Mode-locked 2 μm laser with highly thulium-doped silicate fiber
TL;DR: This is the first demonstration of mode-locked 2 mum fiber laser using shorter than 1-m-long active fiber, which paves the way for the demonstration ofmode-locked fiber laser at 2 mum with gigahertz fundamental repetition rate.
Abstract: We report self-starting passively mode-locked fiber lasers with a saturable absorber mirror using a piece of 30-cm-long newly developed highly thulium (Tm)-doped silicate glass fibers. The mode-locked pulses operate at 1980 nm with duration of 1.5 ps and energy of 0.76 nJ. This newly developed Tm-doped silicate fiber exhibits a slope efficiency of 68.3%, an amplified spontaneous emission spectrum bandwidth (FWHM) of 92 nm, and a gain per unit length of greater than 2 dB/cm. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first demonstration of mode-locked 2 μm fiber laser using shorter than 1-m-long active fiber, which paves the way for the demonstration of mode-locked fiber laser at 2 μm with gigahertz fundamental repetition rate.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate mode-locking of a thulium-doped fiber laser operating at 1.94 μm, using a graphene-polymer based saturable absorber.
Abstract: We demonstrate mode-locking of a thulium-doped fiber laser operating at 1.94 μm, using a graphene-polymer based saturable absorber. The laser outputs 3.6 ps pulses, with ~0.4 nJ energy and an amplitude fluctuation ~0.5%, at 6.46 MHz. This is a simple, low-cost, stable and convenient laser oscillator for applications where eye-safe and low-photon-energy light sources are required, such as sensing and biomedical diagnostics.
259 citations
TL;DR: This work demonstrates mode-locking of a thulium-doped fiber laser operating at 1.94 μm, using a graphene-polymer based saturable absorber, which is a simple, low-cost, stable and convenient laser oscillator for applications where eye-safe and low-photon-energy light sources are required.
Abstract: We demonstrate mode-locking of a thulium-doped fiber laser operating at 1.94\mu m, using a graphene-based saturable absorber. The laser outputs 3.6ps pulses, with~0.4nJ energy and an amplitude fluctuation~0.5%, at 6.46MHz. This is a simple, low-cost, stable and convenient laser oscillator for applications where eye-safe and low-photon-energy light sources are required, such as sensing and biomedical diagnostics
250 citations
TL;DR: The results of this experiment confirm that WS2 can be used as an effective broadband saturable absorption material that is suitable to passively generate pulses at 2 μm wavelengths.
Abstract: We demonstrate the use of an all-fiberized, mode-locked 1.94 μm laser with a saturable absorption device based on a tungsten disulfide (WS2)-deposited side-polished fiber. The WS2 particles were prepared via liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) without centrifugation. A series of measurements including Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that the prepared particles had thick nanostructures of more than 5 layers. The prepared saturable absorption device used the evanescent field interaction mechanism between the oscillating beam and WS2 particles and its modulation depth was measured to be ~10.9% at a wavelength of 1925 nm. Incorporating the WS2-based saturable absorption device into a thulium-holmium co-doped fiber ring cavity, stable mode-locked pulses with a temporal width of ~1.3 ps at a repetition rate of 34.8 MHz were readily obtained at a wavelength of 1941 nm. The results of this experiment confirm that WS2 can be used as an effective broadband saturable absorption material that is suitable to passively generate pulses at 2 μm wavelengths.
162 citations
TL;DR: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first 2 µm region NOLM-based mode-locked fiber laser operating at two regimes with the highest single pulse energy for NL pulses.
Abstract: A self-starting all-fiber passively mode-locked Tm-doped fiber laser based on nonlinear loop mirror (NOLM) is demonstrated. Stable soliton pulses centered at 2017.33 nm with 1.56 nm FWHM were produced at a repetition rate of 1.514 MHz with pulse duration of 2.8 ps and pulse energy of 83.8 pJ. As increased pump power, the oscillator can also operate at noise-like (NL) regime. Stable NL pulses with coherence spike width of 341 fs and pulse energy of up to 249.32 nJ was achieved at a center wavelength of 2017.24 nm with 21.33 nm FWHM. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first 2 μm region NOLM-based mode-locked fiber laser operating at two regimes with the highest single pulse energy for NL pulses.
156 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors summarize and review the recent progress of mid-IR mode-locked laser sources, including Tm3+, Ho3+-, and Tm 3+/Ho3+-doped all-solid-state and fiber laser sources for the 2.0μm-3.5μm spectral region.
