In this Letter, the optical amplification characteristics of the home-made Bi/P co-doped silica fiber were systematically explored in the range of 1270–1360 nm. The maximum gain of 24.6 dB was obtained in the single-pass amplification device, and then improved to 38.3 dB in the double-pass amplification device for -30dBm signal power. In addition, we simultaneously investigated the laser performance of the fiber with the linear cavity. A slope efficiency of 16.4% at ∼1313nm was obtained with a maximum output power of about 133 mW under the input pump power of 869 mW at 1240 nm. As far as we know, it is the first laser reported based on the bismuth-doped fiber in China.

A home-made low loss Bi/P co-doped silica fiber was fabricated using the modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) technique combined with the solution doping method, where the background loss at 1550 nm was as low as 17 dB/km. We demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, an all-fiber amplifier using the home-made Bi/P co-doped fiber achieving broadband amplification in the E-band. The amplifying performance was evaluated and optimized with different pumping patterns and fiber length. A maximum net gain at 1355 nm close to 20 dB and a minimum noise figure of 4.6 dB were obtained for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, using two 1240 nm laser diodes under bidirectional pumping with the input pump and signal powers of 870 mW and -30dBm, respectively.

Large-size Al3+/Nd3+ co-doped silica glass with 5000 ppm Nd3+ and 50,000 ppm Al3+ doping concentrations was prepared by the modified sol-gel method combined with high-temperature melting and molding technology. Electron probe micro-analyzer tests indicated that high doping homogeneity was achieved with this sample preparation method. The spectral properties of the Nd3+ ions were evaluated. Nd3+-doped silica fiber (NDF) with a core-to-clad ratio of 20/125 μm was drawn from the preform with the Al3+/Nd3+ co-doped silica glass as the core. In the laser oscillation experiment, a maximum output power of 14.6 W at 1.06 μm with a slope efficiency of 39.6% was obtained from the NDF pumped by a commercial 808 nm laser diode. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest laser power reported for an NDF operated at 1060 nm and prepared by a non-chemical vapor deposition method. In the master oscillator power amplifier experiment, a maximum power of 16.6 W corresponding to a slope efficiency of 30.5% at 1061 nm was also demonstrated. The laser performance of the NDF exhibited the great advantages and potential of the modified sol-gel method in fabricating Nd3+-doped silica glass for a new type of NDFs like large mode area fibers and fibers with large diameter ratio of core/cladding.