Investigation into optical fiber waveguides, lasers and applications

光纤激光器是一种坚固可靠的设备。与竞争对手的技术相比，它们结构紧凑，成本效益高，具有全光纤设计等独特特点，无需重新校准。电磁波谱中红外和近红外区域的可调谐高功率光纤激光器非常适合应用于传感（在分子水平上检测化学物质）、光谱学、医学和生物医学研究和环境监测领域的仪器仪表。***拟议的研究计划将在电磁频谱的中红外和近红外区域开发一套高功率可调谐激光器。激光器的可调谐特性将使用户可以选择特定的波长，特别是在光谱学，医学和传感等激发波长非常重要的领域具有吸引力。中红外激光器将采用(i)在特殊设计的具有高拉曼增益系数的光纤（例如硫系玻璃纤维）中受激拉曼散射过程，以及（ii）基于填充少量气体作为增益介质的空心芯光纤的气体电池来开发。与传统的气体激光器相比，空心芯光纤的小芯直径使得在气体电池中只使用少量的气体成为可能。基于气体电池的激光器将提供比现有激光器更高的输出功率，并且非常紧凑和经济有效。该计划还将开发一种高度敏感的传感器，用于检测微量化学物质，例如由人乳头瘤病毒引起的体内蛋白质，这种病毒会导致宫颈癌。该传感器基于表面增强拉曼散射过程，将使用可调谐的近红外光纤激光器和涂有金纳米棒的锥形光纤。与市场上现有的设备相比，这种设备将非常灵敏，能够检测到单个分子。***该研究项目旨在开发具有特定特征组合的激光器，包括充气空心芯光纤、可调性以及高灵敏度传感器，将在湖首大学和加拿大建立一个独特的研究设施。***加拿大对光学和光子学等领域的技术工人供不应求。该研究项目的学生将接受纳米技术、化学、生物光子学以及物理学、电子学和光谱学方面的培训。他们将与工业、学术和政府合作伙伴共同开发世界一流的传感设备和激光器，使这些学生能够在各种环境中做出贡献，并提高加拿大在高科技研究领域的人力资源能力。此外，加拿大的科学和生物医学产业将从这项研究中受益，因为开发中红外激光器和传感器的技术和方法将具有国际竞争力。＊＊＊＊＊

Fiber lasers are established as robust and reliable devices. Compared to rival technologies, they are compact and cost-effective, with unique characteristics such as all-fiber design and no need for re-alignment. Tunable, high-power fiber lasers in the mid-infrared and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are well-suited for applications in sensing (detecting a chemical at the molecular level), spectroscopy, medicine, and instrumentation in the fields of biomedical research and environmental monitoring. ***The proposed research program will develop a suite of high-power, tunable lasers in the mid-infrared and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The tunable feature of the laser will let the user choose a specific wavelength, attractive especially in spectroscopy, medicine and sensing where excitation wavelength is very important. The mid-infrared lasers will be developed using (i) the stimulated Raman scattering process in a specially designed optical fiber with a high Raman gain coefficient (e.g., Chalcogenide glass fiber), and (ii) a gas cell based on hollow-core fiber filled with small amounts of gas as a gain medium. The small core diameter of the hollow-core fiber makes it possible to use only a small amount of gas in the gas cell, as compared to conventional gas lasers. The gas-cell-based laser will provide higher output power than existing lasers and be very compact and cost effective. ***The proposed program will also develop a highly sensitive sensor to detect trace chemicals, such as proteins in the body caused by the human papillomavirus, which is responsible for cervical cancer. This sensor, based on the surface enhanced Raman scattering process, will use a tunable, near-infrared fiber laser and tapered fiber coated with gold nanorods. The device will be very sensitive—capable of detecting a single molecule—compared to those available on the market. ***This research program, to develop lasers with specific combinations of features, including gas-filled hollow core fiber, and tunability, as well as the highly sensitive sensor, will create a unique research facility at Lakehead University and in Canada.***The demand in Canada for workers with skills in areas such as optics and photonics exceeds the supply. Students in this research program will be trained in nanotechnology, chemistry, and biophotonics as well as physics, electronics, and spectroscopy. They will work with industrial, academic, and government partners to develop world-class sensing devices and lasers, fitting these students to contribute in a variety of settings and increasing Canada's human resource capacity in areas of highly technical research. Further, Canada's scientific and biomedical industries will benefit from this research, because the technology and methodology to develop mid-IR lasers and sensor will be competitive internationally. *****