• Diode-pumped upconversion fiber laser produces more than 100 mW of blue light

    Upconversion lasers are one approach to practical solid-state blue sources powered by diode lasers. Steve Sanders and coworkers at SDL Inc. (San Jose, CA) reported in postdeadline paper CPD23 at CLEO `95 in Baltimore, MD, an upconversion fiber laser that produces 106 mW of blue light. A pair of 0.5-W tunable diode lasers (tuned to 1130 nm) pumped a thulium-doped ZBLAN fluoride fiber. A lens focused the pum¥light into a 3-µm core, 2.5-m-long ZBLAN fluoride fiber doped with 0.1% thulium. T
    July 1, 1995

    Diode-pumped upconversion fiber laser produces more than 100 mW of blue light

    Upconversion lasers are one approach to practical solid-state blue sources powered by diode lasers. Steve Sanders and coworkers at SDL Inc. (San Jose, CA) reported in postdeadline paper CPD23 at CLEO `95 in Baltimore, MD, an upconversion fiber laser that produces 106 mW of blue light. A pair of 0.5-W tunable diode lasers (tuned to 1130 nm) pumped a thulium-doped ZBLAN fluoride fiber. A lens focused the pum¥light into a 3-µm core, 2.5-m-long ZBLAN fluoride fiber doped with 0.1% thulium. They observed a threshold of 80 mW and generated 106 mW at 482 nm when pumping with 890 mW for an overall optical conversion efficiency of 12%. Pumping at 1137 nm increased the slope efficiency to 30%. Upconversion relaxes the requirements for a stable pum¥wavelength, which can be difficult with high-power diodes. The SDL team believes this may make the technique more attractive than direct doubling of diodes.

    Sign up for Laser Focus World Newsletters
    Get the latest news and updates.

    Voice Your Opinion!

    To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Laser Focus World, create an account today!