Mode-locked all-fiber laser with high stability based on cobalt oxyfluoride

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed the exploration of fiber laser technology focused on numerous pivotal optoelectronic applications from laser processing and remote sensing to optical communication. Here, using cobalt oxyfluoride (CoOF) as the nonlinear material, a 156 fs mode-locked fiber laser with strong stability is obtained. The rapid thermal annealing technique is used to fabricate the CoOF, which is subsequently transferred to the tapered region of the microfiber to form the effective pulse modulation device. CoOF interacts with the pulsed laser through the evanescent field to realize the intracavity pulse shaping, and then the stable mode-locked pulse is obtained. The mode-locked operation is maintained with the pulse duration of 156 fs and repetition rate of 49 MHz. In addition, the signal-to-noise ratio is about 90 dB. Those experimental results confirm the attractive nonlinear optical properties of CoOF and lay a foundation for the ultrafast application of low-dimensional transition metal oxides.