Study of the Performance Characteristics of Erbium-Containing Laser Glasses

What is it about?

The present state of laser glasses production for optoelectronic systems and devices is considered. The limitations of existing laser glasses and the necessity to create new ones have been viewed. The urgency of the development and introduction of new types of laser glass for its use in both civilian and defense equipment sectors is shown. The technological complexity of the phosphate erbium glasses production is substantiated. The purpose of the work is to create laser glasses and make a laser element, will be operating wavelength of 1.54 μm. Optimum concentration of rare earth oxides in laser glasses has been determined. The quality control methodology and technology of laser glasses were developed. The production of a new laser glass makes it possible to use it in modern optoelectronic systems. The laser elements were fabricated and their generation characteristics were investigated. The results of the laser elements industrial testing are presented.

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Why is it important?

The global development of optoelectronic systems poses the task of creating new optical glasses with necessary parameters which meet requirements of the safety for human health. Since the use of laser glasses in optoelectronic systems of the infrared region occupies a special place, the possibility of laser wavelength modification for individual problems is one of the perspective research directions. Laser systems with a working wavelength of 1060 nm are used in most Ukrainian optoelectronic devices. For example, this is optoelectronic system with solid-state lasers. They include lasers from neodymium glass. Such glasses represent the widest class of laser glasses produced in a number of countries and having wide application. In particular, they are used for operation in small-sized information transmission devices, rod active elements with a diameter of about 5 mm and a length of up to 60 mm. Besides, neodymium glasses can be used for manufacturing large-sized disk active elements for multichannel high-peak power and high-energy amplifying facilities. For this reason, the interest shown to neodymium laser glasses is clear. However, the use of neodymium lasers in transmission systems has a number of drawbacks. At first, the band at 1060 nm has a negative effect from the point of view of ophthalmology. If a beam with such a wavelength falls on the retina of eye, causes its destruction. European and American optoelectronic devices use laser systems with a wavelength of 1540 nm for their correct operation. And this is the reason for the second drawbacks, because the use of neodymium lasers in Ukrainian products limits the access to the foreign market. That’s why the optical laser systems which have 1540 nm the operating wavelength are among the most prevalent nowadays. These characteristics are achieved by adding erbium oxide to the batch of laser glass, because the only intense band with the maximum of 1.54 µm is observed in Er3+ luminescence spectra. These laser systems are involved both in civil and military spheres. The use of this wavelength in the devices allows for optimal transmission of information over fiber-optic communication lines and lies in an eye-safe area. Taking into account the above mentioned it can be concluded that the creation of this laser system is a priority in the field of scientific and technological development. However, depending on the pump types and the laser glass composition, it is possible to obtain various performance characteristics. Therefore, this work is devoted to the investigation of these dependences.

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