Anti-Stokes fluorescence cooling of nanoparticle-doped silica fibers

The first observation of cooling by anti-Stokes pumping in nanoparticle-doped silica fibers is reported. Four Yb-doped fibers fabricated using conventional modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) techniques were evaluated, namely, an aluminosilicate fiber and three fibers in which the Yb ions were encapsulated in CaF₂, SrF₂, or BaF₂ nanoparticles. The nanoparticles, which oxidize during preform processing, provide a modified chemical environment for the Yb³⁺ ions that is beneficial to cooling. When pumped at the near-optimum cooling wavelength of 1040 nm at atmospheric pressure, the fibers experienced a maximum measured temperature drop of 20.5 mK (aluminosilicate fiber), 26.2 mK (CaF₂ fiber), and 16.7 mK (SrF₂ fiber). The BaF₂ fiber did not cool but warmed slightly. The three fibers that cooled had a cooling efficiency comparable to that of the best previously reported Yb-doped silica fiber that cooled. Data analysis shows that this efficiency is explained by the fibers’ high critical quenching concentration and low residual absorptive loss (linked to sub-ppm OH contamination). This study demonstrates the large untapped potential of nanoparticle doping in the current search for silicate compositions that produce optimum anti-Stokes cooling.