Black phosphorus (BP), an emerging narrow direct band-gap two-dimensional (2D) layered material that can fill the gap between the semi-metallic graphene and the wide-bandgap transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), had been experimentally found to exhibit the saturation of optical absorption if under strong light illumination. By taking advantage of this saturable absorption property, we could fabricate a new type of optical saturable absorber (SA) based on mechanically exfoliated BPs, and further demonstrate the applications for ultra-fast laser photonics. Based on the balanced synchronous twin-detector measurement method, we have characterized the saturable absorption property of the fabricated BP-SAs at the telecommunication band. By incorporating the BP-based SAs device into the all-fiber Erbium-doped fiber laser cavities, we are able to obtain either the passive Q-switching (with maximum pulse energy of 94.3 nJ) or the passive mode-locking operation (with pulse duration down to 946 fs). Our results show that BP could also be developed as an effective SA for pulsed fiber or solid-state lasers.

Mechanically exfoliated black phosphorus as a new saturable absorber for both Q-switching and Mode-locking laser operation

We propose and demonstrate 1, 1.5, and 2 μm passively Q-switched fiber lasers by exploiting a few-layer Molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) polymer composite as broadband saturable absorber (SA), respectively. The few-layer MoS2 nanosheets are prepared by the liquid-phase exfoliation method, and are composited with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The PVA-MoS2 film is sandwiched between two fiber ferrules to form the fiber-compatible SA. The few-layer MoS2 not only shows good transparency from ultraviolet to mid-infrared spectral region, but also possesses the nonlinear saturable absorption. The modulation depth and saturation optical intensity of the PVA-MoS2 film are measured to be 1.6% and 13 MW/cm2 at 1566 nm by the balanced twin-detector technique, respectively. By further inserting the filmy PVA-MoS2 SA into the cavities of Yb-, Er- and Tm-doped fiber lasers, we achieve stable Q-switching operations at 1.06, 1.56, and 2.03 μm, respectively. The output characteristics of the Q-switched pulses at the three wavelengths have been investigated, respectively. The MoS2-based Q-switching enables the large pulse energy of ∼1 μJ with a pulse width of 1.76 μs. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of MoS2-based Q-switched fiber lasers in a wide wavelength range (from 1 to 2 μm). Our results experimentally confirm that the new-type 2-D material, few-layer MoS2, is a promising broadband SA to Q-switch fiber lasers covering all major wavelengths from near- to mid-infrared region.

1-, 1.5-, and 2-μm Fiber Lasers Q-Switched by a Broadband Few-Layer MoS 2 Saturable Absorber

2D Layered Materials: Synthesis, Nonlinear Optical Properties, and Device Applications

Solitons are stable localized wave packets that can propagate long distance in dispersive media without changing their shapes. As particle-like nonlinear localized waves, solitons have been investigated in different physical systems. Owing to potential applications in optical communication and optical signal processing systems, optical solitons have attracted intense interest in the past three decades. To experimentally study the formation and dynamics of temporal optical solitons, fiber lasers are considered as a wonderful nonlinear system. During the last decade, several kinds of theoretically predicted solitons were observed experimentally in fiber lasers. In this review, we present a detailed overview of the experimentally verified optical solitons in fiber lasers, including bright solitons, dark solitons, vector solitons, dissipative solitons, dispersion-managed solitons, polarization domain wall solitons, and so on. An outlook for the development on the solitons in fiber lasers is also provided and discussed.

/pdf/recent-progress-of-study-on-optical-solitons-in-fiber-lasers-7k1woseiul.pdf

Recent progress of study on optical solitons in fiber lasers

Tungsten disulphide (WS2), which exhibits excellent saturable absorption properties, has attracted much attention in the applications of photonic devices. In this paper, WS2 is applied for the preparation of a saturable absorber (SA). Using the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method, WS2 is deposited on the side surface of the tapered fiber. In order to obtain larger non-linearity of the SAs with evanescent wave interaction, the tapered fiber had a smaller waist diameter and longer fused zone. Gold film was deposited on the fiber-taper WS2 SAs to improve their reliability and avoid oxidation and corrosion. Employing the balanced twin-detector method, the modulation depth of the fiber-taper WS2 SAs was measured to be 17.2%. With the fiber-taper WS2 SA, a generated pulse with 246 fs duration and a 57 nm bandwidth was obtained at 1561 nm. The electrical signal to noise ratio was better than 92 dB. To our knowledge, the pulse duration was the shortest among the reported all-fiber lasers with transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) SAs. These results indicate that fiber-taper WS2 SAs with smaller waist diameter and longer fused zone are promising photonic devices for ultrashort pulse generation in all-fiber lasers.

