Stimulated Brillouin scattering in SM ZBLAN fiber

Abstract ZBLAN fiber has been vastly investigated over the past decades since it has a broad wavelength transparent region. Therefore, to use it at its maximum potential in multiple applications such as in fiber lasers, amplifiers, laser cooling or infrared super continuum generation, it is important to know its intrinsic material properties. We have investigated stimulated Brillouin scattering in a single mode ZBLAN fiber, we believe for the first time, for crucial information on acousto-optic properties. A frequency shift of 7.76 GHz from the pump is observed and the Brillouin gain bandwidth is measured to be 38 MHz. We compared this data to a standard SMF-28 fiber and bulk ZBLAN. We calculate fundamental properties in the fiber such as phonon lifetime, attenuation and longitudinal velocity, the electrostrictive constant, the longitudinal elasto-optic Pockels coefficient and the maximum Brillouin gain constant.