An ultra-stable 2.9 μm guided-wave chip laser and application to nano-spectroscopy

D. G. Lancaster; D. E. Otten; A. Cernescu; N. Bourbeau Hébert; G. Y. Chen; C. M. Johnson; T. M. Monro; J. Genest

doi:10.1063/1.5113624

APL Photonics (Nov 2019)

An ultra-stable 2.9 μm guided-wave chip laser and application to nano-spectroscopy

D. G. Lancaster,
D. E. Otten,
A. Cernescu,
N. Bourbeau Hébert,
G. Y. Chen,
C. M. Johnson,
T. M. Monro,
J. Genest

Affiliations

D. G. Lancaster: Laser Physics and Photonic Devices Laboratory, School of Engineering, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, 5095 SA, Australia
D. E. Otten: Laser Physics and Photonic Devices Laboratory, School of Engineering, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, 5095 SA, Australia
A. Cernescu: NeaSpec GmBH, Munich-Haar D-85540, Germany
N. Bourbeau Hébert: Centre d’optique, Photonique et Laser, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
G. Y. Chen: Laser Physics and Photonic Devices Laboratory, School of Engineering, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, 5095 SA, Australia
C. M. Johnson: Department of Chemistry, KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm 10044, Sweden
T. M. Monro: Laser Physics and Photonic Devices Laboratory, School of Engineering, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, 5095 SA, Australia
J. Genest: Centre d’optique, Photonique et Laser, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5113624
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 4, no. 11
pp. 110802 – 110802-6

Abstract

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We present a configurable guided-wave planar glass-chip laser that produces low-noise and high-quality continuous-wave laser emission tunable from 2.82 to 2.95 µm. The laser has a low threshold and intrinsic power and mode stability attributable to the high overlap of gain volume and pump mode defined by an ultrafast laser inscribed waveguide. The laser emission is single transverse-mode with a Gaussian spatial profile and M2x,y ∼ 1.05, 1.10. The power drift is ∼0.08% rms over ∼2 h. When configured in a spectrally free-running cavity, the guided-wave laser emits up to 170 mW. The benefit of low-noise and stable wavelength emission of this hydroxide resonant laser is demonstrated by acquiring high signal-to-noise images and spectroscopy of a corroded copper surface film with corrosion products containing water and hydroxide ions with a scattering-scanning near-field optical microscope.

Published in APL Photonics

ISSN: 2378-0967 (Online)
Publisher: AIP Publishing LLC
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General): Applied optics. Photonics
Website: https://aplphotonics.aip.org

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