Experimental Investigation of Actively Q-Switched Dy³⁺ Doped Fluoride Single Mode Fiber Laser Operating Near 3 μm

A laboratory realization of an actively Q-switched Dy ³⁺ -doped fluoride fiber laser operating near 3.0 μm is reported. Two laser cavities were realized: one based on 1000 ppm Dy ³⁺ :ZBLAN fiber and one on 2000 ppm Dy ³⁺ :ZBLAN fiber. With the laser cavity based on 1000 ppm Dy ³⁺ :ZBLAN fiber a record high peak power of 200 W was achieved with 17 μJ pulse energy and 84.5 ns pulse duration. Moreover, a record short pulse duration of 74 ns was achieved using Q-switched laser cavity composed of 2000 ppm Dy ³⁺ :ZBLAN fiber.