Tungsten disulphide for ultrashort pulse generation in all-fiber lasers

We demonstrated a high-repetition-rate Q-switched fiber laser with topological insulator Bi₂Se₃ absorber. The absorber was made into a film structure by spin-coating method using few-layer Bi₂Se₃ nano-platelets which had regular shape. The uniform film had a low saturable optical intensity of 11 MW/cm(2), which is the lowest saturable optical intensity in the saturable absorbers made by topological insulator till now. By inserting the absorber film into an Erbium-doped fiber laser, a high-repetition Q-switched laser with the repetition rates from 459 kHz to 940 kHz was achieved. The maximum output power was 22.35 mW with the shortest pulse duration of 1.9 μs. To the best of our knowledge, both of the repetition rate and the output power were the highest values among the Q-switched fiber lasers with topological insulator absorber.

High-repetition-rate Q-switched fiber laser with high quality topological insulator Bi₂Se₃ film.

We demonstrated an all-normal-dispersion Yb-doped mode-locked fiber laser based on tungsten disulphide (WS2). The saturable absorbers (SA) were made by mixing WS2 solution with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and then evaporated on a substrate. The modulation depth of the WS2 film was 2.06% and the saturable optical intensity was 71.6 MW cm−2. When the WS2 film was inserted into the fiber laser, the mode-locked pulses with pulse width of 2.5 ns and repetition rate of 2.84 MHz were obtained. As the pump power increased to 350 mW, the maximum output power was measured to be 8.02 mW. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to realize mode-locked pulses based on WS2-SA at 1 μm waveband.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1612-2011/12/12/125102/pdf

Mode-locked ytterbium-doped fiber laser based on tungsten disulphide

We demonstrate a passively Q-switched Yb:LSO laser based on tungsten disulphide (WS2) saturable absorber operating at 1034 nm and 1056 nm simultaneously. The saturable absorbers were fabricated by spin coating method. With low speed, the WS2 nanoplatelets embedded in polyvinyl alcohol could be coated on a BK7 glass substrate coated with high-refractive-index thin polymer. The shortest pulse width of 1.6 μs with a repetition rate of 76.9 kHz is obtained. As the pump power increases to 9 W, the maximum output power is measured to be 250 mW, corresponding to a single pulse energy of 3.25 μJ. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to obtain dual-wavelength Q-switched solid-state laser using few-layer WS2 nanoplatelets.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1674-1056/25/3/034207/pdf

Passively Q -switched dual-wavelength Yb:LSO laser based on tungsten disulphide saturable absorber

Self-mode-locked noise-like pulses (NLPs) were experimentally investigated from a normal dispersion erbium-doped fiber laser. Different from noise-like pulses with a broadband spectrum, the self-mode-locked NLPs have a narrow optical spectrum of 1–2 nm and hundreds of nanoseconds duration. However, the intra-cavity maximum energy of NLPs is up to 560 nJ without pulse breaking. The higher pulse energy output is promising in the proposed fiber laser. To confirm whether self-mode-locked NLPs are caused by an invisible nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) mechanism owing to slight residual polarization asymmetry of the fiber and components used, we compared the output characteristics between self-mode-locked NLPs and NPR mode-locked pulses in the same cavity. The experimental results show that the formation mechanism of such self-mode-locked NLPs could be related to a weak NPR effect.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1612-202X/aa5f01/pdf

Observation of self-mode-locked noise-like pulses from a net normal dispersion erbium-doped fiber laser

Wavelength switchable and dual-wavelength soliton operations are demonstrated in an erbium-doped fiber laser with three pieces of TI Bi2Se3 polyvinyl alcohol (Bi2Se3-PVA) film. Wavelength switchable operation from 1532 to 1557 nm could be achieved just by adjusting the pump power. With the appropriate settings of PC and pump power, a novel dual-wavelength soliton operation was observed. The dual-wavelength pulses operate at different mode-locked states. One is the single pulse mode-locking operation at 1532 nm, and the other one is the bound-soliton states at 1557 nm. However, the dual-wavelength soliton operation cannot be stable for a long time. The numerical results demonstrate that the separations of bound pulses have small variation and that the phase difference of bound pulses appear jumping change of $\pi $ .

Heyang Guoyu

Papers

High-repetition-rate Q-switched fiber laser with high quality topological insulator Bi₂Se₃ film.

Mode-locked ytterbium-doped fiber laser based on tungsten disulphide

Passively Q -switched dual-wavelength Yb:LSO laser based on tungsten disulphide saturable absorber

Observation of self-mode-locked noise-like pulses from a net normal dispersion erbium-doped fiber laser

Analysis of Bound-Soliton States in a Dual-Wavelength Mode-Locked Fiber Laser Based on Bi2Se 3