Theoretical study of cascade laser in erbium-doped chalcogenide glass fibers

International audience; A theoretical investigation of an innovative cascade laser source is performed. The main goal of the work is the design of a continuous-wave (CW) photonic crystal fiber (PCF) laser, based on an erbium-doped chalcogenide glass. Due to the comparable lifetimes of the 4I13/2, 4I11/2 and 4I9/2 erbium energy levels, the simultaneous emissions at the wavelengths close to 2.7 μm and 4.5 μm are obtained with a pump wavelength close to 806 nm (direct pumping into the level 4I9/2). This scheme could be useful to develop high efficiency, high beam-quality and compact Near-IR and Mid-IR oscillators with single-mode output for applications not only in surgery but also in spectros…