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
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TL;DR: In this paper, the ytterbium-doped, silica based, monomode fiber laser operating at discrete wavelengths in the range 1035nm to 1076nm is described.
Abstract: The last few years have seen intense interest and activity in the field of rare earth doped monomode fibre lasers and amplifiers [1,2],since these components could be used in fields as diverse as medicine and communications. Furthermore their small active volume offers a number of important advantages over conventional bulk glass lasers. We have chosen to investigate ytterbium doped fibre as it provides a very "clean" system (ie free from excite-q state absorption. Apart from the energy levels around 11,000cm there are no other levels until the ultra-violet). The ytterbium fibre laser should therefore offer a good system on which to test some of the basic physics of fibre lasers. In addition it offers 3-level, 4-level and quasi 3-level laser transitions. Published work on ytterbium doped glass lasers in bulk form has been sparse with the main publication being that of Snitzer [3]. In this paper we describe the characteristics of an ytterbium-doped, silica based, monomode fibre laser operating at discrete wavelengths in the range 1035nm to 1076nm.
108 citations
TL;DR: A femtosecond fiber laser based on thulium-doped double-clad silica fiber with an internal dispersion compensation is presented that generates pulses at a center wavelength of 1976 nm with an energy of 4.3 nJ and a duration of 1.2 ps.
Abstract: A femtosecond fiber laser based on thulium-doped double-clad silica fiber with an internal dispersion compensation is presented that generates pulses at a center wavelength of 1976 nm with an energy of 4.3 nJ and a duration of 1.2 ps. The dechirped pulse duration is 294 fs. The pulse energy is more than 2 orders of magnitude above the pulse energy demonstrated previously. Mode locking is achieved using additive pulse mode locking, and dispersion compensation is facilitated by a grating stretcher arrangement.
108 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the characteristics of a Tm/sup 3+/ doped fiber laser pumped by a laser diode are reported operating at a wavelength of 194 mu m, the laser had a threshold of 44 mW, a launched power slope efficiency of 17% and 1 mW output power
Abstract: The characteristics of a Tm/sup 3+/ doped fibre laser pumped by a laser diode are reported Operating at a wavelength of 194 mu m, the laser had a threshold of 44 mW, a launched power slope efficiency of 17% and 1 mW output power Measurements on the tuning range of Tm/sup 3+/ are presented and lasing is found to be possible from 165-20 mu m, the specific range depending on the fibre type The largest range for a single laser was 300 nm<
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71 citations