1083 nm ytterbium doped fibre amplifier for optical pumping of helium

S. V. Chernikov , J. R. Taylor , N. S. Platonov , V. P. Gapontsev , Pierre-Jean Nacher (1) , G. Tastevin (1) , M. Leduc (2) , M. J. Barlow (3)

1 LKB (Lhomond) - Laboratoire Kastler Brossel
2 LKB (Lhomond) - Laboratoire Kastler Brossel
3 UCL - University College of London [London]

A combination of a narrow linewidth, tunable DBR diode laser and high power ytterbium fibre amplifier in a master oscillator power fibre amplifier (MOPFA) configuration is demonstrated for efficient optical pumping of helium. A compact and efficient diode pumped prototype system is shown to compare favourably with alternative laser sources for production of hyperpolarised He-3 using direct pumping for medical application in MRI.

Domaines: Physique Atomique [physics.atom-ph]

S. V. Chernikov, J. R. Taylor, N. S. Platonov, V. P. Gapontsev, Pierre-Jean Nacher, et al.. 1083 nm ytterbium doped fibre amplifier for optical pumping of helium. Electronics Letters, 1997, 33 (9), pp.787--789. ⟨hal-02016718⟩