Q-SWITCHED THULIUM-DOPED FIBER LASER

A tunable Q-switched thulium-doped single-mode silica fiber laser is p resented for the first time. Its performance is analyzed as a function of pulse repetition rate and pumping power. The optimization of laser parameters resulted in 4 W/130 ns, 1.92-mum wavelength pulses generat ed at a 4-kHz repetition rate. From the measured values of small-signa l attenuation and intrinsic saturation power, the thulium ion paramete rs at the pump and signal wavelength are derived and used in theoretic al modeling of the laser. The moderate power required from the Ti:sapp hire pump laser used in the experiment suggests that similar results c an be obtained using a laser diode pump.