Near-Infrared and mid-Infrared fiber lasers for applications in spectroscopy, medicine and biophotonics research

光纤激光器已经被确立为坚固可靠的设备。与竞争对手的技术相比，它们紧凑且经济高效，具有全光纤设计和无需重新对准等独特特性。高功率可调谐光纤激光器位于电磁光谱的中红外和近红外区域，在生物医学研究和环境监测领域中，在传感(在分子水平上检测化学物质)、光谱学、医学和仪器领域具有很大的应用前景。拟议的研究计划将开发一套高功率、可调谐的电磁光谱中红外和近红外区域的激光器。激光的可调谐特性将允许用户选择特定的波长，特别是在光谱、医学和传感领域，激发波长非常重要。中红外激光器将使用(I)在特殊设计的具有高拉曼增益系数的光纤(例如硫化物玻璃光纤)中的受激喇曼散射过程，以及(Ii)以填充气体(例如N2O、CO、C2H2)的空芯光纤为增益介质的气室来开发。由于空芯光纤的芯径很小，与传统的气体激光器相比，气室需要的气体非常少。此外，与使用稀土掺杂光纤作为增益介质的光纤激光器相比，可以从激光器获得更高的输出功率。因此，基于空芯气室的激光器将非常紧凑且具有成本效益。这项旨在开发具有这些特定功能组合(例如充气中空光纤和可调性)的激光器的研究计划将在莱克黑德大学和加拿大创建一个独特的研究设施。拟议的研究还将开发一种高灵敏度传感器，该传感器基于表面增强拉曼散射过程，使用可调谐的高功率近红外光纤激光器和金纳米棒，以检测化学物质(例如，人体内由人类乳头瘤病毒引起的蛋白质，导致宫颈癌)。与市场上可用的设备相比，该设备将非常敏感(例如，能够检测单个分子)。加拿大对光学和光子学等领域的技能工人的需求超过了供应。该研究项目的学生将接受纳米技术、化学和生物光子学以及物理、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合作，开发世界级的传感设备和激光，使这些学生能够在各种环境中做出贡献，并增加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行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新技术(或方法)将具有国际竞争力。

Fiber lasers are already 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 region of the electromagnetic spectrum are very attractive 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) 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 gas (e.g., N2O, CO, C2H2) as a gain medium. Due to the small core diameter of the hollow-core fiber, the gas cell will require a very small amount of gas compared to conventional gas lasers. Further, it will be possible to obtain high output power from the laser compared to a fiber laser with rare-earth-doped fiber as the gain medium. Thus, the laser based on the hollow-core gas cell will be very compact and cost effective. This research program to develop lasers with these specific combinations of features (e.g., gas filled-hollow core fiber and tunability) will create a unique research facility at Lakehead University and in Canada. The proposed research will also develop a highly sensitive sensor, which is based on the surface enhanced Raman scattering process, using a tunable high-power, near-infrared fiber laser and gold nanorods, to detect chemicals (e.g. proteins in the body caused by the human papillomavirus, responsible for cervical cancer). The device will be very sensitive (e.g., capable of detecting a single molecule) compared those available on the market. The demand in Canada for workers with skills in areas like 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, as the new technology (or methodology) to develop mid-IR lasers and sensor will be competitive internationally.