Cr:ZnSe laser incorporating anti-reflection microstructures exhibiting low-loss, damage-resistant lasing at near quantum limit efficiency

McDaniel, Sean A.; Hobbs, Douglas S.; MacLeod, Bruce D.; Sabatino, Ernest; Berry, Patrick A.; Schepler, Kenneth L.; Mitchell, William D.; Cook, Gary

doi:10.1364/ome.4.002225

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…A maximum output of 5.2 W was obtained from 11.95 W of input power, with a slope efficiency of 41%. While not the highest reported slope efficiency from a Cr:ZnSe device [5], a slope efficiency of 41% is commonly achieved in literature [82,73]. Additionally, Figure 6.7 shows no thermal rollover indicating that these waveguide structures have not reached the thermal limit of performance.…”

Section: Cr:znse Resultsmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…optimal outcoupler reflectivity, operating temperature, tolerable losses etc.) [5,31]. Knowledge of the ideal operating parameters allows for minimization of free-space optics to prevent unnecessary losses from external optics.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Transition metal doped chalcogenides and rare-earth materials offer a viable solution to the shortcomings of their predecessors. First demonstrated by DeLoach et al [4], transistion metal lasers have been widely demonstrated to operate in the 2 − 5 µm range [5,6,7,8] relying on chromium and iron dopants and ZnSe, ZnS and CdTe hosts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The difference in the specified coating damage threshold and the actual damage threshold is likely due to localized heating and differential thermal expansion of the coating and the sample. There are other techniques for creating high damage threashold coatings/configuration that could be employed in future efforts[5].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mid-IR Ultrafast Laser Inscribed Waveguides and Devices

McDaniel

Thorburn

Liebig

et al. 2019

2019 IEEE Research and Applications of Photonics in Defense Conference (RAPID)

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MID-IR ULTRAFAST LASER INSCRIBED WAVEGUIDES AND DEVICES Name: McDaniel, Sean A. University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. Gary Cook Ultrafast laser inscription (ULI) is a highly versatile technique for creating index modifications in glasses and crystalline materials. The process of ULI relies on ultrashort laser pulses focused inside of a material. The high intensity of the pulsed beam induces nonlinear absorption processes, which transfers the pulse energy to the material lattice. With careful experimental control of the laser parameters, a permanent change in the refractive can be obtained in the bulk material. The permanent refractive index change obtained by ULI can be used to create waveguides in active laser materials, such as Cr:ZnSe, Fe:ZnSe and Ho:YAG.Transition metal and rare-earth laser sources have been shown to operate over the 2 − 5 µm range. ULI can be used in conjunction with these materials to produce high power, guided-wave structures with reduced size, weight and power (SWaP) requirements. Power levels for Cr:ZnSe and Fe:ZnSe have been scaled to > 5 W and > 1 W respectively in ULI waveguide devices.Additionally, the first Ho:YAG ULI laser has been investigated, exhibiting output powers of ≈ 2 W .In addition to these advances, the theoretical limit for transition metal waveguide lasers was investigated. Transition metal lasers are highly sensitive to the operating temperature of the laser device. If the temperature increase induced in the sample is too high, phonon assisted transitions iii become dominant, thus decreasing the performance of the laser. Laser rate-equations and a thermal model for ULI waveguides were developed to establish a theoretical limit to ULI waveguide operation.Finally, several advancements were made with respect to creating ULI waveguides. An algorithm was developed for creating arbitrary ULI structures from computer generated models. The ability to create arbitrarily generated structures provides the ability to create complex structures using ULI, such as splitters, couplers, and photonic lanterns. Furthermore, a new helical inscription technique was devised for creating smooth index profiles and for creating Bragg structuring. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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Section: Cr:znse Resultsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mid-IR Ultrafast Laser Inscribed Waveguides and Devices

