Lasers Utilising Tellurite Glass-Based Gain Media

Abstract

This chapter provides a review of laser sources based on a tellurium oxide (TeO2) glass hosts reported to date, whether in the form of bulk glass, fibre or microspheres. The majority of laser sources reported using tellurite glass as host material are based on rare-earth ion (Nd3+, Er3+, Tm3+ and Ho3+) dopants; however, there are also reports on supercontinuum generation and Raman lasing in highly nonlinear tellurite glass fibres. All of the tellurite glass-based lasers discussed in this chapter operate in the infrared spectral region with laser wavelengths around 1 μm, 1.5 μm, 1.9 μm and 2.1 μm for Nd3+, Er3+, Tm3+ and Ho3+ doping, respectively, while supercontinuum and Raman laser sources emit in the ranges 0.8–4.9 μm and 1.5–2.65 μm, respectively. The maximum optical output power reported to date from a tellurite glass laser is 1.12 W using cladding pumped fibre. Lasers operating in continuous wave, Q-switched and mode-locked regimes have also been demonstrated using rare-earth-doped tellurite glass hosts. The future prospects for lasers based on tellurite glasses are also discussed.