Fluoride Glass Fibre Lasers And Amplifiers

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Abstract
The initial discovery of fluorozirconate glasses at the University of Rennes, France in 1974 [1] followed an attempt to fabricate large pieces of ZrF4 crystals doped with Nd (NdZrF7) for laser applications. One of the samples prepared at the University turned out to be vitreous rather than crystalline and the fluorozirconate glasses had been discovered. Initial interest in these materials was as improved glasses for high energy fusion lasers and in 1978, in a joint publication with the University of Rennes, Weber concluded that the glasses should be considered as candidates for laser materials [2]. A further significance of these new glasses was soon recognised when it was proposed that they might have applications for low loss IR fibres, with intrinsic losses below those in silica, and a considerable amount of work is now underway in an attempt to reach these targets [3]. These two interests were amalgamated in 1987 when the first fluoride fibre laser was demonstrated by Brierley and France [4], doped with Nd and lasing at 1.05 um. Following this work many new dopants have been investigated and many different lasing lines have been reported. This paper reviews these recent developments in fluoride fibre lasers and amplifiers from several laboratories throughout the world and includes some of the latest results on semiconductor diode pumping close to 0.8 um.

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