A Fiberized Multichannel ~2.1 μm Ho:ZBLAN Planar Waveguide Laser Array for Atmospheric Transmission Applications

There is an increasing need for effective terrestrial and extra-terrestrial free-space optical (FSO) transmission for applications such as optical communications. This is driven by increasing bandwidth requirements in situations where physical interconnection via optical fibres or wires is impractical or impossible, such as emergency/rapid-deployment scenarios or space-space/space-ground communications. The requirements include increasing efficacy in delivering power to destinations, reducing the cost and engineering complexity of the transmitters. Fulfilling these needs is complicated by atmospheric instabilities, absorption, size/weight/power consumption restrictions for portable and space applications, need for high-power laser safety considerations, cost pressures, and scalability requirements.