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Pulsed laser deposited crystalline optical waveguides for thin-film lasing devices

Pulsed laser deposited crystalline optical waveguides for thin-film lasing devices
Pulsed laser deposited crystalline optical waveguides for thin-film lasing devices
We have used the technique of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) to grow doped crystalline films of garnets (YAG) and sesquioxdes (Y2O3, Sc2O3, and Lu2O3) for application as optically-pumped waveguide lasers. For the sesquioxides in particular, PLD offers a real advantage in terms of the ~1100K growth temperature required to grow crystalline thin films in comparison to ~2750K required to grow bulk crystals. We can grow these materials at the rate of ~4 µm per hour, on cheap and readily available single-crystal YAG substrates, which allows rapid production of waveguide samples of the ~10-20 µm thickness required for efficient pumping via high-power diode lasers.

The sesquioxide films grow preferentially in the (222) crystal orientation, and although there is an excellent lattice match to the (100) oriented YAG substrates, the four-fold symmetry associated with the (222) growth direction can lead to the presence of domain boundary problems that contribute to an undesirable optical loss within these waveguide hosts. In contrast the garnet hosts experience ideal epitaxial growth (i.e. YAG films grown on YAG substrates) where the presence of the dopant lasing ion produces the necessary refractive index requirement for waveguide operation.

We will discuss the range of lasing results we have achieved so far, which includes c.w. lasing within single waveguide films, capped layers and multilayer structures where the doped lasing layer has been grown within a 3-layer sandwich structure [1,2]. We will also describe results where a single layer of graphene has been deposited on either the output coupler mirror, or on the top surface of the guide, to produce pulsed laser output in q-switched mode [3-4]. Since these lasing waveguides are optically pumped by diode lasers, it is important to design these guiding structures to ensure efficient operation in terms of low threshold and high slope efficiency. Details will be given on optimum waveguide design as well as our strategy on further reduction of optical propagation losses.
Eason, R.W.
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Mackenzie, J.I.
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Shepherd, David
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Parsonage, Tina
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Beecher, Stephen J.
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Hua, Ping
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Grant-Jacob, James
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Eason, R.W.
e38684c3-d18c-41b9-a4aa-def67283b020
Mackenzie, J.I.
1d82c826-fdbf-425b-ac04-be43ccf12008
Shepherd, David
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Parsonage, Tina
652160d8-72de-4846-a644-e9de62276706
Beecher, Stephen J.
b3664adc-d6b5-4a5a-a09a-8e1415c6d3f5
Hua, Ping
92fa76e2-970b-45f5-a459-d9f95e735303
Grant-Jacob, James
c5d144d8-3c43-4195-8e80-edd96bfda91b

Eason, R.W., Mackenzie, J.I., Shepherd, David, Parsonage, Tina, Beecher, Stephen J., Hua, Ping and Grant-Jacob, James (2016) Pulsed laser deposited crystalline optical waveguides for thin-film lasing devices. International High Power Laser Ablation and Directed Energy Conference, , Santa Fe, United States. 04 - 07 Apr 2016. 1 pp .

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

We have used the technique of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) to grow doped crystalline films of garnets (YAG) and sesquioxdes (Y2O3, Sc2O3, and Lu2O3) for application as optically-pumped waveguide lasers. For the sesquioxides in particular, PLD offers a real advantage in terms of the ~1100K growth temperature required to grow crystalline thin films in comparison to ~2750K required to grow bulk crystals. We can grow these materials at the rate of ~4 µm per hour, on cheap and readily available single-crystal YAG substrates, which allows rapid production of waveguide samples of the ~10-20 µm thickness required for efficient pumping via high-power diode lasers.

The sesquioxide films grow preferentially in the (222) crystal orientation, and although there is an excellent lattice match to the (100) oriented YAG substrates, the four-fold symmetry associated with the (222) growth direction can lead to the presence of domain boundary problems that contribute to an undesirable optical loss within these waveguide hosts. In contrast the garnet hosts experience ideal epitaxial growth (i.e. YAG films grown on YAG substrates) where the presence of the dopant lasing ion produces the necessary refractive index requirement for waveguide operation.

We will discuss the range of lasing results we have achieved so far, which includes c.w. lasing within single waveguide films, capped layers and multilayer structures where the doped lasing layer has been grown within a 3-layer sandwich structure [1,2]. We will also describe results where a single layer of graphene has been deposited on either the output coupler mirror, or on the top surface of the guide, to produce pulsed laser output in q-switched mode [3-4]. Since these lasing waveguides are optically pumped by diode lasers, it is important to design these guiding structures to ensure efficient operation in terms of low threshold and high slope efficiency. Details will be given on optimum waveguide design as well as our strategy on further reduction of optical propagation losses.

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Published date: 2016
Venue - Dates: International High Power Laser Ablation and Directed Energy Conference, , Santa Fe, United States, 2016-04-04 - 2016-04-07
Organisations: Optoelectronics Research Centre

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 381840
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/381840
PURE UUID: ab49233c-8b91-443d-94db-95714a89e8af
ORCID for R.W. Eason: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9704-2204
ORCID for J.I. Mackenzie: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3355-6051
ORCID for David Shepherd: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4561-8184
ORCID for James Grant-Jacob: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4270-4247

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Date deposited: 23 Sep 2015 10:25
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:37

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Contributors

Author: R.W. Eason ORCID iD
Author: J.I. Mackenzie ORCID iD
Author: David Shepherd ORCID iD
Author: Tina Parsonage
Author: Stephen J. Beecher
Author: Ping Hua

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