Thulium laser at ∼2.3  μm based on upconversion pumping

We report on novel upconversion (UC) pumping schemes for 2.3 μm thulium (Tm) lasers (the H 3→H 3 transition) based on a photon avalanche mechanism populating the intermediate metastable level (F 3) acting as an effective ground state. The proposed pump wavelengths are ∼1 and ∼1.5  μm, each one corre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inOptics letters Vol. 44; no. 16; p. 4071
Main Authors Guillemot, Lauren, Loiko, Pavel, Soulard, Rémi, Braud, Alain, Doualan, Jean-Louis, Hideur, Ammar, Moncorgé, Richard, Camy, Patrice
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 15.08.2019
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Summary:We report on novel upconversion (UC) pumping schemes for 2.3 μm thulium (Tm) lasers (the H 3→H 3 transition) based on a photon avalanche mechanism populating the intermediate metastable level (F 3) acting as an effective ground state. The proposed pump wavelengths are ∼1 and ∼1.5  μm, each one corresponding to a resonant excited-state absorption transition F 3→F 3 and F 3→H 3, respectively. UC pumping at 1040, 1055, and 1451 nm of 2.3 μm Tm:LiYF lasers is demonstrated. In the former case, the laser generates 102 mW at 2302 nm with a slope efficiency of 14.6% (versus the incident pump power). The laser dynamics is studied. UC pumping is promising for reaching high efficiencies in 2.3 μm Tm lasers.
ISSN:1539-4794
DOI:10.1364/OL.44.004071