Abstract: Ultrafast laser sources operating in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) region, which contains the characteristic fingerprint spectra of many important molecules and transparent windows of atmosphere, are of significant importance in a variety of applications. Over the past decade, a significant progress has been made in the development of inexpensive, compact, high-efficiency mid-IR ultrafast mode-locked lasers in the picosecond and femtosecond domains that cover the 2.0 μm–3.5 μm spectral region. These achievements open new opportunities for applications in areas such as molecular spectroscopy, frequency metrology, material processing, and medical diagnostics and treatment. In this review, starting with the introduction of mid-IR mode-locking techniques, we mainly summarize and review the recent progress of mid-IR mode-locked laser sources, including Tm3+-, Ho3+-, and Tm3+/Ho3+-doped all-solid-state and fiber lasers for the 2.0 μm spectral region, Cr2+:ZnSe and Cr2+:ZnS lasers for the 2.4 μm region, and Er3+-, Ho3+/Pr3+-, and Dy3+-doped fluoride fiber lasers for the 2.8 μm–3.5 μm region. Then, some emerging and representative applications of mid-IR ultrafast mode-locked laser sources are presented and illustrated. Finally, outlooks and challenges for future development of ultrafast mid-IR laser sources are discussed and analyzed. The development of ultrafast mid-IR laser sources, together with the ongoing progress in related application technologies, will create new avenues of research and expand unexplored applications in scientific research, industry, and other fields.
133 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this article, a ring-cavity thulium fiber laser with a single-wall carbon nanotube absorber was used in transmission, achieving an average output power of 3.4 mW.
Abstract: We report a ring-cavity thulium fiber laser mode locked with a single-wall carbon nanotube absorber used in transmission. A carboxymethyl cellulose polymer film with incorporated carbon nanotubes synthesized by the arc discharge method has an absorption coinciding with in the amplification bandwidth of a Tm-doped fiber. This laser is pumped by an erbium fiber laser at 1.57 μm wavelength and produces a 37 MHz train of mode-locked 1.32 ps pulses at 1.93 μm wavelength with an average output power of 3.4 mW.
377 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an additive-pulse mode-locked (APM) thulium-doped fiber ring laser was presented, which produces 350-500 fs pulses tunable from 1798 to 1902 nm.
Abstract: We report an additive‐pulse mode‐locked (APM) thulium‐doped fiber ring laser producing 350–500 fs pulses tunable from 1798 to 1902 nm. The laser operates in the soliton regime, where periodic perturbations cause predictable sidebands and modulation in the optical spectrum.
245 citations
02 Jun 1996
TL;DR: A self-starting passively mode-locked thulium-doped silica fiber laser capable of 190-fs pulses is reported, achieved with a band-gap-engineered saturable absorber fabricated monolithically along with the output coupler of the laser by MOCVD.
Abstract: Summary form only given. We report a self-starting passively mode-locked thulium-doped silica fiber laser capable of 190-fs pulses. Mode-locking of the fiber laser was achieved with a band-gap-engineered saturable absorber fabricated monolithically along with the output coupler of the laser by MOCVD. Stable, single-pulse-in-the-cavity mode-locking was observed for a 2-m-long fiber laser utilizing a nanosecond response strained InGaAs detector.
203 citations
TL;DR: Stabilization of a thulium-holmium codoped fiber soliton laser with a saturable absorber based on carbon nanotubes with transform-limited 750-fs pulses with 0.5-nJ energy is reported.
Abstract: We report stabilization of a thulium-holmium codoped fiber soliton laser with a saturable absorber based on carbon nanotubes. The laser generates transform-limited 750-fs pulses with 0.5-nJ energy.
195 citations
TL;DR: A chain of four Tm-doped fibers amplified a single-frequency, 2040 nm diode laser to 608 W with M(2)=1.05+/-0.03, to be known as the highest power obtained from any single- frequencies, single-mode fiber laser.
Abstract: A chain of four Tm-doped fibers amplified a single-frequency, 2040 nm diode laser to 608 W with M2=1.05±0.03, limited by available pump power. Stimulated Brillouin scattering limits were investigated by splicing different lengths of passive fiber to the output of the final amplifier stage. Integrated rms phase noise above 1 kHz was less than λ/30, suggesting the possibility of further scaling via coherent beam combining. To our knowledge, this is the highest power obtained from any single-frequency, single-mode fiber laser.
192 citations