Abstract
The power scaling of Er:SiO2 fiber lasers is more challenging than in their Yb counterparts. The reason is the low Er3+ absorption cross-section and the increase of unbleachable losses with increasing of Er3+ concentration due to clustering that impedes the manufacturing of efficient double-clad fibers. Optical-to-optical conversion efficiency does not exceed 24% for conventional single-mode fiber based lasers cladding-pumped at 976 nm [1]. Several approaches can be used to increase the efficiency at 1.55 μm [2–4]. But co-lasing at 1 μm in Er-Yb fibers [2] and low electrical-to-optical efficiency of sources for in-band pumping [3,4] prevents their widespreade use. In our previous paper slope efficiency of 32% was achieved in a power-scalable amplifier scheme owing to the use of the novel Al2O3-P2O5-SiO2-glass matrix and the decrease of the first cladding diameter down to 95 μm [5].
© 2013 IEEE
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