Watt-level dysprosium fiber laser at 315 μm with 73% slope efficiency

Rare-earth-doped fiber lasers are emerging as promising high-power mid-infrared sources for the 2.6-3.0 μm and 3.3-3.8 μm regions based on erbium and holmium ions. The intermediate wavelength range, however, remains vastly underserved, despite prospects for important manufacturing and defense applications. Here, we demonstrate the potential of dysprosium-doped fiber to solve this problem, with a simple in-band pumped grating-stabilized linear cavity generating up to 1.06 W at 3.15 μm. A slope efficiency of 73% with respect to launched power (77% relative to absorbed power) is achieved-the highest value for any mid-infrared fiber laser to date, to the best of our knowledge. Opportunities for further power and efficiency scaling are also discussed.