In persistent luminescence materials, energy can be stored by controlled traps/defects under brief irradiation, namely few minutes under various wavelengths ranging from X-rays to natural daylight. This energy is then released at room temperature for several hours via light emission once the excitation is stopped. The paper is focused on the analysis of the persistent luminescence properties on single crystals of Ce3+ and Cr3+ co-doped gadolinium-yttrium-aluminum-gallium garnets of general formula Y3-xGdxAl2Ga3O12 (YGAGG), to promote new applications of the persistent materials. Extending the range of excitation by using X-rays excitation is also proposed.
Absorption, stimulated-emission and gain cross-sections are determined for 3 at.% Tm:CaGdAlO4. This crystal is employed in a microchip laser diode-pumped at 802 nm. In the continuous-wave (CW) regime, this laser generates 1.16 W at 1883-1893 nm with a slope efficiency of 32% with respect to the absorbed pump power. Using a special "bandpass" output coupler, vibronic CW laser operation up to 2043 nm is achieved. For passive Q-switching of the Tm:CaGdAlO4 laser-saturable absorbers (SAs) based on CVD-grown graphene and randomly-oriented arc-discharge single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in a PMMA film. The SWCNT-SA demonstrates superior performance. The laser produced a maximum average output power of 245 mW at 1844 nm with a slope efficiency of 8%. The latter corresponds to a pulse energy and duration of 6 μJ and 138 ns, respectively, at a repetition rate of 41 kHz. Using the graphene-SA, 2.8 μJ, 490 ns pulses are obtained at a repetition rate of 86 kHz.
The development of materials showing efficient red-emitting persistent luminescence is still an ongoing challenge. As it shows red emission, around 613 nm, Pr3+ remains a good candidate for such application. Indeed, the transition from its 1D2 excited state to its 3H4 ground state is responsible of the red emission. In this paper the effect of Na substitution in NaNbO3:Pr3+ by K or Li cations in term of Metal-to-Metal Charge Transfer (MMCT) band position and its possible effect on persistent luminescence properties were investigated. MMCT energy shows increasing tendency with increasing average distance between A site (A = Li, Na, K, Pr) of perovskite. The most intense (efficient) photoluminescence was observed under MMCT excitation in Li0.03Na0.97NbO3:Pr3+. The relaxation pathways were discussed based on the configurational coordinate model.
Measurements of the optic axis dispersion in double tungstate crystals have been performed from 400 nm to 1.58 μm. The measurements have been performed on KGdW, Nd-doped KGdW and Ho-doped KYW crystals. The samples were longer than 1 cm and had a good optical quality. The absolute angle reference was set using the Laue method. This reference allows us to compare more accurately our measurements with the calculations made using refractive index values found in literature. The difference observed between calculated values and measurements is significant. The relative dispersion looks similar for all double tungstate crystals tested. Furthermore first results of Holmium doped KYW laser operation along this axis will be shown.
Luigi Bonacina, Thibaud Magouroux, Andrii Rogov, Davide Staedler, Cécile Joulaud, Sebastian Schwung, Solène Passemard, Ronan Le dantec, Yannick Mugnier, Daniel Rytz, Sandrine Gerber-Lemaire, Jean-Pierre Wolf
In this contribution we present the motivations underlying the introduction of harmonic nanoparticles, i.e. second harmonic contrast agents for nonlinear microscopy. Their properties will be discussed in the light of various biological applications including imaging of stem cells and rare event detection in physiological media.
We demonstrate experimental results on the angular dependence of the optical axis in biaxial materials from 430 nm to 1580 nm. Using pure KGd(WO4)2 (KGW) and Neodymium doped KGW crystals of around 1 cm in length. The variation of the angle is about 2.4° over the above wavelength range. Within the investigated spectral domain, a rotation of the index ellipsoid along the crystallographic b-axis is not observed, the variation occurs only in one plane. Moreover, no significant influence of doping of the crystal was observed. Comparison with literature refractive index data results in a difference of up to 0.5° with our data based on an arbitrary reference chosen at 560 nm, showing the importance of this measurement for conical refraction applications.
We present an Yb-CALGO thin-disk laser in continuous regime. In a slightly multimode configuration we obtain up to
29.5W of average power, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 40% and an optical-to-optical efficiency of 32%. We
then design a monomode cavity, and achieve 25W of average power. The tuning range of the laser emission was from
1018 to 1052nm. In a Q-switch regime, we obtain more than 1 mJ at 100 Hz repetition rate, and 4.5W at 10 kHz
repetition rate.
A new family of nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals is presented for the generation of ultraviolet (UV) light by frequency
conversion. Included in this family are REAl3(BO3)4 with RE = Y, Lu and other rare earths. Phase matching properties of
YAl3(BO3)4 (i.e., YAB) are described in detail.
In semilinear photorefractive coherent oscillator with two counterpropagating pump waves a single-frequency oscillation is transformed into double-frequency oscillation with the increasing coupling strength. Apart from coupling strength the bifurcation point can be affected by changing the pump intensity ratio and cavity losses. The results of experiments with cobalt-doped barium titanate crystals are in good qualitative agreement with the results of computer simulations within the undepleted pump approximation for nonlinear mixing of four plane waves.
KNbO3 yields very high non-linear coefficients. This material is attractive and widely used for the frequency doubling of cw and quasi cw near infrared laser sources. However it is not commonly used for pulsed applications. Frequency doubling of a pulsed high peak power titanium doped sapphire (Ti:S) laser with KNbO3 has been investigated. Close to 60% conversion efficiencies have been obtained in external cavity single shot operation. Factors limiting the conversion efficiency in a repetitive mode and with longer crystals have been identified. Quadrature second harmonic generation technique has been shown to overcome some of these limitations compared to single crystal technique. First experimental results for frequency doubling the Nd:YAG and Nd:YAlO 4F3/2-4I9/2 laser transition in the pulsed nanosecond regime with KNbO3 are also presented.
