Broadband mid-infrared wavelength conversion laser based on Cr2+ doped ceramic materials

Abstract

Broadband mid-infrared lasers are desirable for pretty important applications in fields of environmental protection, medical treatment, military applications, scientific, and other domains. Recently, super-continuum laser sources have achieved striking development. However, limited by the substrate materials, the output scaling of the broadband mid-infrared fiber laser sources could not be increased drastically, especially for the long wavelength region. In this paper, we reported an experimental study about the broadband mid-infrared lasers based on Cr2+ doped II-VI ceramic materials, by using of a super-continuum laser source developed by our groups operating at 1550~2130nm with 200mW output power. The result suggested that the near-infrared spectral component of the super-continuum source was deeply absorbed by transition metal doped zinc chalcogenides ceramic materials, meanwhile the mid-infrared part, however, had been enhanced significantly by this new power amplifier. Actually single-pass amplification efficiency was very limited. The best way to solve this problem was multi-pass amplification systems. We had shown an initial proof of this assumption by a double-pass experiments, the result was consistent with expected effect. Above all, the spectrum shaping from short wavelength to long wavelength was obtained. The innovative discovery had laid a solid foundation for high power, high efficiency, broadly tunable mid-infrared solid state lasers.