A 100 mW monolithic Yb waveguide laser fabricated using the femtosecond laser direct-write technique

TL;DR

This paper reports a high-performance monolithic ytterbium-doped phosphate glass waveguide laser fabricated with femtosecond laser direct-write, achieving 102 mW output power at 1033 nm with high stability and narrow linewidth.

Contribution

It demonstrates a femtosecond laser-written monolithic waveguide laser with DFB architecture in ytterbium-doped glass, achieving high power, stability, and narrow linewidth for the first time.

Findings

Lased at 1033 nm with 102 mW output power

Operated stably for 50 hours without degradation

Bandwidth less than 2 pm

Abstract

A femtosecond laser-written monolithic waveguide laser (WGL) oscillator based on a distributed feedback (DFB) architecture and fabricated in ytterbium doped phosphate glass is reported. The device lased at 1033 nm with an output power of 102 mW and a bandwidth less than 2 pm when bidirectionally pumped at 976 nm. The WGL device was stable and operated for 50 hours without degradation. This demonstration of a high performance WGL opens the possibility for creating a variety of narrow-linewidth laser designs in bulk glasses.