Development of visible up-conversion fiber laser based on modified Silica glass host

1. Development of visible up-conversion fiber laser based on modified Silica glass host Project Update for Brain-Gain Malaysia Program Panel Site Visit By Hairul A. Abdul Rashid, Ph.D MMU 22nd December, 2010 .

2. Contents • Introduction • Physical Progress • Financial Progress • Corrective Actions • Requests

3. Introduction • Design, Fabricate and Characterize: • Visible wavelength • Fiber laser • Modified Silica Host • Under guidance of visiting scientist: • Dr. Mukul Chandra Paul, CGCRI, India • Collaboration: • TM R&D

4. Methodology • Development • Preform fabrication • Fiber drawing • Fiber laser setup • Characterization • Fiber dimensions • Emission/ Lasing properties

5. Fiber Design • Core composition: SiO2+Al2O3+Yb2O3+Pr2O3+ZrO2/Y2O3+F • Core diameter: 25μm • Inner cladding diameter: 200μm • Coating dia: 400±25μm • Core NA: 0.12 • Cladding NA: 0.45 - 0.49 • Pr and Yb doping level: 1.0 - 1.5 wt%

6. Updates • Preform Fabrication • MCVD is ready to run deposition • Not fully sintered • Recipe need to modify • Solution doping - doping of Pr3+ and Yb3+ into alumino-silicate glass modified with incorporation of ZrO2 and PbF2 or F of optical fibre preform. • Solution doping station: • Design complete • motor and pump ready • Preparing tubing

7. Set Up For Solution Doping Peristaltic Pump Motor Fabricated porous soot Drain Valve Dopant Solution

8. Updates • Fiber drawing • Milling of the preform into D-shaped inner cladding structure • Polishing • Resin coating for outer cladding • Fiber drawing • Drawing tower in UM is not ready (expected February 2011) • Fiber drawing will be done in CGCRI • Quotation ready

9. Updates • Fiber Laser setup • Lasing wavelength range:- Visible range (400-800nm) • Output Power range:- 0.01-0.1W • Pump configuration with other parameters:- Wavelength (800nm or 980 nm), Pump Power (1000mW)

10. Characterization Progress Schematic diagram of visible wavelength Pr3+ Doped fiber laser setup There will be three types of pump wavelength to be proposed for this project : 1064nm 800nm 980nm

11. Multimode laser diode Uncooled High Power Laser Diode Max Power (10W) High Power Laser Diode Driver (Controller) High Power Laser Detector

12. Laser Diode Characteristics Bookham 980nm Laser Diode Charactereristics at typical operating current (extrapolated) Bookham 980nm Laser Diode Charactereristics near threshold current

13. Updates • Characterization • Material study of Pr doped modified silica based glass structure using EPMA, SEM-EDX, XRD and TEM analyses • To be done in CGCRI • Quotation ready

14. Updates • Characterization • Geometrical and optical property of the fabricated fibres will be done through measurement of core diameter, inner cladding diameter, coating thickness and RI profile using Fibre Analyser along with optical loss by the spectral attenuation set-up. • Setup is ready

15. Physical Progress • Original Gantt Chart • Milestone #1 • Complete fabrication • June 2010 • Not achieved (yet)

16. Reasons • Milestone #1 not achieved • Dr. Mukul was involved in some industrial accident. • Currently recovering and undergoing physiotherapy • Late disbursement, October 2010

17. Corrective Actions • Necessary equipment and raw materials for fabrication is ready • Dr. Mukul’s trip to Malaysia in January 2011 • Hairul to visit Dr. Mukul (private) • In the mean time, our team is running several runs in the MCVD through his guidance over email. • Start earlier on other project activities: characterization

18. Physical Progress • Revised Gantt Chart • Revised Milestone • Milestone #1: March 2011 • Milestone #2: May 2011 • Milestone #3: August 2011

19. Request • Extension: 31st August, 2011 • Fiber drawing and characterization will be done in CGCRI • Team to visit CGCRI in March 2011 • Use existing budget since Dr. Mukul can spend only 2 months maximum

20. Financial Progress • Approved Project Allocation : RM_312,100_ • Year 1 ( 2010 ) : RM_246,600__ • Total Allocation Received To date : RM_246,600_ • Total Expenditure To date: RM_ 140,852.45 __or _57.12__% • Balance of Allocation To date : RM_ 105,747.55

21. APPENDIX

22. www.physics.unlv.edu/facilities.html Background • Visible laser light sources • Spectroscopy • Printing technology • Medical applications www.physics.unlv.edu/facilities.html

23. Background • Currently • air cooled ion lasers • frequency doubled solid-state lasers • Problem • high power consumption • complicated nonlinear parametrical processes • Up-conversion fiber lasers operating directly in the visible spectral range offer a simple alternative

24. Advantages • phases of the incident light = phase up-conversion light, not required • Lower cost, mature semiconductor laser as pump • Glass hosts as wave guides • increases the optical gain length • decreases the pumped power by the optical restriction effect • beam quality

25. Problem Definition • Up-conversion lasers based on glass fibers • high pump intensities over long lengths • laser threshold • silica glass unsuitable due to high phonon energies • cause strong multi-phonon transitions • lead to too short metastable level lifetimes.

