Rare-Earth-Doped Fiber Lasers and Amplifiers

Rare-Earth-Doped Fiber Lasers and Amplifiers, Third Edition, provides an in-depth description of the basic principles, operating characteristics, theoretical models, and current technology of the main fiber lasers and amplifiers based on rare-earth-doped silica, fluorozirconate, and other non-oxide fibers. Written by some of the most prominent experts in the field, it contains new and revised material reflecting major developments in academia and industry. It starts with a review of the main fiber fabrication techniques and fundamental optical and electronic properties of rare-earth-doped glasses. It goes on to present in individual chapters theoretical models, designs, and optical properties of a wide range of rare-earth-doped fiber light sources, including continuous-wave lasers, Q-switched lasers, and mode-locked lasers, ultrafast amplifiers, and high-power lasers and amplifiers. Separate chapters are devoted to devices utilizing rare-earth-doped infrared-transmitting glass fibers, visible fluoride fiber lasers, to thulium-doped mode-locked fiber lasers around 2 µm, and broadband fiber sources. Finally, this book reviews in detail the principles and properties of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, a cornerstone component in existing optical communication systems. This book is intended for laser and optical engineers, telecommunication engineers, network and system engineers, applied physicists, and electronic engineers.