Eye-safe Optically-Pumped Gas-filled Fiber Lasers

An eye-safe optically-pumped laser based on a gas-filled hollow optical fiber is proposed. Such a laser will be the first in a new class of lasers, based on gas-filled fibers and incorporating many advantages of optically-pumped gas lasers, including the ability to use multiple incoherent pump sources to result in a single coherent beam. We will model the lasing action in acetylene gas pumped at 1530 nm and lasing near 1700 nm, which are wavelengths well suited to an initial demonstration because fiber and pump lasers are readily available. We will also experimentally demonstrate lasing in an acetylene-filled fiber, and explore ways to package the laser entirely in optical fiber. The vision is to develop additional wavelengths across the near-infrared and infrared, and to coherently combine the output of many such gas-filled fiber lasers for high power applications such as infrared countermeasures and laser defense.