Watt-level fiber-based femtosecond laser source tunable from 2.8 to 3.6 μm

The development of compact and reliable ultrafast sources operating in the mid-infrared region could lead to major advances in both fundamental and applied sciences. In this Letter, we report on a simple and efficient laser system based entirely on erbium-doped fluoride glass fibers that generates high-energy Raman soliton pulses tunable from 2.8 to 3.6 mu m at a high average output power. Stable 160 fs pulses at 3.4 mu m with a maximum energy of 37 nJ, a corresponding average output power above 2 W, and an estimated peak power above 200 kW are demonstrated. This tunable source promises direct applications in laser processing of polymers and biological materials. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America