Comparative study of mesh powder and thin film of yttrium oxide (Y2O3) as saturable absorber

Abstract

The performance and stability of Y2O3-SA mesh powder and Y2O3-SA thin films prepared using the conventional solution method (SM) have been studied for a passively Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL). The Y2O3-SA thin films prepared using the SM method were introduced into the fiber cavity, the pump power was increased from 43.12 mW to 557.48 mW, the pulse repetition rate increased from 36.4 kHz to 113.3 kHz, and the pulse width decreased from 12.3 μs to 4.3 μs, respectively. In the case of Y2O3 mesh powder as the saturable absorber (SA), as the pump power increased from 30.8 mW to 557.48 mW, the pulse repetition rate increased from 25.5 kHz to 123.48 kHz, and the pulse width decreased from 17.2 μs to 4.3 μs. The pulse energy and peak power of the Y2O3-SA thin film prepared using SM were measured at 1.6 nJ and 4 mW, respectively. The mesh powder of Y2O3-SA exhibited a pulse energy of 1.8 nJ and a peak power of 4.3 mW. It has been noted that the stability of Y2O3-SA mesh powder surpasses that of Y2O3-SA thin films prepared through the conventional solution method (SM).