Mid-Infrared Supercontinuum Laser System and its Biomedical Applications.

A mid-infrared supercontinuum (SC) laser system is developed, which provides a continuous spectrum from ~0.8 to ~4.5 μm and is pumped by amplified nanosecond laser diode pulses. The SC laser uses ZBLAN (ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-AlF3-NaF) fluoride fibers. The SC light source is all-fiber-integrated with no moving parts, operates at room temperature, and eliminates the need of mode-locked lasers. The time-averaged power of the SC is scalable up to 10.5 W by amplifying the pump pulses using cladding-pumped erbium/ytterbium co-doped fiber power amplifiers. SC has also been generated in silica fibers with spectrum extending to ~3 μm and an average power up to 5.3 W. The SC laser system comprises an all-fiber-spliced high power pump laser system followed by nonlinear optical generation fibers, i.e. ZBLAN and silica fibers. The SC generation is initiated by breaking up the nanosecond diode pulses into femtosecond pulses through modulation instability, and the spectrum is then broadened through the interplay of self-phase modulation, parametric four-wave mixing, and stimulated Raman scattering. Theoretical simulations have been carried out to study the SC generation mechanism by numerically solving the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The SC long wavelength edge is limited by the intrinsic fiber material absorption, i.e. ~3 μm in silica fibers and ~4.5 μm in ZBLAN fibers, respectively. Mid-infrared absorption spectroscopy of the constituents of normal artery, e.g. endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells, and atherosclerotic plaques, e.g. adipose tissue, macrophages and foam cells, and selective ablation of lipid-rich tissues have also been demonstrated using the SC laser system.Ph.D.Electrical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62250/1/caxia_1.pd

Mid-infrared supercontinuum generation to 4.5 microm in ZBLAN fluoride fibers by nanosecond diode pumping.

International audienceA mid-infrared supercontinuum (SC) is generated in ZBLAN (ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-AlF3-NaF...) fluoride fibers from amplified nanosecond laser diode pulses with a continuous spectrum from approximately 0.8 microm to beyond 4.5 microm. The SC has an average power of approximately 23 mW, a pump-to-SC power conversion efficiency exceeding 50%, and a spectral power density of approximately -20 dBm/nm over a large fraction of the spectrum. The SC generation is initiated by the breakup of nanosecond laser diode pulses into femtosecond pulses through modulation instability, and the spectrum is then broadened primarily through fiber nonlinearities in approximately 2-7 m lengths of ZBLAN fiber. The SC long-wavelength edge is consistent with the intrinsic ZBLAN material absorption

Power scalable mid-infrared supercontinuum generation in ZBLAN fluoride fibers with up to 1.3 watts time-averaged power.

International audienceMid-infrared supercontinuum (SC) extending to ~4.0 mum is generated with 1.3 W time-averaged power, the highest power to our knowledge, in ZBLAN (ZrF(4)-BaF(2)-LaF(3)-AlF(3)-NaF...) fluoride fiber by using cladding-pumped fiber amplifiers and modulated laser diode pulses. We demonstrate the scalability of the SC average power by varying the pump pulse repetition rate while maintaining the similar peak power. Simulation results obtained by solving the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation show that the long wavelength edge of the SC is primarily determined by the peak pump power in the ZBLAN fiber