Tailoring the nonlinear refractive index of fluoride-phosphate glasses forlaser applications

In this paper we report on measurements of the nonlinear refractive index n (2) at 1047 nm of various fluoride-phosphate laser glasses relative to fuse d silica using degenerate four-wave mixing. We find good agreement with emp irical estimates obtained from the d-line linear refractive index and the A bbe number for pure fluoride-phosphate glasses. Significant increase of n(2 ) is observed when adding sulfate and niobium oxide to the glass compositio n offering tailorable nonlinear properties for glasses employed in short pu lse laser oscillators.