Ytterbium calcium fluoride waveguide laser

Identifier:  imarina:5733837

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina5733837

Authors:  Loiko, P; Soulard, R; Kifle, E; Guillemot, L; Brasse, G; Benayad, A; Doualan, JL; Braud, A; Aguiló, M; Díaz, F; Mateos, X; Camy, P

Abstract:
© 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement Calcium fluoride is a well-known material for optical components. It is also suited for doping with rare-earth ions, e.g., ytterbium ones. Yb:CaF 2 is an efficient gain medium for high-power and ultrashort-pulse bulk lasers around 1 μm. We report on the first Yb:CaF 2 planar waveguide laser. High-optical-quality single-crystalline waveguiding Yb:CaF 2 thin films are grown on bulk CaF 2 substrates by Liquid Phase Epitaxy. The spectroscopic study indicates the predominant coordination of isolated Yb 3+ ions in trigonal oxygen-assisted sites, C 3v (T 2 ). The optical gain in Yb:CaF 2 waveguide is demonstrated. A 1.4 at.% Yb:CaF 2 planar waveguide laser generated 114 mW at 1037 nm with a slope efficiency of 12.9%. Yb:CaF 2 films are promising for power-scalable waveguide mode-locked lasers and amplifiers.