20 dBm linearly polarised tunable single-frequencydiode-pumped Er:Yb laser at 1535 nm using anisotropic absorptive intracavity etalon

Abstract

A linearly polarised single-frequency diode-pumped Er:Yb bulk laser with output power in excess of 100 mW has been demonstrated. The use of an anisotropic absorptive intracavity etalon to achieve both single-frequency operation and linearly polarised output is investigated. Output power and tuning characteristics as well as relative-intensity noise measurements are reported. A new active medium, based on a new glass host with reduced pump-induced birefringence, allowed for negligible performance degradation when using the anisotropic etalon instead of a standard BK7 etalon. A broad tuning range and a relative-intensity-noise peak of about –90 dB/Hz has been achieved.