About this Research Topic
2-μm-band lasers have been attracting considerable attention as eye-safe lasers for both scientific and technological applications. In the 2-μm-band, H2O and other atmospheric trace-gases (CO2, SO2, NH3, NO, etc.) have strong absorption windows, as well as the property of high transmission in atmospheric windows. Because of these unique features, 2-μm-band lasers can be widely used in various applications, including laser surgery, photodynamic/photothermal therapy, gas sensing, atmospheric analysis, laser detection and ranging (LIDAR), free-space optical (FSO) communication, and industrial material processing. Compared to bulk lasers, 2-μm-band fiber lasers have shown advantages of compact sizes, robust and simple constructions, easy thermal management, high beam quality, and so on. Especially, the thulium-doped/thulium-holmium co-doped fiber as the gain medium can emit a broad bandwidth covering almost 400nm in the 2-μm-band, perfectly fulfilling the needs of all the aforementioned applications. Therefore, 2-μm-band fiber lasers have undergone significant development in recent years, including the different functional laser outputs and their applications in important areas.
Various lasing mechanisms for 2-μm-band fiber lasers have been studied and reported, such as single-longitudinal-mode/single-frequency operation, multi-wavelength operation, Q-switching, mode-locking, wavelength-sweeping, high-power amplifying, random distributed feedback, stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), etc. In addition, with the continuous improvements of basic technologies (e.g., lasing mechanisms, nonlinear dynamics, and noise suppression), the record-breaking lasing performance parameters are constantly updated, which has greatly enhanced the capabilities and versatility of the 2-μm-band laser in various applications.
This Research Topic aims to collect the latest advances in both theoretical and experimental research on 2-μm-band fiber lasers and recent developments in their rich applications. Authors are invited to submit their recent findings on all types of fiber lasers operating in the 2-μm-band and innovative applications of 2-μm-band fiber lasers. Original Research, Review, Mini Review, Method, Brief Research Report, and Perspective articles are welcome on topics including, but not limited to:
• Thulium-doped/thulium-holmium co-doped gain fibers;
• Fiber-based and waveguide-based optical filters for wavelength/mode selection;
• Single-longitudinal-mode/single-frequency fiber lasers, including single- and multi-wavelength operations, wavelength-switching, laser frequency stabilization, noise suppression, and linewidth compression;
• Q-switched and mode-locked pulse fiber lasers, including special intensity-modulation techniques, new materials used as saturable absorbers for Q-switching and mode-locking, and high-pulse energy or high-peak power pulse laser output;
• Nonlinear dynamic properties in pulsed fiber lasers, and dynamic properties of optical solitons in ultrafast fiber lasers;
• Single-frequency Q-switched fiber lasers;
• Specialty optical fibers and components for laser power boosting;
• Practical applications such as laser treatment, gas sensing, LIDAR, FSO communication, laser industrial processing, and all other related areas.
Various lasing mechanisms for 2-μm-band fiber lasers have been studied and reported, such as single-longitudinal-mode/single-frequency operation, multi-wavelength operation, Q-switching, mode-locking, wavelength-sweeping, high-power amplifying, random distributed feedback, stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), etc. In addition, with the continuous improvements of basic technologies (e.g., lasing mechanisms, nonlinear dynamics, and noise suppression), the record-breaking lasing performance parameters are constantly updated, which has greatly enhanced the capabilities and versatility of the 2-μm-band laser in various applications.
This Research Topic aims to collect the latest advances in both theoretical and experimental research on 2-μm-band fiber lasers and recent developments in their rich applications. Authors are invited to submit their recent findings on all types of fiber lasers operating in the 2-μm-band and innovative applications of 2-μm-band fiber lasers. Original Research, Review, Mini Review, Method, Brief Research Report, and Perspective articles are welcome on topics including, but not limited to:
• Thulium-doped/thulium-holmium co-doped gain fibers;
• Fiber-based and waveguide-based optical filters for wavelength/mode selection;
• Single-longitudinal-mode/single-frequency fiber lasers, including single- and multi-wavelength operations, wavelength-switching, laser frequency stabilization, noise suppression, and linewidth compression;
• Q-switched and mode-locked pulse fiber lasers, including special intensity-modulation techniques, new materials used as saturable absorbers for Q-switching and mode-locking, and high-pulse energy or high-peak power pulse laser output;
• Nonlinear dynamic properties in pulsed fiber lasers, and dynamic properties of optical solitons in ultrafast fiber lasers;
• Single-frequency Q-switched fiber lasers;
• Specialty optical fibers and components for laser power boosting;
• Practical applications such as laser treatment, gas sensing, LIDAR, FSO communication, laser industrial processing, and all other related areas.
Keywords: single-frequency, Q-switching, mode-locking, wavelength-sweeping, nonlinear dynamics
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