J. M. O. Daniel

Thulium-doped fiber amplifier for optical communications at 2 µm

We report the realization of a thulium doped fiber amplifier designed for optical communications providing high gain (>35dB) and low noise figure (<;6dB) over 1910nm-2020nm with a maximum saturated output power of more than 1W.

Diode-pumped wideband thulium-doped fiber amplifiers for optical communications in the 1800 - 2050 nm window

We present the first in-band diode-pumped TDFAs operating in the 2 µm wavelength region and test their suitability as high performance amplifiers in potential future telecommunication networks. We demonstrate amplification over a 240 nm wide window in the range 1810 - 2050 nm with up to 36 dB gain and noise figure as low as 4.5 dB.

High resolution Fourier domain optical coherence tomography in the 2 μm wavelength range using a broadband supercontinuum source.

A 220 nm bandwidth supercontinuum source in the two-micron wavelength range has been developed for use in a Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (FDOCT) system. This long wavelength source serves to enhance probing depth in highly scattering material with low water content. We present results confirming improved penetration depth in high opacity paint samples while achieving the high axial resolution needed to resolve individual paint layers. This is the first FDOCT developed in the 2 μm wavelength regime that allows fast, efficient capturing of 3D image cubes at a high axial resolution of 13 μm in air (or 9 μm in paint).

Controlling the handedness of directly excited Laguerre–Gaussian modes in a solid-state laser

The first higher order Laguerre-Gaussian (LG01) beam is characterised by a donut-shaped intensity profile and has a phase front that advances with a helical trajectory described by exp(±iφ-ikz), where φ is the azimuthal angle and z is the axial position. As a consequence, the LG01 beam has an orbital angular momentum of ±ħ for each photon. These unique properties of LG01 beams have attracted growing interest due to a wealth of promising applications in areas such as optical manipulation of particles, trapping and guiding of atoms and laser processing of materials. A number of different techniques for generating LG01 beams have been devised over the years. The most popular techniques exploit external beam-shaping arrangements. However, these techniques are generally not suitable for high power operation due to power handling limitations.

Ultra-short wavelength operation of a thulium fibre laser in the 1660–1750 nm wavelength band

Ultra-short wavelength operation of a thulium fibre laser is investigated. Through use of core pumping and high feedback efficiency wavelength selection, a continuously-tunable fibre laser source operating from 1660 nm to 1720 nm is demonstrated in a silica host. We discuss the range of applications within this important wavelength band such as polymer materials processing and medical applications targeting characteristic C-H bond resonance peaks. As a demonstration of the power scalability of thulium fibre lasers in this band, fixed wavelength operation at 1726 nm with output power up 12.6 W and with slope efficiency > 60% is also shown.

Novel technique for mode selection in a multimode fiber laser

A simple technique for transverse mode selection in a large-mode-area (multimode) fiber laser is described. The technique exploits the different spectral responses of feedback elements based on a fiber Bragg grating and a volume Bragg grating to achieve wavelength-dependent mode filtering. This approach has been applied to a cladding-pumped thulium-doped fiber laser with a multimode core to achieve a single-spatial-mode output beam with a beam propagation factor (M2) of 1.05 at 1923 nm. Without mode selection the free-running fiber laser has a multimode output beam with an M2 parameter of 3.3. Selective excitation of higher order modes is also possible via the technique and preliminary results for laser oscillation on the LP11 mode are also discussed along with the prospects for scaling to higher power levels.

Cladding-pumped ytterbium-doped fiber laser with radially polarized output.

A simple technique for directly generating a radially polarized output beam from a cladding-pumped ytterbium-doped fiber laser is reported. Our approach is based on the use of a nanograting spatially variant waveplate as an intracavity polarization-controlling element. The laser yielded ~32 W of output power (limited by available pump power) with a radially polarized TM (01)-mode output beam at 1040 nm with a corresponding slope efficiency of 66% and a polarization purity of 95%. The beam-propagation factor (M(2)) was measured to be ~1.9-2.1.

Optical coherence tomography in the 2-μm wavelength regime for paint and other high opacity materials

An optical coherence tomography system using a compact fiber source emitting amplified spontaneous emission at central wavelength of 1960 nm with bandwidth of 40 nm is developed to enhance the probing depth in a highly scattering material with low water content. Examples of application to paint are used to demonstrate significantly improved penetration depth in high opacity materials in the 2-μm wavelength regime.

Exploiting the short wavelength gain of silica-based thulium-doped fiber amplifiers

Short wavelength operation (1650-1800 nm) of silica-based thulium-doped fiber amplifiers (TDFAs) is investigated. We report the first demonstration of in-band diode-pumped silica-based TDFAs working in the 1700-1800 nm waveband. Up to 29 dB of small-signal gain is achieved in this spectral region, with an operation wavelength accessible by diode pumping as short as 1710 nm. Further gain extension toward shorter wavelengths is realized in a fiber laser pumped configuration. A silica-based TDFA working in the 1650-1700 nm range with up to 29 dB small-signal gain and noise figure as low as 6.5 dB is presented.

Wavelength-swept Tm-doped fiber laser operating in the two-micron wavelength band

A wavelength-swept thulium-doped silica fiber laser using an intracavity rotating slotted-disk wavelength scanning filter in combination with an intracavity solid etalon for passive control of temporal and spectral profiles is reported. The laser yielded a wavelength swept output in a step-wise fashion with each laser pulse separated from the previous pulse by a frequency interval equal to the free-spectral-range of the etalon and with an instantaneous linewidth of <0.05 nm. Scanning ranges from 1905 nm to 2049 nm for a cladding-pumping laser configuration, and from 1768 nm to 1956 nm for a core-pumping laser configuration were achieved at average output powers up to ~1 W.