Tuned Cascade Laser

Tuning of a diode-cladding-pumped cascade Ho³⁺-doped fluoride fiber laser is demonstrated using a single plane ruled diffraction grating. At the maximum available pump power, a tuning range 2955-3021 nm, an output power of >;500 mW, and a bandwidth of <;1 nm was achieved for tuning across the ⁵I₆→⁵I₇ transition. In a separate experiment, the ⁵I₇→⁵I₈ laser transition was tuned from 2064 to 2082 nm (with a bandwidth of <;0.5 nm) which simultaneously shortened the average emission wavelength of the free-running ⁵I₆→⁵I₇ laser transition of the cascade from 2.959 to 2.954 μm. This demonstration represents the first fiber laser that can tune beyond 3 μm.