The newly developed fiber laser achieves an output of nearly 100 W, which is the current limit for core-pumped holmium lasers. Another major achievement is the overcoming of a long-standing technological barrier: the researchers have succeeded in suppressing the negative effect of high holmium concentration, which previously led to reduced efficiency. This result opens up new possibilities for further increasing the power of fiber lasers in the 2.1 µm wavelength range.
“The efficiency achieved, combined with high power, represents a significant step forward in the development of fiber lasers. It shows that even at high concentrations of active ions, top-tier performance can be achieved—something that was previously considered a fundamental limitation,” says Bára Švejkarová, co-author of the article.
This progress paves the way for scaling up power output to the kilowatt range and expands the potential for using these lasers in a wide range of applications—such as advanced industrial technologies or defense systems.
The research findings were published in the journal Optics Express, https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.589906.
Pictures: Temperature monitoring of key points in a laser resonator using a thermal imaging camera (1, 2 – optical fiber splices; 3 – input fiber Bragg grating serving as a mirror)
About ORC, University of Southampton
The Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton in England is one of the world’s leading research centers in the field of photonics and optical technologies. The center focuses on the development of advanced optical fibers, lasers, and related devices, which find applications in fields such as telecommunications, medicine, and quantum technologies. The ORC has long been known for its groundbreaking innovations and close collaboration with industry, through which it makes a significant contribution to the transfer of scientific knowledge into practical applications and to the development of modern technologies on a global scale. More
About the LasApp Project: Breakthrough Laser Technologies for Smart Manufacturing, Space and Bio-Tech Applications
The project connects the excellent laser research centers of the Czech Academy of Sciences with other leading institutions. It focuses on state-of-the-art fiber and thin-disk lasers and their applications.
Six partners are collaborating on the project. The main coordinator is the Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the CAS, and the other project partners are the Institute of Physics of the CAS – Hilase Centre, the Faculty of Science of the Charles University – Biocev Centre, the Institute of Scientific Instruments of the CAS, the Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation of the TUL, (Technical University of Liberec) and the Institute of Plasma Physics of the CAS – TOPTEC Centre.
The project received financial support from the Jan Amos Komenský Operation Programme of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and is co-financed by EU funds. Project number: CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004573
More on website https://www.lasapp.cz/
