In-band pumping of Tm:LiYF₄ channel waveguide: a power scaling strategy for ∼2  μm waveguide lasers

Abstract

We report on a novel power scaling strategy for thulium waveguide (WG) lasers relying on in-band pumping by high-brightness Raman fiber lasers (RFLs) and the use of liquid-phase-epitaxy-grown fluoride crystalline thin films for better thermal management. Thulium channel WGs are produced by microstructuring the ${\mathrm{Tm}}^{3+}\text{:}{\mathrm{LiYF}}_4/{\mathrm{LiYF}}_4$ epitaxies via diamond-saw dicing. They are pumped by a RFL based on an erbium master oscillator power amplifier and a ${\mathrm{GeO}}_2$-doped silica fiber and emit polarized output at 1679 nm. A CW in-band-pumped (${}^3{\mathrm{H}}_6\to {}^3{\mathrm{F}}_4$) ${\mathrm{Tm}}^{3+}\text{:}{\mathrm{LiYF}}_4$ WG laser generates up to 2.05 W of a linearly polarized single-transverse-mode output at 1881 nm with a slope efficiency of 78.3% and a laser threshold of only 12 mW (versus the absorbed pump power).

© 2019 Optical Society of America

Tm,Ho:LiYF₄ planar waveguide laser at 2.05  μm

Pavel Loiko, Rémi Soulard, Gurvan Brasse, Jean-Louis Doulan, Alain Braud, Aleksey Tyazhev, Ammar Hideur, and Patrice Camy
Opt. Lett. 43(18) 4341-4344 (2018)

Watt-level Tm:LiYF₄ channel waveguide laser produced by diamond saw dicing

Pavel Loiko, Rémi Soulard, Gurvan Brasse, Jean-Louis Doualan, Blandine Guichardaz, Alain Braud, Aleksey Tyazhev, Ammar Hideur, and Patrice Camy
Opt. Express 26(19) 24653-24662 (2018)

Diamond saw dicing of thulium channel waveguide lasers in monoclinic crystalline films

Esrom Kifle, Pavel Loiko, Uwe Griebner, Valentin Petrov, Patrice Camy, Alain Braud, Magdalena Aguiló, Francesc Díaz, and Xavier Mateos
Opt. Lett. 44(7) 1596-1599 (2019)

Laser operation of highly-doped Tm:LiYF₄ epitaxies: towards thin-disk lasers

Rémi Soulard, Mohamed Salhi, Gurvan Brasse, Pavel Loiko, Jean-Louis Doualan, Lauren Guillemot, Alain Braud, Aleksey Tyazhev, Ammar Hideur, and Patrice Camy
Opt. Express 27(6) 9287-9301 (2019)

Thulium laser at ∼2.3  μm based on upconversion pumping

Lauren Guillemot, Pavel Loiko, Rémi Soulard, Alain Braud, Jean-Louis Doualan, Ammar Hideur, Richard Moncorgé, and Patrice Camy
Opt. Lett. 44(16) 4071-4074 (2019)