Mid-infrared methane detection in a photonic bandgap fiber using a broadband optical parametric oscillator.

We demonstrate methane sensing using a photonic bandgap fiber-based gas cell and broadband idler pulses from a periodically-poled lithium niobate femtosecond optical parametric oscillator. The hollow core of the fiber was filled with a methane:nitrogen mixture, and Fourier transform spectroscopy was used to measure transmission spectra in the 3.15-3.35 mum methane absorption region. The method has applications in gas sensing for remote or hazardous environments and potentially at very low concentrations.

Multiple rare earth emissions in a multicore tellurite fiber with a single pump wavelength.

A three-core tellurite glass fiber having different combinations of rare earth oxide dopants in each core has been fabricated using shaped die-extrusion. Three cores, doped with Ho(3+)-Tm(3+)-Yb(3+), Er(3+)-Ce(3+), and Tm(3+)-Yb(3+) respectively, exhibited visible upconversion (blue, green and red) and infrared emissions at 1.4 microm, 1.5 microm, 1.9 microm and 2.05 microm when pumped at a wavelength of 980 nm. The prospects for multi-band amplifiers and lasers are discussed.