Chromium-doped chalcogenide lasers

Timothy J. Carrig; Gregory J. Wagner; William J. Alford; Andrew Zakel

doi:10.1117/12.549032

1 September 2004 Chromium-doped chalcogenide lasers

Timothy J. Carrig, Gregory J. Wagner, William J. Alford, Andrew Zakel

Proceedings Volume 5460, Solid State Lasers and Amplifiers; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.549032
Event: Photonics Europe, 2004, Strasbourg, France

Abstract

Broadly tunable near- and mid-infrared lasers are of interest for a variety of applications including high-resolution spectroscopy, metrology, pumping of nonlinear optical frequency converters such as optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) and standoff chemical sensing. Tunable laser sources in the 2-3 um region include Cr²⁺ doped chalcogenide lasers; cryogenic systems, such as color center lasers; limited tunability devices, such as Tm and Ho lasers, gas or chemical lasers, and diode lasers; and nonlinear optical devices such as OPOs. Transition-metal-doped chalcogenide lasers are of high interest because of their high versatility, broad room-temperature wavelength tunability, high optical efficiencies, and their potential to be scaled to high powers via direct diode or fiber laser pumping. To date, continuous-wave, gain-switched, Q-switched and mode-locked laser operation has been demonstrated. Material advantages include broad absorption and emission bands, high fluorescence quantum efficiencies at room temperature, high gain cross-sections, and minimal loss mechanisms such as excited-state absorption or upconversion. Additionally, the materials can be produced by a variety of methods, including several direct growth techniques and diffusion doping. The principal material disadvantages include a relatively large change in refractive index with temperature (large dn/dT), which can induce thermal lensing, and a short, microseconds, energy storage time. In this paper we review fundamental material properties, the current state-of-the-art of continuous-wave and pulsed Cr²⁺ doped chalcogenide lasers, and recent research results.

Citation Download Citation

Timothy J. Carrig, Gregory J. Wagner, William J. Alford, and Andrew Zakel "Chromium-doped chalcogenide lasers", Proc. SPIE 5460, Solid State Lasers and Amplifiers, (1 September 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.549032

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