Activation of oxygen molecules by 1070 nm laser radiation in aerated solvents.

Population of the chemically active singlet 1Δg(0) state of molecular oxygen occurring due to direct laser excitation of the 1Δg(1)←3Σg-(0) transition has been observed for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, in oxygen molecules dissolved in organic solvents saturated with air under natural conditions (room temperature and normal atmospheric pressure). The data were obtained in 1 cm spectrophotometric cells due to the application of a set of high-power IR fiber and diode lasers. The rate of laser generation of the singlet (1Δg(0)) states in oxygen molecules was monitored by a chemical trapping method. It was found that the action spectra of singlet oxygen generation have one distinct band with a maximum at 1070 nm and half-width of ∼10nm. The absorption coefficients at 1070 nm were shown to be 100-110-fold lower than those at the main oxygen absorption peak (1273 nm) corresponding to the 1Δg(0)←3Σg-(0) transition. Under excitation at 810-1061 nm, very low trapping rates were observed, which did not depend on excitation wavelengths being probably caused by thermal effects. There was no reliable increase in the trapping rate under irradiation at 810 and 920 nm corresponding to the 1Δg(2,3)←3Σg-(0) transitions. This fact suggests that absorbance corresponding to these transitions is much lower than that at 1070 nm. The obtained results are important for both spectroscopy of oxygen and mechanistic studies of biological and therapeutic action of laser radiation.

Measurement of high-birefringent spun fiber parameters using short-length fiber Bragg gratings.

Spectral polarization characteristics of short-length fiber Bragg gratings UV-written in a highly-birefringent spun-fiber have been investigated. Based on the analysis of the characteristics the technique for measuring the built-in linear phase birefringence as well as the spin period in this fiber type has been suggested. In this method the birefringence dispersion is excluded and therefore the built-in linear phase birefringence can be measured with an improved accuracy.

Watt-level, continuous-wave bismuth-doped all-fiber laser operating at 1.7 µm.

A watt-level all-fiber laser radiating at the wavelength of 1.7 µm in a continuous-wave regime was developed by using bismuth-doped high-germania optical fiber. A maximum slope efficiency of 33% with respect to the launched pump power was achieved. The dependencies of the slope efficiencies of bismuth-doped fiber laser versus the length of active fiber and reflectivity of the output mirror were obtained.

High-beam quality, high-efficiency laser based on fiber with heavily Yb(3+)-doped phosphate core and silica cladding.

We have fabricated and tested a composite fiber with an Yb(3+)-doped phosphate glass core and silica cladding. Oscillation with a slope efficiency of 74% was achieved using core pumping at 976 nm with fiber lengths of 48-90 mm in a simple laser configuration, where the cavity was formed by a high-reflectivity Bragg grating and the cleaved fiber end. The measured M(2) factors were as low as 1.05-1.22 even though the fiber was multimode at the lasing wavelength.

Mid-infrared Raman-soliton continuum pumped by a nanotube-mode-locked sub-picosecond Tm-doped MOPFA.

We demonstrate a mid-infrared Raman-soliton continuum extending from 1.9 to 3 µm in a highly germanium-doped silica-clad fiber, pumped by a nanotube mode-locked thulium-doped fiber system, delivering 12 kW sub-picosecond pulses at 1.95 µm. This simple and robust source of light covers a portion of the atmospheric transmission window.

75 W 40% efficiency single-mode all-fiber erbium-doped laser cladding pumped at 976 nm.

Optimization of Yb-free Er-doped fiber for lasers and amplifiers cladding pumped at 976 nm was performed in this Letter. The single-mode fiber design includes an increased core diameter of 34 µm and properly chosen erbium and co-dopant concentrations. We demonstrate an all-fiber high power laser and power amplifier based on this fiber with the record slope efficiency of 40%. To the best of our knowledge, the achieved output power of 75 W is the highest power reported for such lasers.

Bismuth-doped silica-based fiber lasers operating between 1389 and 1538 nm with output power of up to 22 W.

An efficient CW bismuth fiber laser operating around 1.46 µm with an efficiency of >50% and an output power of >20 W has been developed on a bismuth-doped GeO(2)-SiO(2) fiber. The laser demonstrates weak dependence of the output power on temperature in comparison with bismuth lasers operating near 1.15 and 1.3 µm. The laser generation has been obtained in the range 1.39 to 1.54 µm. The first linearly polarized bismuth-doped fiber laser at 1.46 µm based on a PANDA-type fiber has been demonstrated.

Furnace chemical vapor deposition bismuth-doped silica-core holey fiber.

A bismuth-doped-pure-silica holey fiber is fabricated using a fiber preform made by the furnace chemical vapor deposition method. The spectroscopic properties of the fiber are studied, and laser action at λ=1450 nm with an efficiency of 12% is demonstrated.

[Cleavage of DNA fragments induced by UV nanosecond laser excitation at 193 nm].

