Optics Letters
Intermediate excited-state absorption in erbium-doped fiber strongly pumped at 980 nm
Peter A. Krug, Mark G. Sceats, Graham R. Atkins, S.C. Guy, S.B. Poole
Abstract
We report the observation of fluorescence at 530 to 550 nm from erbium-doped germanosilicate fiber under strong pumping in the 980-nm band. The observed nonlinear dependence on pump power is shown to arise from a sequential two-photon absorption from the ground state to the (4)F(7/2) state through the short-lived (4)I(11/2) intermediate state. Rate-equation modeling shows that the pump power dependence of this intermediate excited-state absorption is influenced by population cycling induced by amplified spontaneous emission in the fiber from the metastable (4)I(13/2) state.