It is now well known that rhodium doped barium titanate (BaTiO3:Rh) exhibits a significant photorefractive response at near infrared wavelengths .We studied and characterized this crystal at 1 .06 jtm by two-wave mixing experiments. In a 45°-cut crystal with a low absorption (0.1 cm1), we measured a photorefractive gain F of 23 cm1 with cw illumination and 16.6 cm1 with nanosecond illumination. Using spectroscopic determinations of the photorefractive sites 2(Rh3+, Rh4+, RhS+), we demonstrated that the photorefractive properties of BaTiO3:Rh are well described by a three charge state model '. Internal parameters of the material were derived using these experimental characterizations which allowed to accurately predict its performances at 1 .06 tm. Comparative characterizations of several BaTiO3 :Rh samples proved that this material is now well reproducible. Reproducibility, high photorefractive gain, low absorption and accurate theoretical description make BaTiO3:Rh a good candidate for realization and optimization of non linear functions like optical phase conjugation. The application we are interested in, is the dynamic wavefront correction of nanosecond Nd:YAG master-oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) laser sources. We implemented a ring self-pumped phase conjugate mirror using a BaTiO3:Rh crystal . This geometry brings several advantages. The threshold in terms of "gain X interaction length" product, is low (F1=2) 6 This phase conjugate mirror does not require a source of long coherence length 7and the gratings involved in the four wave mixing process can be well controled. Moreover the phase conjugate beam can be efficiently selected among the backscattered light by inserting optical elements in the ring 8,9• Such a self-pumped mirror is self-starting and the four-wave mixing process is initiated by the beam-fanning. To avoid spurious internal oscillations in total reflection on the crystal faces that initially developed in several of our experiments and prevented phase conjugation we optimized the geometry of the crystal. Roof-cut, 45° orientation of the c axis and antireflection coatings of the crystal suppressed these internal oscillations and efficient phase conjugation was demonstrated.
Photorefractive rhodium doped barium titanate (BaTiO3:Rh) is now well known for its significant response at near infrared wavelengths .We studied and characterized this crystal at 1.06 j.tm. By twowave mixing experiments in a 45°-cut crystal, we measured a maximum photorefractive gain F of 23 cm1 with cw illumination and 16.6 cm1 with nanosecond illumination, together with a low absorption (0. 1 cm1). Using spectroscopic determinations of the photorefractive sites 2 (Rh3, Rh4, Rh5), we showed that the photorefractive properties of BaTiO3 Rh could be well described by a three charge state model .This enabled to determine the internal parameters of the material using experimental characterizations and to accurately predict its performances at 1 .06 tm. Comparative characterizations of several BaTiO3:Rh samples proved that this material is now well reproducible, which is of prime importance for applications. Reproducibility, high photorefractive gain, low absorption and accurate theoretical description make BaTiO3:Rh a good candidate for realization and optimization of non linear functions like optical phase conjugation. The application we are interested in, is the dynamic wavefront correction of nanosecond Nd:YAG master-oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) laser sources.
The optimization of LD end-pumped solid state lasers using a Monolithic Chip Assembly relies mostly on two factors: (i) the intensity and the geometry of the optical pumping, (ii) the critical phase matching temperature of the non-linear crystal which usually requires a temperature regulation.
A compact optical novelty filter based on two-wave mixing in a non-linear photorefractive crystal is implemented. The performances of the crystal, a cobalt doped barium titanate (BaTiO3:Co), in terms of depletion efficiency and response time are investigated. It is shown that the spatial light modulator involved in the system causes a drop of the wave-mixing. The system capability to detect cyclic new events, to track motions and to enhance the edges is demonstrated. In the case of a cyclic novelty detection, the cut-off frequency of the system is measured for several incident intensities. The outline characteristics of a moving object are studied versus its velocity and for a set of incident intensities and show, for the first time to our knowledge, to be in good agreement with the theoretical predictions.
We present the first broadly tunable KNbO3 OPO in tracking-free configuration (TFC), pumped by a flashlamp- pumped Ti:Sapphire laser. Tuning the pump laser from 733 to 841 nm yielded to an OPO tuning range from 908 nm to 1402 nm for the signal, and 2103 to 3803 nm for the idler. This range was limited by the mirror coatings, and continuous tuning should be achievable up to and beyond 400 nm. Threshold was as low as 15 MW/cm2 and efficiencies up to 10% have been observed without AR-coatings on the crystal.
The production of the laser host material YVO4 via high temperature solution growth (HTSG) is described as a facile alternative for producing optical quality crystals for research. The effects of dopant concentration on optical absorption properties in 0.7% and 3% Nd:YVO4 crystals are discussed. The rare earth ions Ho3+ and Er3+ have been doped into YVO4 with the HTSG method, and inaugural optical properties of Ho0.04Y0.96VO4 are presented.
Production refinements and pragmatic optical properties of the frequency converter crystal KNbO3 (KN) are highlighted regarding its commercialization. The growth, morphological orientation, and processing of KN crystals into devices are outlined. Passive absorption data are presented that define the effective window range for KN devices. An absorption band at 2.85 micrometers is attributed to the presence of OH groups in the crystal, and its vibrational strength varies with crystal growth conditions and incident polarized light orientation. Although blue light induced infrared absorption (BLIIRA) can reduce second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency at high powers, single-pass conversion efficiencies of 1%/W(DOT)cm may be achieved with incident fundamental powers of 10 W. The ability of KN to noncritically phasematch by temperature tuning provides blue-green wavelengths; together with critical angle-tuned phasematching, the entire visible spectrum may be accessed with efficient SHG conversion.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.