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Extruded suspended core fibers from lanthanum-aluminum-silicate glass
We report the use of the extrusion technique at highest temperatures to date (975 °C-1000 °C) for the fabrication of suspended core fibers (SCFs) from glass with molar composition 65 SiO2-20 Al2O3-15 La2O3 (SAL65). Through adjusting die design and fabrication conditions, extruded preforms for fibers with two different core sizes (1.2 µm and 3.1 µm) were successfully produced. Cross-sectional microstructure and material loss of these fibers highlight the potential of the extrusion technique for fabrication of microstructured optical fibers from glasses with high softening temperature and thus high thermal and mechanical stability. © 2020. All rights reserved.
Impact of rare earth doping on the luminescence of lanthanum aluminum silicate glasses for radiation sensing
Large core soft glass fibers have been demonstrated to be promising candidates as intrinsic fiber sensors for radiation detection and dosimetry applications. Doping with rare earth ions enhanced their radiation sensitivity. SiO2-Al2O3-La2O3 (SAL) glasses offer easy fabrication of large core fibers with high rare earth concentration and higher mechanical strength than soft glasses. This paper evaluates the suitability of the SAL glass type for radiation dosimetry based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) via a comprehensive investigation of the spectroscopic and dosimetric properties of undoped and differently rare earth doped bulk SAL glass samples. Due to the low intensity of the rare earth luminescence peaks in the 250–400 nm OSL detection range, the OSL response for all the SAL glasses is not caused by the rare earth ions but by radiation-induced defects that act as intrinsic centers for the recombination of electrons and holes produced by the ionizing radiation, trapped in fabrication induced defect centers, and then released via stimulation with 470 nm light. The rare earth ions interfere with these processes involving intrinsic centers. This dosimetric behavior of highly rare earth doped SAL glasses suggests that enhancement of OSL response requires lower rare earth concentrations and/or longer wavelength OSL detection range.
(INVITED)Tm:YAG crystal-derived double-clad fibers – A hybrid approach towards high gain and high efficiency Tm lasers
The hybrid approach of combining a Tm:YAG laser crystal with an amorphous fused silica tube is investigated to evaluate the suitability of the resulting crystal-derived fibers for efficient double-clad fiber lasers. The fabrication process and fiber properties of these Tm fibers are investigated, focusing on the dependence of the active fiber properties on the incorporated Tm3+ concentration. Crystal rods with different doping concentrations (TmxY1-x)3Al5O12 (x = 0.02, 0.05 and 0.08) were used as starting core material for fiber drawing. The investigated fibers are mechanically stable and result in a fairly homogenous and amorphous core glass with optical absorption and emission spectra that are similar to conventional Tm:Al doped silica fibers. Regarding laser properties with 790 nm cladding pumping, we could achieve a maximum slope efficiency of 47% with an output power of 4 W. The fiber laser results are compared to a conventionally fabricated double-clad Tm fiber prepared by Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition and solution doping. To the best of our knowledge, we demonstrate the highest laser output and the highest efficiency obtained from a Tm:YAG crystal-derived fiber.