All-Fiber Tunable Pulsed 1.7 μm Fiber Lasers Based on Stimulated Raman Scattering of Hydrogen Molecules in Hollow-Core Fibers

Fiber lasers that operate at 1.7 μm have important applications in many fields, such as biological imaging, medical treatment, etc. Fiber gas Raman lasers (FGRLs) based on gas stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in hollow-core photonic crystal fibers (HC-PCFs) provide an elegant way to realize efficient 1.7 μm fiber laser output. Here, we report the first all-fiber structure tunable pulsed 1.7 μm FGRLs by fusion splicing a hydrogen-filled HC-PCF with solid-core fibers. Pumping with a homemade tunable pulsed 1.5 μm fiber amplifier, efficient 1693~1705 nm Stokes waves are obtained by hydrogen molecules via SRS. The maximum average output Stokes power is 1.63 W with an inside optical–optical conversion efficiency of 58%. This work improves the compactness and stability of 1.7 μm FGRLs, which is of great significance to their applications.