Optical amplifier and laser incorporating such an amplifier

摘要

A high-gain optical amplifier for a wave to be amplified at a wavelength referred to as the emission wavelength, includes: optical pumping elements (4) producing a pump wave at a wavelength referred to as the pump wavelength; a solid amplifying medium (1) that is doped with active ions, the solid amplifying medium being capable of emitting laser radiation at the emission wavelength when the medium is pumped by the pumping elements; cooling elements (2) capable of cooling the solid amplifying medium to a temperature of no higher than 250 Kelvin; and optical multiplexing elements capable of coupling together the pump wave and the wave to be amplified in the amplifying medium. The amplifying medium has Stark sublevels contained within a spectral domain ranging over less than 200 cm−1 (approximately 20 nm, when expressed in wavelength). A laser including a resonant optical cavity and an amplifier are also described.

主权项

1. A high-gain optical amplifier for a wave to be amplified at a wavelength referred to as the emission wavelength, comprising:
means for optical pumping producing a pump wave at a wavelength referred to as the pump wavelength; a solid amplifying medium that is doped with ytterbium active ions, said solid amplifying medium being capable of emitting laser radiation at an emission wavelength when pumped by said pumping means; means for cooling capable of cooling said solid amplifying medium; and means for optical multiplexing capable of coupling together the pump wave and the wave to be amplified in the amplifying medium; wherein: the solid amplifying medium is cooled to a temperature lower than 150° K, the solid amplifying medium is a ytterbium-doped fluoride, the solid amplifying medium has Stark sublevels contained within a spectral domain ranging over less than 200 cm−1 or about 20 nm when expressed in wavelength, the pump wavelength is between 980 and 990 nm, the emission wavelength is higher than 990 nm, and a quantum defect ρ of said amplifying medium is lower than 2%.