Prospects for diode-pumped alkali-atom-based hollow-core photonic-crystal fiber lasers

By employing large hollow-core Kagome fiber in a double-clad configuration, the performance of a potentially rubidium vapor-based fiber laser is explored. The absorbed power and laser efficiency versus pump power are calculated utilizing a simple laser model. Our results show that a Kagome-based high-power fiber laser is feasible provided that the value of the collisional fine-structure mixing rate will be elevated by increasing the ambient temperature or by increasing the helium pressure. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America