Bragg gratings written in ZBLAN fibers and all-fiber laser applications

This paper reports on the first fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) written in non-photosensitized ZBLAN fibers using fs laser pulses. Index modulations almost two orders of magnitude larger than those previously reported in a fluoride fiber (10^-3 vs 10^-5) were achieved providing grating reflectivity greater than 99%. Preliminary results of an all-fiber Tm³⁺-doped ZBLAN laser pumped at 1070 nm and operating at 1480 nm based on a FBG as an input coupler is presented.