Fabrication and optical properties of Tm3+/Ho3+ co-doped lanthanum aluminosilicate photonic crystal fiber for 2 μm fiber lasers

Abstract

In this study, the Tm3+/Ho3+ co-doped lanthanum aluminosilicate glass was prepared using the melt-quenching method. The absorption and emission properties of glass were studied. A Tm3+/Ho3+ co-doped lanthanum aluminosilicate photonic crystal fiber (PCF) was fabricated using the stacking and drawing method. The PCF structure effectively enhanced the laser performance and generated laser emission centered at 2051 nm. The max output power of the PCF laser was 256 mW under existing conditions and the optical-to-optical efficiency was 6.37%. In addition, the broadband luminescence characteristics strongly influenced by the length of fibers were presented. The results indicated that the Tm3+/Ho3+ co-doped lanthanum aluminosilicate PCF could be potentially used for 2 μm fiber lasers and amplifiers.