High-power 1640 nm Er:Y₂O₃ ceramic laser at room temperature

Abstract

We report on the high-power operation of an Er:Y2O3 ceramic laser at approximately 1.6 µm using a low-scattering-loss, 0.25 at. % Er3+-doped ceramic sample fabricated in-house via a co-precipitation process. The laser is in-band pumped by an Er, Yb fiber laser at 1535.6 nm and generates 10.2 W of continuous-wave (CW) output power at 1640.4 nm with a slope efficiency of 25% with respect to the absorbed pump power. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of an approximately 1.6 µm Er:Y2O3 laser at room temperature. The prospects for further scaling of the output power and lasing efficiency via low Er3+ doping and reduced energy-transfer upconversion are discussed.

Gain- and Q-switched operation of Er:Y2O3 ceramic laser at 1640 nm

“…Most recently, progress on nanomaterial synthesis and vacuum sintering technology have made it possible to obtain high quality laser ceramics with low scattering loss and large volume at relatively lower fabrication temperature (~1600 ℃) [12]. In this year, an Er:Y2O3 ceramic laser with 0.25-at.% doping and in-band pumped at 1535 nm generated 10.2 W of 1640 nm CW output power with a slope efficiency of 25% [13]. Y2O3 ceramic doped with 0.5-at.% Er 3+ has an upper laser level ( 4 I13/2) lifetime of ~7 ms and emission cross section of ~1.210 -21 cm 2 (1.64 m) at room temperature [14], suggesting its favorable energy storage capability for pulsed operation.…”