OSE Faculty Member and Interim Dean of A&S, Dr. Arash Mafi Presents Two Papers at Photonics West 2022

Departmental News

Posted: January 25, 2022

The OSE Program at Photonics West 2022

OSE Faculty Member and Interim Dean of A&S, Dr. Arash Mafi Presents Two Papers at Photonics West 2022

Anti-Stokes fluorescence cooling of ytterbium doped silica glass for radiation-balanced fiber lasers

Record laser cooling of Yb-doped silica by 18.4 K was recently observed in vacuum. There is a strong indication pointing to even stronger laser-cooling of Yb-doped silica. In light of these results, a radiation-balanced fiber laser in which cooling from spontaneous emission offsets waste heat generation appears more feasible than before. We will discuss the possibility of a radiation-balanced fiber laser, the similarities and differences with the conventional fiber lasers, and performance issues.

Advances in the optical refrigeration of silica: cooling by 18 K from room temperature

Record laser cooling of Yb-doped silica by 18.4 K and 6.3 K was observed in vacuum and atmospheric pressure conditions, respectively. We present a detailed investigation into the optical refrigeration of ytterbium doped silica glass for both in-air and in-vacuum conditions using various pump powers. Temperature measurements were made relative to the room temperature using thermal camera imaging and differential luminescence thermometry. Through analysis of the temporal behavior of the temperature differential at the start of the in-vacuum experiments, we find the cooling efficiency of the studied silicates to be 0.66 ± 0.07%.

Link to Photonics West 2022 Program: https://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/photonics-west

Link to Upcoming 2022 Optics Conferences: https://optics.unm.edu/conferences/conference-2022.html