Novel ultrafast sources based on fluoride fiber lasers and amplifiers have emerged as a new alternative for the efficient generation of coherent broadband signal in the mid-infrared (> 3 µm). It was shown recently that the amplification of a 2.8-µm ultrafast signal using Er3+: fluoride fiber leads to different output regimes in the mid-infrared (supercontinuum or tunable femtosecond pulses) depending on the input signal properties. Here, we study the underlying mechanisms that affect the amplification and spectral conversion dynamics of ultrashort pulses inside such amplifier through a complete numerical model based on accurate measurements of the amplifier properties. The numerical results, which are in very good agreement with the experiment, show an enhanced output stability due to the attractor properties of the amplifier and the possibility of generating a supercontinuum extending from 2.8 to 4.2 µm with more than 4 W of average power using off-the-shelf fluorozirconate fibers. By designing the appropriate amplifier, tunable and spectrally isolated femtosecond solitons with peak power up to 400 kW around 3.4 µm that can be shifted up to 4 µm could also be achieved. Future perspectives with novel mid-IR laser transitions and different fluoride glass compositions with extended transmission are also discussed.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.