High-Energy Q-Switched Tm\u3csup\u3e3+\u3c/sup\u3e-Doped Polarization Maintaining Silica Fiber Laser

Abstract

We report the performance of an actively Q-switched Tm fiber laser system. The laser was stabilized to sub-nanometer spectral width using each of two feedback elements: a blazed reflection grating and a volume Bragg grating. Maximum pulse energy using the reflection grating was 325 μJ pulses at 1992 nm (\u3c 200 pm width) with a 125 ns duration at a 20 kHz repetition rate. Maximum pulse energy using the volume Bragg grating was 225 μJ pulses at 2052 nm (\u3c200 pm width) with a 200 ns duration also at 20 kHz. We also report the laser\u27s performance as an ablation source for LIBS experiments on copper. © 2010 Copyright SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering