Solar-pumped fiber laser with transverse-excitation geometry

Taizo Masuda; Mitsuhiro Iyoda; Yuta Yasumatu; Tomohiro Yamashita; Kiyoto Sasaki; Masamori Endo

doi:10.1117/12.2288940

26 February 2018 Solar-pumped fiber laser with transverse-excitation geometry

Taizo Masuda, Mitsuhiro Iyoda, Yuta Yasumatu, Tomohiro Yamashita, Kiyoto Sasaki, Masamori Endo

Proceedings Volume 10512, Fiber Lasers XV: Technology and Systems; 105121J (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2288940
Event: SPIE LASE, 2018, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrate an extremely low-concentrated solar-pumped laser (SPL) that uses a transversely excited fiber laser geometry. To eliminate the need for precise solar tracking with an aggressive cooling system and to considerably increase the number of laser applications, low-concentration factors in SPLs are highly desired. We investigate the intrinsic low-loss property of SiO₂ optical fibers; this property can be used to compensate for the extremely low gain coefficient of the weakly-pumped active medium by sunlight. As part of the experimental setup, a 40-m long Nd³⁺-doped SiO2 fiber coil was packed in a ring-shaped chamber filled with a sensitizer solution; this solution functioned as a down-shifter. The dichroic top window of the chamber transmitted a wide range of sunlight and reflected the down-shifted photons, confining them to the highly-reflective chamber until they were absorbed by the Nd³⁺ ions in the active fiber. We demonstrated a lasing threshold that is 10 times the concentration of natural sunlight and two orders of magnitude smaller than that of conventional SPLs.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Taizo Masuda, Mitsuhiro Iyoda, Yuta Yasumatu, Tomohiro Yamashita, Kiyoto Sasaki, and Masamori Endo "Solar-pumped fiber laser with transverse-excitation geometry", Proc. SPIE 10512, Fiber Lasers XV: Technology and Systems, 105121J (26 February 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2288940

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