McDaniel

Thorburn

Liebig

et al. 2019

2019 IEEE Research and Applications of Photonics in Defense Conference (RAPID)

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“…Progress toward higher power, widely tunable solid-state lasers [1,2] operating over middleinfrared (mid-IR) wavelengths in the 2-5µm range, has been slowed by the inconsistent performance, limited choice of materials, and poor reliability of thin-film anti-reflection (AR) coatings (TFARC) [3]. AR coatings for transition-metal-ion doped II-VI laser gain media such as chromium zinc selenide (Cr:ZnSe) are particularly difficult to deposit due to the material low temperature requirements and the significant water absorption sensitivity, factors tending to yield coatings with low laser damage resistance [4]. A promising approach for removing these limitations is to replace TFARCs with an array of nanometer scale surface relief microstructures etched directly into the polished Cr:ZnSe crystal facets [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laser testing of anti-reflection micro-structures fabricated in ZnSe and chromium-ion doped ZnSe laser gain media

Hobbs¹,

MacLeod²,

Sabatino³

et al. 2017

Opt. Mater. Express

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An expanded study has been completed of the pulsed and continuous wave (CW) laser induced damage threshold (LiDT) of surface relief anti-reflection (AR) microstructures (ARMs) etched in zinc selenide (ZnSe) crystals and chromium-ion-doped (Cr:ZnSe) laser gain media. In multiple-sample per variant testing at wavelengths of 2095 and 2940nm, the pulsed laser damage resistance of ARMs textured ZnSe crystals was found to be equivalent to untreated, as-polished crystals, with an LiDT as much as 5 times that of thin-film AR coated ZnSe crystals. Similar results were found for Cr:ZnSe crystals tested at 2940nm, but mixed results were found for pulse testing at 2095nm. In accumulated power CW damage testing at a wavelength of 1908nm, neither untreated nor ARMs treated ZnSe crystals could be damaged after long duration exposures at a maximum system intensity of 28.6 MW/cm 2 , a value many times higher than typically found with thin-film AR coated ZnSe. For Cr:ZnSe gain media, the CW LiDT was observed to be dependent on the focused beam size at the sample surface, with thresholds for untreated and ARMs-treated Cr:ZnSe being nearly equivalent, ranging from 0.6 MW/cm 2 for the largest spot size, to 2.1 MW/cm 2 for a spot area 4 times smaller. An operational laser test was performed where an ARMs textured Cr:ZnSe crystal operated with higher slope efficiency and 1.5 times the output of a thin-film AR coated crystal in an identical resonator configuration.

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Review of Surface Modification Technologies for Mid‐Infrared Antireflection Microstructures Fabrication

Bushunov

Tarabrin

Lazarev

2021

Laser & Photonics Reviews

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Mid‐infrared materials antireflection is in high demand for high‐powered or ultra‐broadband coherent light sources, where conventional antireflection coatings cannot be reliably applied. This work provides a critical review of the recent advances in microstructure fabrication technology for mid‐infrared antireflection applications. Several techniques are reviewed, including direct imprinting, wet and reactive ion etching using conventional photoresist masking, novel colloid crystal masks, and maskless etching, laser‐induced periodic structure formation, and multiple laser ablation method modifications, including femtosecond laser direct writing, direct laser interference ablation, and single pulse ablation. The advantages and drawbacks of the different approaches are discussed in detail to highlight the most promising techniques for the fabrication of antireflection microstructures capable of achieving 99% transmittance in the 2–16 μm range.

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Cr:ZnSe laser incorporating anti-reflection microstructures exhibiting low-loss, damage-resistant lasing at near quantum limit efficiency

Cited by 20 publications

References 10 publications

Mid-IR Ultrafast Laser Inscribed Waveguides and Devices

Mid-IR Ultrafast Laser Inscribed Waveguides and Devices

Laser testing of anti-reflection micro-structures fabricated in ZnSe and chromium-ion doped ZnSe laser gain media

Review of Surface Modification Technologies for Mid‐Infrared Antireflection Microstructures Fabrication

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