Novel Fiber Lasers and Amplifiers

CR1 has pioneered a process that allows, for the first time, the synthesis of a new generation of optical fibers made of oxide glasses of compositions other than silica, such as Y203-A1203. Stanford University has expertise and instrumentation to characterize fiber laser materials and evaluate device performance. The proposed research combines these capabilities to demonstrate feasibility of new fiber laser devices, optimize fiber properties for applications, and provide new fiber laser materials for basic research. The fibers are drawn to waveguide dimensions in meter lengths and are mechanically several times stronger than silica fibers. Compared to silica, these new compositions exhibit a lower photon energy and can host much greater rare earth concentrations. Applications include extremely short fiber lasers that support a single frequency and have low noise characteristics, and fiber lasers operating at wavelengths longer than 2 *m for imaging and spectroscopy. The main objectives of this proposal are to show feasibility of new applications by characterizing the optical properties of the doped fibers (loss, absorption, and emission characteristics) demonstrating the first Er-doped fiber laser based on the most promising glass system, and research towards novel fiber lasers and amplifiers.