Mid-infrared fluoride fiber lasers in multiple cascade operation

CW fiber laser cascades in an Er/sup 3+/-doped fluorozirconate fiber operating simultaneously at 2.7 μm/1.55 μm or at 3.45 μm/2.7 μm/1.55 μm pumped around 650 nm are reported. Output powers of nearly 20 mW at 1.55 μm and 1.2 mW around 2.7 μm were obtained with a nonoptimized experimental setup for the 2.7 μm/1.55 μm cascade. At 1.55 μm a laser efficiency of 5% was achieved. By varying the parameters of the experimental setup, additional effective simultaneous laser action at 3.45 μm was demonstrated.