Modern commercial erbium-doped fibers are limited in their doping concentrations due to the tendency of Er ions to cluster in silicate glasses. Clustering inevitably leads to ion quenching, one major obstacle preventing erbium-doped fibers (EDFs) from scaling to higher laser power near 15XX nm. Here, we present a new, to our knowledge, method for doping erbium into fibers through the use of Er:BaF nanoparticle (NP) precursors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNonisocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) show promise as more sustainable alternatives to conventional isocyanate-based polyurethanes (PUs). In this study, polyhydroxyurethane (PHU) and nonisocyanate polythiourethane (NIPTU) production and reprocessing models inform the results of a techno-economic analysis and a life cycle assessment. The profitability of selling PHU and NIPTU is rationalized by identifying significant production costs, indicating that raw materials drive the costs of PHU and NIPTU production and reprocessing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFor the first time, to our knowledge, an all-solid transverse Anderson localizing optical fiber laser is demonstrated. A combination of the molten core and stack-and-draw fiber fabrication techniques is used to produce a 112 µm core diameter fiber that is a random array of Yb-doped high index and passive low index regions. A localized channel first assists in the guidance of amplified spontaneous emission before stimulating laser action, which occurs in the same channel via mixed Anderson localization and step index wave-guiding.
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