Problems of development of tunable hybrid bismuth–erbium fibre lasers

Experimental data and experience in the development of tunable fibre lasers based on active bismuth centres in silica glasses with different compositions and luminescence bands in the range 1200–1800 nm are considered. It is shown that continuous-wave narrow-band laser radiation with a milliwatt power (1–10 mW) covering this wavelength range can be obtained using hybrid fibre schemes and, probably, co-doping of matrices with bismuth and erbium. Continuously tunable bismuth fibre lasers with partially overlapping spectral ranges of 1270–1370, 1360–1540, and 1600–1800 nm are studied. Hybrid schemes of fibre lasers emitting in the spectral range from 1500 to 1600 nm, which includes the erbium luminescence band, are proposed.