The cleavage of dsDNA fragments in aqueous solution after irradiation with UV laser pulses at 193 nm has been studied. Samples were investigated using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The intensity of damage of particular phosphodiester bond after hot alkali treatment was shown to depend on the base pair sequence. It was established that the probability of cleavage is twice higher for sites of DNA containing two or more successively running guanine residues. A possible mechanism of damage to the DNA molecule connected with the migration of holes along the helix is discussed.

Optical amplification in 1430-1495 nm range and laser action in Bi-doped fibers.

An emission band with a maximum at 1430 nm and a FWHM of 100 nm was observed in a Bi-doped fiber under core-pumping in the 1340- 1370 nm wavelength range. Net gain in 1430-1490 nm and laser action in 1443-1459 nm wavelength range in the Bi-doped aluminosilicate fiber have been demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge.

2.1 microm continuous-wave Raman laser in GeO2 fiber.

We report 33% efficient generation of the first Stokes in a high-concentration GeO(2) fiber Raman laser pumped by a 22 W thulium-doped fiber laser. An output power of 4.6 W at 2.105 microm is demonstrated.

Increased solubility of molecular hydrogen in UV-exposed germanosilicate fibers.

Spectral properties of photoinduced fiber Bragg gratings written in germanosilicate fibers and subjected to hydrogen loading at a pressure of 150-170 MPa have been studied. It was observed, for the first time to our knowledge, that hydrogen dissolution in the glass network at such high pressures leads not only to a Bragg wavelength shift but also to a considerable alteration of the grating reflectivity. The relative magnitude of the latter effect is independent of the dissolved hydrogen concentration and is defined mainly by the core glass properties and the UV-irradiation conditions. The alteration of the grating reflectivity observed experimentally is explained by increased solubility of molecular hydrogen in UV-exposed germanosilicate glass.

Tunable single-frequency diode laser at wavelength lambda = 1.645 microm for methane concentration measurements.

This paper deals with the development of a novel single-frequency tunable diode laser with fiber-optic output for gas-analysis applications. The approach we propose is a convenient, simple and cheap solution for spectroscopy of single absorption lines of any gases having absorption bands in the optical fiber transparency window (0.7 microm/1.7 microm). The presence of fiber-optic output is an additional advantage for remote sensing applications. The laser operation is demonstrated as applied to R7 line of 2 nu(3) methane absorption band at lambda = 1.645 microm. The mode-hop-free tuning range of 35 GHz (1.2 cm(-1)) has been achieved.

Germania-glass-core silica-glass-cladding modified chemical-vapor deposition optical fibers: optical losses, photorefractivity, and Raman amplification.

Germania-glass-core silica-glass-cladding single-mode fibers (deltan as great as 0.143) with a minimum loss of 20 dB/km at 1.85 microm were fabricated by modified chemical-vapor deposition. The fibers exhibit strong photorefractivity, with type IIa index modulation of 2 x 10(-3). A Raman gain of 300 dB/(kmW) was determined at 1.12 microm. Only 3 m of such fibers is sufficient for constructing the 10-W Raman laser at 1.12 microm with a 13-W pump at 1.07 microm.

Three-cascaded 1407-nm Raman laser based on phosphorus-doped silica fiber.

We report a laser-diode-pumped 1407-nm Raman fiber laser with an output power of 1 W. In this three-cascaded cw Raman laser, based on a single active phosphorus-doped silica fiber, for the first time to the authors' knowledge successive generation of Stokes components of essentially different frequency shifts (1330 and 490cm(-1)) has been realized. These Stokes components are associated with both constituents (P(2)O(5) and SiO(2)) of the fiber core glass.

Laser-diode-pumped phosphosilicate-fiber Raman laser with an output power of 1 W at 1.48 mum.

An all-fiber 1.48-mum generator based on a laser-diode-pumped Yb-doped double-clad laser and a cascaded Raman wavelength converter has been developed. Second-order Raman Stokes radiation was generated in a phosphosilicate-fiber resonator formed by two pairs of Bragg gratings. A slope efficiency of the Raman converter of 48% with respect to the power emitted by the double-clad Yb laser has been achieved. We obtained an output power of 1 W at a slope efficiency of 34% with respect to the laser-diode array power, with a total optical-to-optical efficiency of 23%.

Optical low-coherence reflectometry characterization of cladding modes excited by long-period fiber gratings.

The group refractive-index difference of cladding modes excited by a long-period fiber grating is characterized by use of the technique of optical low-coherence reflectometry, with a precision of <10(-4) . Very good agreement between theoretical and experimental results is demonstrated.

Refractive-index gratings written by near-ultraviolet radiation.

This is the first report, to our knowledge, of refractive-index grating side writing in 10 mol.% GeO(2)-doped fiber by the near-UV light of a cw Ar(+) laser (333-364 nm). An induced-index magnitude as large as 1.9 x 10(-4) at 1.7x10(5) W/cm(2) UV power density has been achieved. The observed gratings have exhibited the same temperature stability as gratings written by a KrF excimer laser (248 nm).