26. Problem Definition • Alternatively, heavy-metal fluoride glasses (e.g. ZBLAN) • tends to be fragile and expensive

27. Solution • fabricate compact, mass-producible, high-power up-conversion visible wavelength fiber lasers • employs cheap, readily available IR semiconductor lasers • research required to identify suitable materials for host

28. Solution • Use Praseodymium (Pr) with Ytterbium (Yb) as a co-dopant • Emission occurs at multiple visible wavelengths including blue/green, green and red • Previous proof of high efficiency upconversion lasing in ZBLAN optical fibres • Use of a single wavelength pumping source when co-doped with Ytterbium (Yb). • The apparent lack of a photodarkening mechanism.

29. Modified Host • Fluoride and Tellurite hosts offer better quantum efficiencies – however properties are problematic, non-practical device. • Doping silica materials with Pr3+ or Yb3++Pr3+ • low fluorescence • high phonon quenching • Need for modified silica host

30. Objectives • Development of Pr3+ and Yb3++Pr3+ co-doped modified silica based glass host containing around 80-85mol% of SiO2 for use as cladding pump visible up-conversion fibre laser in blue, green and red regions.

31. Objectives • Optimization of the core composition of Pr3+ and Yb3+ doped silica glass based optical fibres to improve their lasing property from view point of material study and fibre design.

32. Objectives • Standardization of different process parameters during fabrication of preform, milling followed by polishing in the D shaped inner cladding structure and fibre drawing stage to get desired waveguide parameters of the fibres .

33. Objectives • Spectroscopy study of RE dope nano-crystallite fibre. • Evolution of the lasing property of the fabricated Pr3+ and Pr+Yb codoped cladding pump fibres.

34. Visiting Scientist • DR. MUKUL CHANDRA PAUL • Optical Communication Fiber Laboratory • Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute • Expertise - Fiber Optics, Material Science • CV attached

35. CGCRI support/ approval

36. Methodology • Development • Fabrication • Fiber Laser setup • Characterization • Fiber dimensions • Lasing properties

37. Proposed fiber A • Core composition: SiO2+Al2O3+Yb2O3+Pr2O3+ZrO2/Y2O3+F • Core Dia:- 20-25 micron • Inner cladding dia:- 200μm • Coating dia: 400±25μm • Core NA:- 0.12 ±0.01 • Cladding NA:- 0.45-0.49 • Pr and Yb doping level:- 1.0- 1.5 wt%

38. Proposed fiber B • Core composition: • SiO2+Al2O3+Yb2O3+Pr2O3+ZrO2+PbF2

39. Project Activities • Fabrication • Doping of Pr3+ and Yb3+ into alumino-silicate glass modified with incorporation of ZrO2 and PbF2 or F of optical fibrepreform. • Milling of the preform into D-shaped inner cladding structure • Polishing • Drawing of fibre

40. Project Activities • Fiber Laser setup • Lasing wavelength range:- Visible range (400-800nm) • Output Power range:- 0.01-0.1W • Pump configuration with other parameters:- Wavelength (800nm or 980 nm), Pump Power (1000mW)

41. Project Activities • Characterization • Material study of Pr doped modified silica based glass structure using EPMA, SEM-EDX, XRD and TEM analyses • Geometrical and optical property of the fabricated fibres will be done through measurement of core diameter, inner cladding diameter , coating thickness and RI profile using FibreAnalyser along with optical loss by the spectral attenuation set-up.

42. Pr+Yb codoped D shaped low RI coated fiber Characterization • Study of lasing property of Pr3+ and Pr3++Yb3+ doped fibers • Pumped by 980 nm laser

43. Milestones

44. Gantt Chart

45. Project Cost

46. Top-up Project Cost • RO Cost = RM 24,000 • Cost related to fabrication RM204,300 • Cost related to characterization RM29,000

47. Benefits

48. Current Facilities • Photonics Lab, TM R&D • Head of Lab, Dr. Abdul Aziz Mat Hassan • Fabrication • MCVD • Quartz Etcher • Preform Profiler

49. Lathe

50. Bubbler