Sensitized erbium fiber optical amplifier and source
DCFirst Claim
1. A silicic optical fiber for use in optical amplifiers and sources, comprising:
- a concentration of erbium ions for providing radiation when the quantum energy level of said erbium ions decays from 4 I13/2 metastable state to the 4 I15/2 ground level state;
a concentration of ytterbium ions for absorbing radiation as the quantum energy level of said ytterbium ions is excited from a thermally excited sub-level of the 2 F7/2 state to the 2 F5/2 metastable state and for exciting the quantum energy level of said erbium ions from the 4 I15/2 ground level state to the 4 I11/2 state when the quantum energy level of said ytterbium ions decays from the 2 F5/2 state back to the 2 F7/2 state; and
a concentration of phosphate for reducing the decay time of the erbium ion quantum energy level from the 4 I11/2 state to the 4 I13/2 state to reduce back transfer of energy from said erbium ions to said ytterbium ions.
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Abstract
An optical fiber for amplifying or sourcing a light signal in a single transverse mode. The fiber comprises a host glass doped with erbium (Er) and a sensitizer such as ytterbium (Yb) or iron (Fe). Preferably the host glass is doped silicic glass (e.g., phosphate or borate doped). Electrical energy is provided to diode lasers that pump the Nd laser rod, which in turn pumps the fiber. Such a configuration for pumping the fiber provides a high energy transfer from the diodes to the Nd laser rod, which in turn enables high pumping powers to be coupled into the single-mode co-doped fiber. Based on the amplification characteristics of the co-doped fiber and the efficient coupling of power from the laser diodes, the amplifier provides power and small signal gains comparable to the best observed, while requiring only conventional and readily available diode-based pump sources.
97 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A silicic optical fiber for use in optical amplifiers and sources, comprising:
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a concentration of erbium ions for providing radiation when the quantum energy level of said erbium ions decays from 4 I13/2 metastable state to the 4 I15/2 ground level state; a concentration of ytterbium ions for absorbing radiation as the quantum energy level of said ytterbium ions is excited from a thermally excited sub-level of the 2 F7/2 state to the 2 F5/2 metastable state and for exciting the quantum energy level of said erbium ions from the 4 I15/2 ground level state to the 4 I11/2 state when the quantum energy level of said ytterbium ions decays from the 2 F5/2 state back to the 2 F7/2 state; and a concentration of phosphate for reducing the decay time of the erbium ion quantum energy level from the 4 I11/2 state to the 4 I13/2 state to reduce back transfer of energy from said erbium ions to said ytterbium ions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A silica optical fiber for use in optical amplifiers and sources, comprising:
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a concentration of erbium ions in the range of 100 to 10,000 ppm for providing radiation when the quantum energy level of said erbium ions decays from the 4 I13/2 metastable state to the 4 I15/2 ground level state; a concentration of ytterbium ions in the range of 1,000 to 100,000 for absorbing radiation as the quantum energy level of said ytterbium ions is excited from a thermally excited sub-level of the 2 F7/2 state to the 2 F5/2 metastable state and for exciting the quantum energy level of said erbium ions from the 4 I15/2 ground level state to the 4 I11/2 state when the quantum energy level of said ytterbium ions decays from the 2 F5/2 state back to the 2 F7/2 state; and a concentration of phosphate In the range of 2 to 25 mole percent for reducing the decay time of the erbium ion quantum energy level from the 4 I11/2 state to the 4 I13/2 state to reduce back transfer of energy from said erbium ions to said ytterbium ions. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A silicic optical fiber for use in optical amplifiers and sources, comprising:
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a concentration of approximately 1,000 ppm erbium ions for providing radiation when the quantum energy level of said erbium ions decays from the 4 I13/2 metastable state to the 4 I15/2 ground level state; a concentration of approximately 30,000 ytterbium ions for absorbing radiation as the quantum energy level of said ytterbium ions is excited from a thermally excited sub-level of the 2 I7/2 state to the 2 F5/2 metastable state and for exciting the quantum energy level of said erbium ions from the 4 I15/2 ground level state to the 4 I11/2 state when the quantum energy level of said ytterbium ions decays from the 2 F5/2 state back to the 2 F7/2 state; a concentration of approximately 10 mole percent phosphate for reducing the decay time of the erbium ion quantum energy level from the 4 I11/2 state to the 4 I13/2 state to reduce back transfer of energy from said erbium ions to said ytterbium ions; and a concentration of alumina of no more than approximately 8 mole percent. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38)
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39. A silicic optical fiber for use in optical amplifiers and sources, comprising:
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a concentration of approximately 1,000 ppm erbium ions for providing radiation in the range of approximately 1500 to 1580 nm when the quantum energy level of said erbium ions decays from the 4 I13/2 metastable state to the 4 I15/2 ground level state; a concentration of approximately 30,000 ppm ytterbium ions for absorbing radiation in the range of approximately 1030 to 1070 nm as the quantum energy level of said ytterbium ions is excited from a thermally excited sub-level of the 2 F7/2 state to the 2 F5/2 metastable state and for exciting the quantum energy level of said erbium ions from the 4 I15/2 ground level state to the 4 I11/2 state when the quantum energy level of said ytterbium ions decays from the 2 F5/2 state back to the 2 F7/2 state; a concentration of approximately 10 mole percent phosphate for reducing the decay time of the erbium ion quantum energy level from the 4 I11/2 state to the 4 I13/2 state to reduce back transfer of energy from said erbium ions to said ytterbium ions; and a concentration of no more than approximately 5 mole percent alumina for improving the transfer of energy from said ytterbium ions to said erbium ions.
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Specification