How do traces of thulium explain photodarkening in Yb doped fibers?

Mitigation of photodarkening effect in Yb-doped fiber through Na+ ions doping

In this work, Na⁺ ions doping into the Yb-doped fiber is proposed to improve the photo-darkening resistance. The results show that the photo-darkening induced excess loss at equilibrium state at 633nm, 702 nm, 810 nm, and 1041 nm is 115.54dB/m, 86.87dB/m, 25.51 dB/m, 2.92 dB/m, respectively, when co-doping with Na⁺ ions. More than 30% excess loss is reduced comparing to the Yb-doped fiber without Na⁺ ions. The mechanism of Na⁺ ions doping to mitigate the PD excess loss is discussed. Besides, we measured the laser efficiency of Yb/Al/Na co-doped fiber to be 76.1%. This result remains almost the same with Yb-doped fiber and proves that the addition of Na⁺ ions do not deteriorate the fiber slope efficiency. The background loss of the two fibers also stays close. The results indicate this method is promising in high power fiber laser development.

793 nm pump induced photo-bleaching of photo-darkened Yb(3+)-doped fibers

We report on the strong photo-bleaching of the photo-darkening (PD) induced loss under the cladding pump of a 793 nm laser diode (LD) in double clad Yb-doped fibers. Up to 68% PD loss at 810 nm was bleached. The bleaching rates under different powers show that the higher pump power corresponds to the more bleached loss within the same time. Moreover, repeatable processes of PD and photo-bleaching were observed when alternately pumped with 915 and 793 nm LDs. Furthermore, it was found that simultaneously pumping the fiber with 915 and 793 nm LDs can suppress about 80% PD loss, compared with pumping the fiber only with 915 nm LD. The mechanism of photo-bleaching under 793 nm pump was also discussed.

Evidence of AlOHC responsible for the radiation-induced darkening in Yb doped fiber

Using a combination of experimental techniques such as optical absorption, Raman scattering, continuous wave and pulse Electron Spin Resonance (ESR), we characterize a set of γ-irradiated Yb(3+) doped silica glass preforms with different contents of phosphorous and aluminum. We demonstrate that when P is introduced in excess compared to Al, nearly no radiodarkening is induced by γ-rays. On the other hand, when Al>P, a large absorption band is induced by radiation. Thermal annealing experiments reveal the correlation between the decrease of the optical absorption band and the decrease of the Al-Oxygen Hole Center (AlOHC) ESR signal, demonstrating the main role of AlOHC defects in the fiber darkening. HYSCORE (HYperfine Sublevel CORElation) pulse-ESR experiments show a high Al-P nuclear spin coupling when P>Al and no coupling when Al>P. This result suggests that both AlOHC and POHC creation is inhibited by Al-O-P linkages. Confronting our data with previous works, we show that the well-known photodarkening process, meaning losses induced by the IR pump, can also be explained in this framework.

Evidence of Tm impact in low-photodarkening Yb-doped fibers

In contrast to Yb/Al-doped fibers, the influence of very low Tm(2)O(3) concentrations (≥ 0.1 mol-ppm) on photodarkening (PD) is clearly detectable in Yb/P-doped fibers that are known to show little degradation effects. For Tm(2)O(3) additions of more than 50 mol-ppm, the measured PD loss is even similar to Yb/Al-doped fibers with comparable rare earth concentrations. Our work reveals the risk of color center generation by pumping at wavelengths of 915 nm or 976 nm even in Al-free Yb-doped fibers and emphasizes the importance of high purity of raw materials for the preparation of Yb laser fibers with expected very low PD.

Experimental evidence for the formation of divalent ytterbium in the photodarkening process of Yb-doped fiber lasers

In this work we present experimental evidence that the valence instability of the ytterbium ion play a key role for the observed photodarkening mechanism in Yb-doped fiber lasers. Luminescence and excitation spectroscopy performed on UV irradiated Yb/Al doped silica glass preforms and near-infrared diode pumped photodarkened fibers show a concentration increase of Yb(2+) ions. A concentration decrease in Yb(3+) could also be observed for the UV irradiated preform. The findings contribute to an increased understanding of the kinetic processes related to photodarkening in Yb-doped high power fiber lasers.

Photo darkening of rare earth doped silica

The photo darkening (PD) absorption spectra from unseeded amplifier operation (by 915 nm pumping) of ytterbium / aluminum and co-doped silica fibers is after prolonged operation observed to develop a characteristic line at 2.6 eV (477 nm). This line is proposed to be due to inter center excitation transfer from type II oxygen deficiency centers ODC(II) to Tm3+ trace impurities. The ODC(II) is proposed to be the result of a displacive transition of a 4-fold silica ring hosting two 3-fold silicon units that presents two non-bridging oxygen to Yb3+ (as part of its 6-fold coordination by oxygen). The displacive transition is initiated by a charge disproportionation process which leads to NBO transfer in forming dioxasilirane (2-fold coordinated silicon with two NBO attached) next to silylene (2-fold coordinated silicon with a lone electron pair). In collaboration with a valence electron of Yb3+ a new ½ / 1½ chemical bond is formed on dioxasilirane which comprises the PD color center for the visible and near-infrared. Difference in solid acidity of the silica material co-doped with Yb/Al and Yb/P may explain the observed difference in spectral shapes by change of bond order to the formed chemical bond.

Influence of Tm- or Er-codoping on the photodarkening kinetics in Yb fibers

We investigated photodarkening (PD) parameters of Yb/Al-doped silica fibers as a function of the concentration of additional rare earth ions like Tm or Er. It was found that both Tm and Er cause a decrease in Yb inversion followed by a reduction of PD in the case of Er, whereas Tm-codoping with more than 10 mol-ppm can strongly accelerate the process and also increase the PD loss. However, contrary to [1], we conclude that the typical PD behavior of Yb/Al fibers is an intrinsic feature of this fiber type and not caused by trace impurities of Tm (< 1 mol-ppm) unintentionally incorporated by the raw materials during fiber preparation.