Tm-doped optical fibres for fibre lasers in 2 um spectral range

Sponsor: Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences

Principal investigator: Ivan Kašík, Ph.D.

Members:  Jan Aubrecht, MSc.; Pavel Honzátko, Ph.D.; Jan Mrázek, Ph.D.; Pavel Peterka, Ph.D.; Ondřej Podrazký, Ph.D.; Radan Slavík, Ph.D., DSc.

From: 2012-07-01

To: 2015-06-30

Recent development in the field of fibre lasers undoubtedly belongs to one of the most spectacular achievements of photonic science and research. New trends lead to a wide variety of systems with various key performance features ranging from high precision for metrology to ultrahigh power for cutting and welding with capabilities to provide watts or even kilowatts (!) of optical power. High energetic efficiency is the key for green and high power Tm-doped fibre lasers operating at around 2 μm, which is the main topic of this project, being well in line with the call. The key of our proposal is increasing Tm-doped fibre laser efficiency by homogenously embedding rare-earth (RE)-doped nano-particles into glassy matrices. This needs to address a substantial issue of nanoparticle’s thermal stability derived from their composition. The project will focus on methods of preparation of novel thulium-doped (thulium/holmium-doped) nano-crystalline titanates ((RE_xY_1-x)₂ Ti₂ O₇, (Tm_x Y_1-x)₃ Al₅ O₁₂) embedded in optical soft-glass matrices with the aim to enhance luminescence of the prepared materials. Such novel materials and methodological approaches of their fabrication will represent main results of the project.