Topic
Saturable absorption
About: Saturable absorption is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 10222 publications have been published within this topic receiving 185893 citations.
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TL;DR: Employing high-yield production of layered materials by liquid-phase exfoliation, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) dispersions with large populations of single and few layers were prepared and exhibited significant saturable absorption (SA) for the femtosecond pulses.
Abstract: Employing high-yield production of layered materials by liquid-phase exfoliation, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) dispersions with large populations of single and few layers were prepared. Electron microscopy verified the high quality of the two-dimensional MoS2 nanostructures. Atomic force microscopy analysis revealed that ∼39% of the MoS2 flakes had thicknesses of less than 5 nm. Linewidth and frequency difference of the E12g and A1g Raman modes confirmed the effective reduction of flake thicknesses from the bulk MoS2 to the dispersions. Ultrafast nonlinear optical (NLO) properties were investigated using an open-aperture Z-scan technique. All experiments were performed using 100 fs pulses at 800 nm from a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser. The MoS2 nanosheets exhibited significant saturable absorption (SA) for the femtosecond pulses, resulting in the third-order NLO susceptibility Imχ(3) ∼ 10–15 esu, figure of merit ∼10–15 esu cm, and free-carrier absorption cross section ∼10–17 cm2. Induced free carrier densi...
883 citations
TL;DR: The saturable absorption property of the fabricated BP-SAs at the telecommunication band is characterized and shows that BP could also be developed as an effective SA for pulsed fiber or solid-state lasers.
Abstract: 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.
837 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the transition between the regimes of cw mode locking and Q-switched mode locking was investigated, and an extended theory that took into account nonlinear soliton-shaping effects and gain filtering was developed.
Abstract: The use of a saturable absorber as a passive mode locker in a solid-state laser can introduce a tendency for Q-switched mode-locked operation. We have investigated the transition between the regimes of cw mode locking and Q-switched mode locking. Experimental data from Nd:YLF lasers in the picosecond domain and soliton mode-locked Nd:glass lasers in the femtosecond domain, both passively mode locked with semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors, were compared with predictions from an analytical model. The observed stability limits for the picosecond lasers agree well with a previously described model, while for soliton mode-locked femtosecond lasers we have developed an extended theory that takes into account nonlinear soliton-shaping effects and gain filtering. © 1999 Optical Society of America [S0740-3224(99)01001-2] OCIS codes: 140.3580, 140.4050, 140.3540, 140.7090.
809 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a novel passive mode-locking technique was proposed in which two synchronized counterpropagating pulses interact in a thin, saturable absorber to produce a short pulse.
Abstract: We report a novel passive mode‐locking technique in which two synchronized counterpropagating pulses interact in a thin, saturable absorber to produce a short pulse. Continuous stable trains of pulses shorter than 0.1 psec are obtained using a ring laser configuration.
794 citations
TL;DR: It is observed that ions in mirror sites are inversely saturable and cause superluminal light propagation, whereas ions in inversion sites experience conventional saturable absorption and produce slow light.
Abstract: We have observed both superluminal and ultraslow light propagation in an alexandrite crystal at room temperature. Group velocities as slow as 91 meters per second to as fast as -800 meters per second were measured and attributed to the influence of coherent population oscillations involving chromium ions in either mirror or inversion sites within the crystal lattice. Namely, ions in mirror sites are inversely saturable and cause superluminal light propagation, whereas ions in inversion sites experience conventional saturable absorption and produce slow light. This technique for producing large group indices is considerably easier than the existing methods to implement and is therefore suitable for diverse applications.
753 citations