Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 7-28-2026

Abstract

There is a need for mid-infrared(MIR) lasers in defense, medical, and environmental monitoring. A large part of this technological development is the study of gain media. One class of materials of special interest is glasses with a low maximum phonon energy. These have the fiberization and broad spectral features of glass, whereas glasses with high maximum phonon energy exhibit higher rates of multi-phonon relaxation and can be opaque in the MIR, both of which are detrimental to laser operation. Recent advances in container-less processing have allowed for the study of new glasses that aren’t possible with conventional fabrication techniques. One of these glasses is lanthanum titanate. It exhibits the spectral properties of ’soft’ glasses appropriate for MIR applications, but the thermophysical properties of ’hard’ glasses, making them more durable than other low-maximum-phonon-energy glasses. We built and characterized the first laser made from this containerless-processed glass: neodymium-doped lanthanum titanate glass. We found that this glass has a high concentration quenching factor (Q = 6.7 × 1020 cm−3), allowing for high doping concentrations. This laser had a high slope efficiency of 40% and a tuning range of 1058-1121 nm. It had an average M2 value of 1.875, showing good beam quality. We finally discuss preliminary studies of a series of erbium-doped glasses looking towards utilizing the 4I11/2 →4I13/2 transition near 2.7 μm. Overall, this new class of glass shows promise and warrants further studies.

Degree Name

Optical Science and Engineering

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Optical Science and Engineering

First Committee Member (Chair)

Ganesh Balakrishnan

Second Committee Member

Sang M Han

Third Committee Member

Christos Christodolou

Fourth Committee Member

Brian Topper

Fifth Committee Member

Alexander Neumann

Keywords

Solid-State Laser, Laser Materials, Rare-earth

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

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