Design of Er3+-doped chalcogenide glass laser for MID-IR application

Abstract The feasibility of a photonic crystal fiber laser (PCF laser), made of a novel Er 3+ -doped chalcogenide glass and operating at the wavelength λ s = 4.5 μm is investigated. The design is performed on the basis of spectroscopic and optical parameters measured on a fabricated Er 3+ -doped Ga 5 Ge 20 Sb 10 S 65 chalcogenide bulk sample. The simulations have been performed by employing a home made numerical code that solves the multilevel rate equations and the power propagation equations via a Runge-Kutta iterative method. The numerical results indicate that a laser exhibiting slope efficiency close to the maximum theoretical one and a wide tunability in the wavelengths range where the atmosphere is transparent can be obtained.