Proposal for an Er/sup 3+/-doped chalcogenide glass fiber upconversion laser operating at 980 nm and pumped at 1480 nm

We propose a novel fiber upconversion laser operating at 980 mn and pumped at 1480 nm, which will allow remote optical pumping of erbium-doped optical amplifiers. From the measured spectroscopy, we show Er/sup 3+/-doped gallium lanthanum sulphide glass to be a potential host for such a 1480-nm/980-nm upconversion laser. The small-signal gain is analyzed numerically and the lasing possibilities are discussed.