Towards High-Power and -Efficiency ∼2.8 μm Lasing: Lightly-Erbium-Doped ZrF4 Fiber Laser Pumped at ∼1.7 μm

In this article, we demonstrate great potential of lightly-erbium(Er³⁺)-doped ZrF₄ fiber in efficient power scaling at ∼2.8 μm, when excited at ∼1.7 μm. Core-pumped by a random Raman fiber laser at 1.69 μm, the 1.5 mol.% Er³⁺-doped ZrF₄ fiber in a F-P cavity has experimentally yielded an output power of >6 W at 2.783 μm with a slope efficiency of up to 58.4% (with respect to the absorbed pump), close to its Stokes limit of 60.7% (1.69/2.783). To our knowledge, this is the highest efficiency of Er³⁺-doped ZrF₄ fiber lasers in the mid-infrared. Further power scaling is only limited by the current pump power. Based on the validated numerical model, the dominant role of the excited state absorption (ESA) process (i.e., $^4{\mathrm{I}}_{13/2}{ \to }^4{\mathrm{I}}_{9/2}$) in exciting efficient ∼2.8 μm laser has been highlighted, and the resonant ground state absorption process (i.e., $^4{\mathrm{I}}_{15/2}{ \to }^4{\mathrm{I}}_{13/2}$) is also essential. The simulation results indicate that the pump wavelength closer to the ESA peak can yield a higher slope efficiency. In addition, heat load analyses via numerical modeling reveals that the $^4{\mathrm{I}}_{9/2}{ \to }^4{\mathrm{I}}_{11/2}$ multiphonon relaxation is the main heat source of the system. By taking fiber optical damage limit into account simultaneously, a high-power lightly-Er³⁺-doped ZrF₄ fiber laser arrangement has been proposed, which theoretically enables 100-W-class output under a slope efficiency of >50% and a relatively low heat load.