1.32 µm mode-locked bismuth-doped fiber laser operating in anomalous and normal dispersion regimes.

We demonstrate a 1.32 µm mode-locked bismuth fiber laser operating in both anomalous and normal dispersion regimes. In anomalous dispersion regime, achieved by using 13 nm/cm linearly chirped fiber Bragg grating, the laser exhibits multiple soliton operation with pulse duration of 2.51 ps. With the net normal cavity dispersion, the single-pulse operation with higher power has been obtained by avoiding the limitations generic to conservative soliton systems.

Anti-Stokes luminescence in bismuth-doped silica and germania-based fibers.

Luminescence excitation spectra of active centers in bismuth-doped vitreous SiO(2) and vitreous GeO(2) optical fibers under the two-step excitation have been obtained for the first time. The results revealed only one bismuth-related IR active center formed in each of these fibers. The observed IR luminescence bands at 1430 nm (1650 nm) and 830 nm (950 nm), yellow-orange (red) band at 580 nm (655 nm), violet (blue) band at 420 nm (480 nm) belong to this bismuth-related active center in the vitreous SiO(2) (vitreous GeO(2)), correspondingly.

Fabrication of Bragg gratings in microstructured and step index Bi-SiO2 optical fibers using an ArF laser.

An ArF excimer laser was used to fabricate Bragg gratings in fibers with Bi-SiO(2) core and microstructured or F-doped claddings without fiber presensitization. Average and modulated refractive index changes of 2.7 × 10(-4) and 1.0 × 10(-4) were induced in pristine microstructured fiber while 1.0 × 10(-4) and 0.7 × 10(-4) were observed in the F-doped-cladding fiber. Fiber luminescence was also measured under 1064 nm pumping for both fibers. Photosensitivity and luminescence were compared to a Bi-Al(2)O(3)-SiO(2) core optical fiber.

Superfluorescent 1.44 µm bismuth-doped fiber source.

The first bismuth-doped superfluorescent fiber source (SFS) operating at 1.44 µm was developed. An SFS maximum output power in the double-pass backward configuration reached 82 mW with a fairly high efficiency of 31% at a pump wavelength of 1310 nm. The output spectrum is close to Gaussian shape with FWHM of ~25 nm.

Optical gain and laser generation in bismuth-doped silica fibers free of other dopants.

Luminescence emission and excitation spectra of bismuth-doped silica optical fibers free of other dopants have been obtained to construct an emission-excitation map in a wide wavelength range of 400-1600 nm. The main low-lying energy levels of the bismuth active centers in such fibers have been determined. For the first time (to our knowledge), optical gain and lasing have been obtained in such fibers. A gain of 8 dB has been achieved with a pump power of 340 mW, and a cw fiber laser emitting at 1460 nm with an output power of 40 mW and an efficiency of ≈3% has been created.

Luminescence and optical gain in Pb-doped silica-based optical fibers.

IR luminescence and optical gain in a Pb-doped fiber have been observed for the first time. Absorption, luminescence and pump on/pump off optical gain spectra, as well as luminescence decay time, have been measured in these fibers. Comparison of optical active center characteristics in Pb-doped and Bi-doped fibers of the same composition indicates an essential difference of optical active centers in these two types of fibers.

Bi-doped fiber lasers and amplifiers for a spectral region of 1300-1470 nm.

Bismuth-doped fiber lasers operating in the range 1300-1470 nm have been demonstrated for the first time, to our knowledge. It has been shown that Bi-doped alumina-free phosphogermanosilicate fibers reveal optical gain in a wavelength range of 1240-1485 nm with pumping at 1205, 1230, or 808 nm.

Bismuth activated alumosilicate optical fibers fabricated by surface-plasma chemical vapor deposition technology.

Plasma chemical technology is experimentally applied to the fabrication of a Bi-activated alumosilicate-core pure-silica-cladding fiber preform. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time this technology has been applied in this way. We measure gain efficiency at pumping by a 1058 nm wavelength Yb fiber laser in a piece of a newly obtained fiber 20 m in length within 100-1200 nm wavelengths band. The gain efficiency reaches as high as 0.2 dB/mW. Bi-activated alumosilicate-core pure-silica-cladding fiber that is not more than 12 m in length serves a basis for a 1 W output power fiber laser emitting at the wavelength of 1160 nm with 8% slope efficiency. We also measure the photoluminescence spectrum and kinetics of Bi centers responsible for laser emission under the excitation of 193 nm wavelength ArF laser pulses.

Destruction of silica fiber cladding by the fuse effect.

The phenomenon of destruction of silica fiber cladding by the fiber fuse effect has been observed for the first time to the authors' knowledge. Experiments on the optical discharge propagation along a fiber were conducted with fibers of decreased cladding thickness. The destruction of fiber cladding led to expansion of the optical discharge plasma and to a decrease of its density. This resulted in the termination of optical discharge propagation. The section of a fiber with decreased cladding thickness can act as a safety device to halt damage propagation.