbium (Yb) and aluminum (Al) doped silica fiber and preform samples co-doped with cerium (Ce). The prevention of pump-induced photodarkening (PD) by temporary oxidation of Ce3+ to Ce4+ (or rather Ce3++) was proved by observed modifications in the ultraviolet (UV) spectra of transient absorption during near-infrared (NIR) pumping of thin preform slices. Only a small part of available Ce3+ ions (< 4%) was found to be involved in this process despite Yb inversions of up to 0.28. The modifications in the UV absorption spectra disappeared completely when the pump power was switched-off. From these observations we conclude that the recombination to Ce3+ takes place very fast thereby enabling these ions to capture liberated holes h+ perpetually during further pumping. We found a concentration ratio of Ce/Yb ≈0.5 to be sufficient to reduce PD loss to 10% in comparison to Ce-free fibers. Thus, the thermal load caused by absorption of PD color centers at pump (and laser) wavelength is expected to be also reduced. Unfortunately, new heat sources arise with the presence of Ce which cannot be explained by the absorption of Ce ions at the pump wavelength but must be attributed to the interaction with excited Yb ions. Fiber temperature increase of more than 200 K was observed if both, Yb2O3 and Ce2O3 concentration exceed 0.4 mol%.