Abstract: In this talk, I will review progress in the development of ultrafast fiber lasers operating in the mid-IR region of the spectrum. These systems have significant potential for a wide range of sensing applications, including standoff detection and molecular fingerprinting. However, mid-IR fiber lasers require the usage of fluoride glass due to the fundamental multi-phonon absorption edge which limits traditional silica fiber lasers to < 2.5 um. By doping fluoride-based fibers with the rare-earth elements such as erbium, holmium, and praseodymium we demonstrated the first sub-picosecond pulse fiber laser emitting light beyond 2.5 um, a mid-IR nonlinear compressed-pulse with 70 fs duration, and a record high-peak power of 40 kW pulses at a center wavelength of 3 mm directly from the oscillator. Using these systems, we highlight a path forward for their application including enabling a nearly all-fiber supercontinuum spanning 2-12 um and a scanning system that allows for rapid detection of ammonia (NH3) molecules.
About the Speaker: Darren Hudson is a Senior Technical Manager at CACI-Photonic Solutions in Florham Park, New Jersey where he leads the Multi-Spectral laser development group. Prior to that, he was a Senior Research Fellow at Macquarie University and a Discovery Early Career Award Fellow at the University of Sydney (Australia). From 2013 to 2017, he led the Mid-IR Photonics Flagship Project at the CUDOS Centre of Excellence. He received his PhD from University of Colorado/JILA in 2009 with thesis advisors Steven Cundiff and Jun Ye.
He has authored over 50 journal publications, 100+ conference proceedings, and written several book chapters. He is a founder of Miriad Technologies, which brought the first high-speed mid-IR spectrometer to the market.