Continuous-wave bismuth fibre laser tunable from 1.65 to 1.8 μm

A single-mode fibre based on bismuth-doped germanosilicate glass with a high germanium concentration is considered as an active medium of a laser continuously tunable within the range 1.65 – 1.8 μm. The laser scheme included a broadband ring cavity, and the laser wavelength was controlled by an external plane diffraction grating in the Littrow configuration. For a pump power of 300 mW at a wavelength of 1.564 μm, the maximum output laser power was 15 mW in the zero diffraction order and 6 mW at the fibre output.