Mid-infrared cascading fiber amplifier and method for amplification thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10164399-B2
Application number	US-201615557388-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 11, 2016
Priority date	Mar 13, 2015
Publication date	Dec 25, 2018
Grant date	Dec 25, 2018

Abstract

A mid-infrared cascading fiber amplifier device having a source configured to generate a first electromagnetic wave output at a first frequency, a fiber coupled to the source and a pump coupled to the fiber and configured to generate a second electromagnetic wave output at a second frequency, wherein the second frequency is higher than the first frequency and causes the fiber to undergo two or more transitions in response to stimulation by the first electromagnetic wave output at the first frequency, wherein the first transition generates the first electromagnetic wave output approximately at the first frequency and the second transition generates the first electromagnetic wave output approximately at the first frequency.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A mid-infrared cascading fiber amplifier device comprising:
a source configured to generate a first electromagnetic wave output at a first frequency;
a fiber coupled to the source; and
a pump coupled to the fiber and configured to generate a second electromagnetic wave output at a second frequency, wherein the second frequency is higher than the first frequency and causes the fiber to undergo two or more transitions in response to stimulation by the second electromagnetic wave output at the second frequency, wherein the first transition generates the first electromagnetic wave output approximately at the first frequency and the second transition generates the first electromagnetic wave output approximately at the first frequency.

2. The mid-infrared cascading fiber amplifier device of claim 1 wherein the fiber comprises Pr 3+ -doped fiber.

3. The mid-infrared cascading fiber amplifier device of claim 1 wherein the fiber comprises Pr 3+ -doped chalcogenide fiber.

4. The mid-infrared cascading fiber amplifier device of claim 1 wherein the pump comprises a backward pump source.

5. The mid-infrared cascading fiber amplifier device of claim 1 wherein the first frequency generates a wavelength that ranges from approximately 4 to approximately 5 micrometers.

6. The mid-infrared cascading fiber amplifier device of claim 1 wherein the second frequency has a wavelength that ranges from approximately 1.90 to approximately 2.3 micrometers.

7. The mid-infrared cascading fiber amplifier device of claim 1 further comprising a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror.

8. The mid-infrared cascading fiber amplifier device of claim 1 further comprising a nonlinear optical saturable absorber.

9. The mid-infrared cascading fiber amplifier device of claim 1 further comprising a graphene nonlinear optical saturable absorber.

10. A method for amplifying an output of a mid-infrared fiber comprising:
generating an input signal wave having approximately a first wavelength and providing the input signal wave to a fiber that is configured to transition from an upper energy level to an intermediate energy level to generate a first output having a wavelength of approximately the first wavelength output and to transition from the intermediate energy level to a lower energy level to generate a second output having approximately the first wavelength output in response to the input signal wave; and
pumping the fiber with a pump wave having approximately a second wavelength, the second wavelength being less than the first wavelength, to cause a transition from the lower energy level to the upper energy level.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein generating the input signal wave having approximately the first wavelength and providing the input signal wave to the fiber comprises providing the input signal wave to a Pr 3+ -doped fiber.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein generating the input signal wave having approximately the first wavelength and providing the input signal wave to the fiber comprises providing the input signal wave to a Pr 3+ -doped chalcogenide fiber.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein pumping the fiber comprises using a backward pump source.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the first frequency generates a wavelength that ranges from approximately 4 to approximately 5 micrometers.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein the second frequency generates a wavelength that ranges from approximately 1.90 to approximately 2.3 micrometers.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprising appending a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror.

17. The method of claim 10 further comprising appending a nonlinear optical saturable absorber to the fiber.

18. The method of claim 10 further comprising appending a graphene nonlinear optical saturable absorber to the fiber.

19. In a mid-infrared cascading fiber amplifier device having a source configured to generate a first electromagnetic wave output at a first frequency, a fiber coupled to the source and a pump coupled to the fiber and configured to generate a second electromagnetic wave output at a second frequency, wherein the second frequency is higher than the first frequency and causes the fiber to undergo two or more transitions in response to stimulation by the second electromagnetic wave output at the second frequency, wherein the first transition generates the first electromagnetic wave output approximately at the first frequency and the second transition generates the first electromagnetic wave output approximately at the first frequency, wherein the fiber comprises Pr 3+ -doped chalcogenide fiber, the pump comprises a backward pump source, the first frequency generates a first wavelength that ranges from approximately 4 to approximately 5 micrometers, the second frequency generates a second wavelength that ranges from approximately 1.90 to approximately 2.3 micrometers, the mid-infrared cascading fiber laser device having a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror and a graphene nonlinear optical saturable absorber, a method comprising:
generating an input signal wave having approximately the first wavelength and providing the input signal wave to the fiber that is configured to transition from an upper energy level to an intermediate energy level to generate a first output having a wavelength of approximately the first wavelength and the transition from the intermediate energy level to a lower energy level to generate a second output having approximately the first wavelength in response to the input signal wave;
pumping the fiber with a pump wave having approximately the second wavelength, to cause a transition from the first energy level to the second energy level, and to output an output wave in response thereto, the output wave having approximately the first wavelength;
wherein generating the input signal wave having approximately the first wavelength and providing the input signal wave to the fiber comprises providing the input signal wave to a Pr 3+ -doped chalcogenide fiber;
appending a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror to the fiber;
appending a nonlinear optical saturable absorber to the fiber; and
appending a graphene nonlinear optical saturable absorber to the fiber.

Assignees

• Univ Baylor
• Univ Maryland

Inventors

• Hu Jonathan
• Menyuk Curtis R

Classifications

• H01S3/1118

  Semiconductor saturable absorbers, e.g. semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors [SESAMs]; Solid-state saturable absorbers, e.g. carbon nanotube [CNT] based · CPC title

• H01S2303/00

  Pumping wavelength · CPC title

• H01S3/1613

  praseodymium · CPC title

• H01S3/094092

  Upconversion pumping · CPC title

• H01S3/108

  using non-linear optical devices, e.g. exhibiting Brillouin or Raman scattering {(mode locking using a non-linear element H01S3/1112)} · CPC title