A humidity-resistant highly sensitive holographic photopolymerizable dry film

A new humidity-resistant highly sensitive acrylamide-based photopolymeric holographic recording material has been developed. The photopolymer is resistant to the humidity of environment. Diffraction efficiencies near 50% are obtained with exposure energy of 60 mJ/cm(2) in materials of 150 mu m. thickness. Diphenyl iodonium chloride is added to the material and can increase the exposure sensitivity by a factor of more than 4 (to about 28 mJ/cm(2)). An image has been successfully stored in the material with a small distortion. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Highly efficient Nd:YAG ceramic CW laser with 59.8% slope-efficiency

In this paper, a highly efficient Ti:sapphire end-pumped 1 at.-% Nd:YAG ceramic laser that is comparable in efficiency with Nd:YAG single crystal lasers has been developed. Optical absorption and emission spectra for Nd:YAG ceramics have been measured. With 673-mW pumping, 295-mW laser output at 1064 nm has been obtained. The laser threshold is only 13 mW. Deducted the transmitted light, the corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 58.4%. The lasing characteristics of Nd:YAG ceramic are nearly equal to those of Nd:YAG single crystal.

Highly efficient diode side-pumped Nd : YAG ceramic laser with 210W output power

We developed a highly efficient diode side-pumped Nd:YAG ceramic laser with a diffusive reflector as an optical pump cavity. A maximum output power of 211.6W was obtained with an optical -to- optical conversion efficiency of 48.7%. This corresponds to the highest conversion efficiency in the side-pumped ceramic rod. Thermal effects of the Nd:YAG ceramic rod were analyzed in detail through the measurements of laser output powers and beam profiles near the critically unstable region. A M-2 beam quality factor of 18.7 was obtained at the maximum laser output power. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Passive Q-switching of short-length Tm3+-doped silica fiber lasers by polycrystalline Cr2+:ZnSe microchips

We demonstrate passive Q-switching of short-length double-clad Tm3+-doped silica fiber lasers near 2 mu m pumped by a laser diode array (LDA) at 790 nm. Polycrystalline Cr2+:ZnSe microchips with thickness from 0.3 to 1 mm are adopted as the Q-switching elements. Pulse duration of 120 ns, pulse energy over 14 mu] and repetition rate of 53 kHz are obtained from a 5-cm long fiber laser. As high as 530 kHz repetition rate is achieved from a 50-cm long fiber laser at similar to 10-W pump power. The performance of the Q-switched fiber lasers as a function of fiber length is also analyzed. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spectroscopic properties of neodymium doped high silica glass and aluminum codoping effects on the enhancement of fluorescence emission

Nd3+ -codoped and Al3+-Nd3+-codoped high silica glasses have been prepared by sintering nanoporous glasses impregnated with Nd3+ stop and Al3+ ions. The Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters Omega(2,4,6) of Nd3+-doped high silica glasses were obtained and used to analyze aluminum codoping effects. Fluorescence properties of Nd3+-doped high silica glasses strongly depend on the Al3+ concentration. While Nd3+ ion absorption and emission intensities of obviously increase when aluminum is added to Nd3+-doped high silica glasses, fluorescence lifetimes decrease and aluminum codoping has almost no influence on the radiative quantum efficiencies. This indicates that aluminum codoping is responsible for an anti-quenching effect through a local modification of rare-earth environments rather than through physical cluster dispersion.

Fluorescence properties and laser demonstrations of Nd-doped high silica glasses prepared by sintering nanoporous glass

Porous glass with high-SiO2 content was impregnated with Nd ions, and subsequently sintered at 1100 degrees C into a compact non-porous glass in air or reducing atmosphere. Sintering in a reducing atmosphere produced an intense violet-blue fluorescence at 394 nm. However, the sintering atmospheres almost did not affect the fluorescence properties in the infrared range. A good performance Nd3+-doped silica microchip laser operating at 1064 nm was demonstrated. The Nd-doped sintering glasses with high-SiO2 content are potential host materials for high power solid-state lasers and new transparent fluorescence materials. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preparation and spectroscopic properties of Yb-doped and Yb-Al-codoped high silica glasses

Yb-doped and Yb-Al-codoped high silica glasses have been prepared by sintering nanoporous glasses. The absorption, fluorescent spectra and fluorescent lifetimes have been measured and the emission cross-section and minimum pump intensities were calculated. Codoping aluminum ions enhanced the fluorescence intensity of Yb-doped high silica glass obviously. The emission cross-sections of Yb-doped and Yb-Al-codoped high silica glasses were 0.65 and 0.82 pm(2), respectively. The results show that Yb-Al-codoped high silica glass has better spectroscopic properties for a laser material. The study of high silica glass doped with ytterbium is helpful for its application in Yb laser systems, especially for high-power and high-repetition lasers. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Blue emission from Eu2+ -doped high silica glass by near-infrared femtosecond laser irradiation

Eu2+-doped high silica glass (HSG) is fabricated by sintering porous glass which is impregnated with europium ions. Eu2+-doped HSG is revealed to yield intense blue emission excited by ultraviolet (UV) light and near-infrared femtosecond laser. The emission profile obtained by UV excitation can be well traced by near-infrared femtosecond laser. The upconversion emission excited by 800 nm femtosecond laser is considered to be related to a two-photon absorption process from the relationship between the integrated intensity and the pump power. A tentative scheme of upconverted blue emission from Eu2+-doped HSG was also proposed. The HSG materials presented herein are expected to find applications in high density optical storage and three-dimensional color displays. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Preparation and spectroscopic properties of Er3+-doped high silica glass fabricated by sintering nanoporous glass

A compact nonporous high silica (SiO2 % > 96%) glass containing 3400 ppm Er3+ ions, which was about ten times higher than that in Er-doped silica fiber amplifier (EDSFA), was synthesized by sintering porous glass immersed into erbium nitrate solution. The 1532 nm fluorescence has a FWHM (Full Width at Half Maximum) of 45 nm wider than that of EDSFA and possesses the glass with potential application in broadband fiber amplifiers. The Judd-Ofelt theoretical analysis reflects that Er3+ ions are located in a higher covalent environment which are comparable to those of aluminosilicate glass. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Band structure of photonic crystal fibers with silica rings in triangular lattice

The characteristics of the cladding band structure of air-core photonic crystal fibers with silica rings in triangular lattice are investigated by using a standard plane wave method. The numerical results show that light can be localized in the air core by the photonic band gaps of the fiber. By increasing the air-filling fraction, the band gap edges of the low frequency photonic band gaps shift to shorter wavelength.. whereas the band gap width decreases linearly. In order to make a specified light fall in the low frequency band gaps of the fiber, the interplay of the silica ring spacing and the air-filling fraction is also analyzed. It shows that the silica ring spacing increases monotonously when the air-filling fraction is increased, and the spacing range increases exponentially. This type fiber might have potential in infrared light transmission. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.