Surface plasmonic Au nanoparticles assisted CuO nanorods for broadband diverse ultrafast pulse generation

Abstract

In virtue of the local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties of metal nanoparticles to enhance the nonlinear optical response of the material, we successfully embed small-size Au nanoparticles into CuO nanorods. Then, theoretical and experimental methods verify that the assistance of ultrafast plasma response enhances the light-matter interaction. The LSPR characteristics and evanescent field distribution of the Au-CuO saturable absorber on the tapered fiber are studied by the finite element simulation method (FEM). By utilizing the Z-scan technology and twin-balanced detector system, excellent nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the Au-CuO nanorods are demonstrated. Subsequently, depending on the remarkable nonlinear saturable absorption effect of Au-CuO, multiple operating states such as Q-switched, conventional soliton, double-subpulse soliton cluster, and noise-like pulse mode-locking are achieved in the erbium-doped fiber ring cavity at 1.5 μm. In addition, dual-wavelength mode-locking pulses with the center wavelengths of 1031 nm and 1035 nm are realized in the ytterbium-doped fiber ring cavity. This work describes an effective strategy to improve the NLO properties of CuO nanorods and indicates the great potential of Au-CuO in pulsed fiber lasers, opening a path for its application in ultrafast photonics and optoelectronics.